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CRM J 320
Criminal Law. WSU ch. 1-4
70
Criminal Justice
Undergraduate 2
02/04/2012

Additional Criminal Justice Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Criminal law v. Criminal procedure
Definition

- Law: involves 'what' law is enforced.

- procedures: concerned w/ 'how' law is enforced.

 

Term
Substantive criminal law
Definition

- The study of the behavior that society has deemed to be unacceptable.

- involves consideration of: Actus reus and Mens rea.

- Concurrence, Causation, responsibility, defenses, punishment

 

Term

Actus Reus

(Criminal Act)

Definition
- A crime involves an act of failure to act. You can't be punished for bad thoughts.
Term

Mens Rea

(criminal act)

Definition
- Criminal punishment is ordinarily directed at individuals who intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently harm other individuals or property.
Term
Case Law
Definition
- Appellate courts establish precedent through case law that must be followed by all lower courts within the jurisdiction
Term
Felony v. Misdemeanor
Definition

Misdemeanors: relatively minor crimes and usually recieve a fine of a max of 1 yr. in prison.

 

Felony: more serious crimes that are punishable by something greater than just 1 yr. in prison.

Term
Civil Law
Definition

- The branch of the law that protect the individual rather than the public interest

- Civil court: between two people, not a person and a state.

 

Term
Criminal Law
Definition

- The branch of the law that protects the state and all who reside in the state.

- Always files by the government.

- Requires high standard of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt".

Term
Punishment
Definition
- Def: inflicting pain or other unpleasant consequence on another person.
Term
Hart's 5 elements of punishment
Definition

1. must involve a consequence normally considered unpleasant.

2. must be an offense against legal rules.

3. Must be an actual or supposed offender for his offense.

4. intentionally administered

5. must be imposed by authority constituted by a legal system.

Term
Purposes of criminal punishment
Definition

- Retributive (eye for an eye)

- Utilitarian ( gen./indi. deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation)

 

Term
General Deterrence
Definition
- The idea that punishing an offender as an example will deter others from violating the law.
Term
Specific Deterrence
Definition
-Imposes punishment to deter or discourage a defendant from committing a crime in the future.
Term
Legality principle
Definition

- Nullum crimin sine lege, nulla poena sine lege

(no crime without law, no punishment without law)

- Reflects constitutional principles of governing criminal status.

Term
3 issues of the legality principle
Definition

- vagueness

- fair notice

- ex post facto

Term
Ex Post Facto laws
Definition

(Article I, Section 9, of the constitution)

- prohibits enforcing a law before the law was in effect.

- prohibits increasing a punishment that is greater than the crime.

Term
Constitutional limits on criminal law
Definition

- fair notice

-prohibition against Ex Post Facto

- 'Due process of law'

- Right to privacy, equal protection, free speech, against 'cruel and unusual punishment'

Term
Laws Limiting Speech
Definition

- 1st Amendment

- Important to distinguish between speech (protected) and conduct (not protected)

Term
1st Amendment does NOT protect:
Definition

- Obscenity

- Defamation

- Fighting Words (breatching the peace)

- Clear and Present danger

Term
Symbolic Speech
Definition
- A form of speech that expresses an idea or emotion without using words.
Term
Anti-Terrorism Statutes
Definition

-Right of  association

(Can't punish someone solely because of his association with another)

Term
Equal Protection of the Laws
Definition

- 14th Amendment

- 3 classification: non-suspect (age occupation), quasi-suspect (gender), inherently suspect(race).


Term
Cruel and Unusual Punishments
Definition

- 8th amendement

- 4 factors: human dignity, penological purpose, prevailing social values, severity

Term
2 types of cruel and unusual punishment
Definition

- Barbaric

- Disproportionate to the crime

Term
Concurrence
Definition
The act and criminal intent must coexist or accompany one another.
Term
Causation
Definition
The defendant's act must cause the harm required for criminal guilt,  death in the case of homicide,, and the burning of a home or other structures in the case of arson.
Term
American court Structure
Definition

- Federalism

- Jurisdiction

- Precedent

Term
Federalism
Definition

-Dual court system

- 51 separate judicial systems

 

Term
State Courts
Definition

- Courts of Limited jurisdiction

- Courts of general jurisdiction

- Appellate court

 

Term
Courts of Limited jurisdiction
Definition

- Handle misdemeanor criminal cases

- relatively minor crimes

- a year or less jail time

- District court

- municipal court

 

Term
Courts of general jurisdiction
Definition

- Handle felony criminal cases

- punishable with 1+ jail time

- Superior court

- county court

Term
Intermediate Appellate Court
Definition

- Courts of appeal

- Lower level of apellate system

- right to trial court 

Term
Sources of Criminal Law
Definition

- Legislation

- Constitution

- Judiciaol Decision

Term
Case Law
Definition
- Appellate courts establish precedent through case law that must be followed by all lower courts within the jurisdiction.
Term
Hart's 5 Elements of Punishment
Definition

1. must involve pain or other consequence normally considered unpleasant.

2. must be for an offense against legal rules.

3. must be an actual or supposed offender for his offense.

4. must be intentionally administered by someone.

5. must be imposed and administered by an authority constituted by a legal system.

Term
Purposes of Crime
Definition

- Retributive (just deserts)

- Utilitarian

 

Term
Rehabilitation
Definition
- Attempts to reform the offender and to transform him or her into a law-abiding and productive member of society
Term
Incapacitation
Definition
- Removes offenders from society to prevent them from continuing to menace others.
Term
Norm-Reinforcement
Definition
- The theory that proportionate penalties are needed for the public to respect the criminal law and CJS.
Term
Restoration
Definition
- focuses on the victims of the crime and requires the offender to make financial, physical, and emotional restitution.
Term
2 types of Due Process
Definition
-Procedural
- Substantive
Term
Procedural Due Process
Definition
- Notice and opportunity to object
- additional requirements depend on: hearing before impartial trial, confrontation of witnesses, high standard of proof.
Term
Substantive Due Process
Definition
- focuses on content of legislation, the rights implicated.
- fundamental v. non-fundamental rights.
Term
Strict Scrutiny
Definition
- Court uses Compelling State Interest Test
- 1. law must serve a compelling state interest
- 2. narrowly tailored to address the problem
- 3. least restrictive alternative for addressing problem.
- 4. burdon is on the government to justify.
Term
Right to Privacy
Definition
- not in the constitution or bill of rights.
- right established in 1965 in Griswold v. Conneticut
Term
Considerations of the 1st Amendment
Definition
- statute must NOT be considered overbreadth
- important to distinguish speech from conduct
- consider if conduct is a form of symbolic speech
Term
Overbreadth
Definition
- A statue that is unconstitutionally broad and punishes both unprotected speech or conduct and protected speech or conduct
Term
Vagueness
Definition
- Laws that are not clearly defined
Term
Elements of crime
Definition
- Mens Rea
- Actus Reus
- Concurrence
- Harm
- Causation
Term
Strict Liability
Definition
- require no 'guilty mind'
- committing the act is all it takes
Term
General Intent
Definition
- The intent to break a law or do something that may lead to a violation of the law
Term
Specific Intent
Definition
- A mental determination to accomplish a specific illegal result
Term
Transferred Intent
Definition
- Applies when an individual intends to attack one person but inadvertently injures another.
Term
Constructive Intent
Definition
- Individuals grossly and wantonly reckless are considered to intend the natural consequences of their actions
Term
Harm
Definition
- Concurrence between mens rea and actus reus must cause a harm
- need not be tangible
- may be to an individual or to society
- Picou v. Gillum
Term
Model Penal Code
Definition
- 4 mental states: Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, negligently.
Term
Purposely
Definition
- Conscious object to engage in the conduct or cause the result
Term
Knowingly
Definition
- A person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when it involves: nature of conduct or result of conduct
Term
Recklessness
Definition
- A person acts with recklessness when he: consciously disregards rules, gross deviation from the standard.
Term
Negligence
Definition
- Actor is not, but SHOULD be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.
Term
Actus Versus Status
Definition
- 8th Amendment prohibits punishing a person solely because of status
- state may generally only criminalize an act
Term
Culpable Omission
Definition
- must be a legal duty to act
- moral duty is insufficient to establish and act of omission.
--> statutorily imposed duty, special relationship w/ victim, contractual duty established, assumption of a duty
Term
European bystander rule
Definition
- Obligates individuals to intervene
Term
American bystander rule
Definition
- not a legal duty to intervene, unless there is a legal duty to intervene.
Term
Good Samaritan statue
Definition
- requires individual to provide reasonable medical assistance and, in return, relieves individual of liability of civil damages unless their actions constitute gross negligence
Term
5 primary justification defenses
Definition
- Excuse Defenses
- justification Defenses
- Public Duty
- Necessity
Term
Excuse Defenses
Definition
- Defendant admits committing the act, and even that the act was wrong and the ensuing harm regrettable, but claims that his conduct should be excused due to extenuating circumstances prevented him from acting by his own volition.
Term
Justification Defense
Definition
- Defendant admits committing the act, but claims that the actions were appropriate or justified under the circumstances
Term
Public Duty
Definition
- Under the common law a police officer or private person is justified in using non-deadly force upon another if she reasonably believes that:
Term
Necessity
(Choice of Evils)
Definition
- Choosing to commit a crime to prevent a greater harm.
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