Exam #1- Chapter 1-3 Flashcards
(19 cards)
Criminal Law
body of law defining offenses against the community at large and regulates how suspects who commit a criminal act are investigated, charged, and tried
Civil Law
body of law defining actions for which individuals can use the courts to seek remedies for private violations
What are civil cases intended to do?
compensate victims for the losses they suffered through money damages
What is the plaintiff’s name in a civil case?
Individual who has been harmed or wronged (John Smith)
What is the planitiff’s name in a criminal case?
Prosecutor (U.S Attorney)
What is the crime control model?
to repress criminal conduct in most efficient way possible
What is the due process model?
protecting innocent people from being falsely convicted
What is the rule of law?
1) Government must follow its own law
2) must apply law impartially (w/o bias)
3) provide due process to any accused of breaking the law
What are the seven rules that laws have to have in order to achieve rule of law?
1) be in accordance with preexisting legal rules
2) be made public
3) be reasonable clear in meaning
4) be capable of being followed
5) be applied for people going forward
6) be applied in an impartial manner consistent with their meaning
7) remain in force for a reasonable amount of time
What are the four major sources of law?
Statutory Law
Administrative Law
Constitutional Law
Common or Case law
What is statutory law?
a form of law created by legislative bodies in the form of statutes or ordiances
What are statutes?
incorporated into an official code and spell out riles that apply to general categories of people, business, etc.
What are codes?
compilation of statutes, ordiances, or regulations organized by subject matter experts
What are ordiances?
type of statutory law created by local legislative bodies such as countries and cities
Administrative law
consists of fairly specific rules and regulations created by administrative agencies
Constitutional Law
Based on the United State Constitution and the Constitution of the 50 states
Common Law
body of law deprived from judge’s decisions
Stari Decisis
An earlier judicial decision relied upon deciding a case
