Criminal Law Flashcards

What is Criminal Law?

Of all the branches of Law, perhaps Criminal Law appears to many to be the most exciting. People are drawn to Criminal Law for all kinds of reasons and the portrayal of courtroom dramas in films and on TV does nothing if not fuel our fascination with crime and, ultimately, justice.

Criminal law is the system of law that deals with the prosecution of offenders. Criminal law differs from civil law in that civil law aims to compensate a victim and provide a resolution which is usually equated financially to criminal law which is primarily concerned with punishment. Criminal law often makes up part of a Law degree with other subjects such as Contract Law, Torts, International Law, and Civil Procedure.

Careers in Criminal Law

Many careers involve studying criminal Law to a certain standard such as Law Enforcement Officer, Fee-Earner, and Legal Secretary. Many criminal law graduates work within the judicial system and examples of jobs directly related to criminal law include:

Criminal lawyer

Public prosecutor

Public attorney

Defense attorney

Judge

Working in criminal law is not for the fainthearted! Whilst criminal law deals with the perpetrators of crime, we still often fail as a society to deal with the prevalence and existence of crime. As a criminal lawyer, you would undoubtedly come face-to-face with the most heinous of crimes including murder, rape and child abuse. And you might also expect to work long hours! That being said, the job satisfaction involved in this kind of career is immense for many.

Delivering justice to a victim and safety to a community is a deep motivator and reward for all those involved in the judicial system. Watching this video from the Crash Course team will give you some more information about the basics of the legal system. If you think you have what it takes to make it in Criminal Law then The American Bar Association and The American Law Society also have some great information for all aspiring criminal lawyers.  

Learning Criminal Law

Learning any type of Law is a challenge predominantly due to the nature of Law itself. Every single case that is tried is recorded and constitutes part of the Law library itself, therefore “Law,” if you like, evolves daily in terms of resources and materials.

Finding new and relevant rulings to your client’s case which could have a positive result on an otherwise difficult case is what the best attorneys do to win cases. However, with so much content and case law to commit to memory, law students know they need to learn smart to succeed.

Brainscape really is an unrivaled resource for law students. In short: Brainscape can help law students cement key legal concepts while making the process of memorizing so many cases and legal principles as efficient as possible. Soon the dates and rulings of case Law will be dripping from your tongue with ease!

Criminal Law in Brainscape

The criminal law library in Brainscape has literally thousands of Law flashcards produced by top Law professors and students.

We have certified content written by experts as well as thousands of other classes created by Brainscape users who are facing the same challenges as you.

For those that are serious about staying ahead of the competition then check out Bar Boost. 2,500 MBE flashcards, all based on genuine exam questions have been  prepared by top legal experts and are available to help you prepare for your Bar exam.

There is also the facility to become a contributor yourself and make your own flashcards. Make them just for your own private use if you like, but don’t be shy - share them with other learners in the Brainscape community.

Learn faster with Brainscape

Students learn faster with Brainscape due to our unique system known as confidence based repetition (CBR). CBR incorporates three important cognitive processes that enable memory building.  

The benefits of using Brainscape is that learners can allocate their study time more effectively and retain information for longer.

Brainscape differs from other computer-aided learning tools in that Brainscape incorporates a confidence-based algorithm. After you are shown each flashcard by Brainscape you will be asked to rate your confidence and understanding of that answer on a scale from 1 to 5. The algorithm uses that information to set the frequency of further flashcards.

In practice, say your exam question was to provide the details, decision and year of the Gideon v. Wainwright case. Perhaps you could only remember the details and you are still finding it difficult to remember the dates and decision then you might score your understanding as a one or a two. The algorithm will know to keep asking you that question again and to not waste your time on asking you about Miranda v. Arizona, since you recorded yourself a "5" on that.

With Brainscape you will be creating an interactive learning stream personalized to your learning needs, time and abilities. The three mental processes that make up part of Brainscape’s unique CBR system are Active Recall, Metacognition, and Spaced Recognition.  

CBR incorporates active recall so you won’t just recognize information but retrieve it, instead. Retrieval requires neurons to pass messages and thus strengthens connections and the abilities to be able to retrieve the information at a later date when required.

Metacognition refers to the process during which you consider your understanding of the subject matter. And merely the act of doing so has also proven to further solidify memory. Finally, Brainscape also incorporates spaced recognition, which has the effect of systematically improving your knowledge base and the ability to remember information by repeating information at the proper intervals.

Thousands of academic studies have proven that active recall, metacognition, and spaced repetition are highly effective learning methods. Brainscape has optimized in its application of these processes to be the learning tool that so many smart students are using to get ahead.

How to get started

Getting started learning Criminal law with Brainscape is easy.

If you would like to make your own flashcards there then click on the “make flashcards” button and create your own. Did you know that it is proven that the process of authoring flashcards will deepen the memory trace?

Choose from a range of study levels, course content, and contributors to suit your individual learning needs. Whether it’s Texas Criminal Law, Homicide or Complicity you’re studying have a click below and you’re sure to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Whichever, you choose you are sure to find Brainscape an invaluable tool.  We wish you all the best in your future learning and career in criminal law. Best wishes!