Shared Flashcard Set

Details

PL final
Pre-law
110
Criminal Justice
Undergraduate 2
12/01/2015

Additional Criminal Justice Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Jurisdiction
Definition
-the power or authority of a court to determine the merits of a dispute and to grant relief
- a court has this when it has this power over the subject matter of the case, and over the persons of the plaintiff and defendant, or the property that is in dispute
Term
Court
Definition
-a government body that is empowered to resolve disputes according to law.
-reactive institutions
-do not undertake to adjudicate disputes on their own initiative and can only act when someone files suit
Term
1860s basis for jurisdiction
Definition
-the first involved showing that the party has been served with the boundaries of the state in which the lawsuit was filed with a summons originating from within the forum state
-upheld by Burnham v. Superior Court
-2nd based on consent (a plaintiff implicitly consents to personal jurisdiction in a state when he or she files a lawsuit with a clerk of court)
Term
Defendants can consent to personal jurisdiction in the following circumstances... (1)
Definition
1. the defendant makes a general appearance in a case. If the defendant argues the substantive facts of the case, he or she is implicitly consenting to personal jurisdiction. Thus, a defendant wishing to challenge in personal jurisdiction must notify the court that she or he is making a special appearance for the limited purpose of consenting jurisdiction
Term
Defendants can consent to personal jurisdiction in the following circumstances... (2)
Definition
A nonresident defendant allegedly commits a tortious act within the forum state.
Term
Defendants can consent to personal jurisdiction in the following circumstances... (3)
Definition
A nonresident drives a motor vehicle on the roads of the forum state and becomes involved in a collision. Under the laws of most states, the motorist impliedly appoints an official of the forum state to be his agent for receiving service of the plaintiff's summons arising from the accident
Term
Why was a new theory for jurisdiction necessary?
Definition
because nonresident defendants rarely consent to being sued and can avoid being served within the forum state by never going there
Term
What was the new theory for jurisdiction?
Definition
"sufficient minimum contacts" rule
Term
"Sufficient minimum contacts"
Definition
-determined by looking at the particular facts of a case
-for example... exist in the state in which the defendant is domiciled
Term
long-arm statuses
Definition
permit the exercise of personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants who have had sufficient minimum contacts with the forum state
Term
When a plaintiff successfully uses the long-arm statute, the defendant...
Definition
can be required to return to the forum state and defend the lawsuit. If the defendant fails to do so, he or she risks the entry of a default judgment.
Term
In Personam Jurisdiction over Corporations
Definition
-Every corporation has been incorporated by one of the fifty states and is therefore subject to the inpersonam jurisdiction of that state's courts.
-Generally, a state will require that all corporations doing business within its borders register with it and appoint an in-state person or company as its agent.
Term
What would establish a corporate presence that would be sufficient for in personal jurisdiction?
Definition
-soliciting orders, writing orders, and entering into contracts would establish a corporate presence that would be sufficient for in personal jurisdiction
-the mere presence of corporate officers within the forum states or the occasional shipping of orders into the forum is not sufficient for personal jurisdiction
Term
In Rem Jurisdiction
Definition
directed against the property itself and resolves disputes about property rights
Term
venue
Definition
determine where judicial authority should be exercised
Term
In civil actions, Congress has authorized federal courts to exercise subject-matter jurisdiction in two categories of cases... (1)
Definition
exists where the case involves claims based on the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. Such claims would include suits by the U.S. and civil rights, patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and admiralty suits
Term
In civil actions, Congress has authorized federal courts to exercise subject-matter jurisdiction in two categories of cases... (2)
Definition
Diversity of citizenship jurisdiction exists if a suit is between citizens of different states or between a citizen of a state and an alien, and if the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 (the jurisdictional amount). Diversity jurisdiction provides qualifying plaintiffs with a choice of a federal or state forum, for many types of civil actions. However, federal courts traditionally have declined to exercise diversity jurisdiction in divorce actions, child custody cases, and probate matters.
Term
What does federal jurisdiction require?
Definition
the diversity of citizenship be complete
Term
What are Congress's special citizenship rules for corporations?
Definition
A corporation is considered a citizen in the state where it is incorporate, as well as in the state of its principal place of business.
Term
removal jurisdiciton
Definition
-a suit does not have to be brought in a federal district court just because that court could exercise jurisdiction over the subject matter and over the person or property
-a plaintiff may bring a dispute in any state or federal court that has jurisdiction
- a defendant sued in a state court may have a right to have the case removed to the federal discreet court
-any civil action brought in a state court that could originally have been filed in a district court is removable
Term
When is removal jurisdiction permissible?
Definition
- where a federal question is raised or where the requirements for diversity or citizenship jurisdiction are met/
-where the basis of removal jurisdiction is diversity of citizenship, that basis must exist at the time of filing the original suit and also at the time of petitioning for removal.
Term
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Definition
apply in federal courts unless they would significantly affect a litigant's substantive rights, encourage forum shopping, or promote a discriminatory application of law
Term
case-or-controversy requirement
Definition
court will not answer a question, it will answer a case
Term
ripeness
Definition
focuses on whether a case has developed sufficiently to be before a court for adjudication.
Term
standing
Definition
- focuses on whether the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit is the right person or entity to be bringing this particular claim before the court
Term
moot cases
Definition
outside the judicial power because there is no case or controversy
Term
political-question doctrine
Definition
provides that the judicial branch is not entitled to decide questions that more properly should be decided by the executive and legislative branches of the federal government
Term
act-of-state doctrine
Definition
provides that American courts should not determine the validity of public acts committed by a foreign sovereign within its own territory
Term
statute of limitations
Definition
there is a time period, established by the legislature, within which an action must be brought upon claims or rights to be enforced
Term
Equitable doctrine of laches
Definition
this doctrine can be used in some circumstances to deny a plaintiff an equitable remedy. One such context involves plaintiffs who unjustifiably procrastinate when it comes to serving the defendant with a summons.
Term
claim preclusion (res judicator)
Definition
provides that a final decision by competent court on a lawsuit's merits concludes the litigation of the parties and constitutes a bar to a new suit
Term
bar and merger
Definition
once a claim has been judicially decided, it is finally decided. The loser may not bring a new suit against the winner for the same claim in any court. The loser's remedy is to appeal the decision of the lower court to a higher court.
Term
sovereign Immunity
Definition
no sovereign can be sued without its express consent
Term
doctrine of governmental immunity
Definition
-"monarch can do no wrong"
-although most U.S. jurisdictions have retained the doctrine, England has repudiated it.
-when the act is within the scope of their authority and in the discharge of their official duties.
Term
Immunity increases the likelihood of what?
Definition
that governmental officials will act impartially and fearlessly in carrying out their public duties
Term
When are judges afforded absolute immunity?
Definition
when they exercise judicial powers, regardless of their motives or good faith
Term
When are police officers entitled to qualified immunity?
Definition
from suit because of the discretionary nature of police work and the difficulty of expecting officers to make instant determinations as to how the constitution should be interpreted.
Term
inter-spousal immunity
Definition
husbands and wives were immune from liability for negligence and intentional torts perpetrated against their spouses
Term
parental immunity
Definition
created to prohibit unemancipated minor children from suing their parents for negligence or intentional torts
Term
immunity through contract
Definition
-parties can create their own parties by agreeing to this
-is held invalid if the contract is against public policy or is a result of unfair negotiations
Term
Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
Definition
helped to improve and strengthen the administrative regulatory process in the federal system and served as a model for states as well
Term
Why did administrative agencies come into existence?
Definition
because legislative bodies recognized that they could not achieve desired economic and social goals within within the existing governmental structure
Term
enabling act
Definition
establishes an administrative agency
Term
administrative agencies regulate individual and business decision making by exercising legislatively delegated...
Definition
rule-making, investigative, and adjudicative powers
Term
substantive rules
Definition
used to establish and implement polices that assist an agency in accomplishing its statutorily established objectives
Term
interpretive rule
Definition
is used to explain an agency's interpretation of an ambiguous statute, or its understanding of the menacing of an important term that Congress has neglected to define.
Term
notice and comment procedures
Definition
informal rule making
Term
investigative power
Definition
- agencies cannot operate without accesss to facts for intelligent regulation and adjudication
-as regulation has expanded and intensified, the agencies' quest for facts has gained momentum
Term
judicial review
Definition
- minor aspect of administrative law because judges lack expertise in the very technical and specialized area that is subject to agency regulation
Term
an example is exhaust administrative remedies
Definition
parties must address their complaints to administrative tribunals and explore every possibility for obtaining relief through administrative channels
Term
deference
Definition
-courts will uphold administrative findings if they are satisfied that the agency has examined the issues, reached its decision within the appropriate standards, and followed the required procedures
Term
What happened to common law?
Definition
-most of the states converted them into statutes
-some states continue to recognize common law crimes without statutes, and both federal and state judges are sometimes influenced by the common law when interpreting the meaning of criminal statues
Term
mala in se
Definition
offenses that were intrinsically bad
Term
mala prohibita
Definition
acts that were criminal only because of the law
Term
felonies v. misdemenors
Definition
-felonies are crimes resulting in sentences that are served in state prisons
-misdemeanors are offenses result in in sentences that are served in county jails
Term
What are the basic components of criminal offenses
Definition
(1) the wrongful act
(2) the guilty mind
(3) the concurrence of act and intent
(4) in some crimes, causation
Term
prima facie case
Definition
prosecutors have to offer at least a minimum amount of evidence of guilt as to every fact that must be proven to obtain a conviction
Term
case-in-chief
Definition
the prosecutor pre tents its evidence of guilt
Term
actus reus
Definition
the wrongful act
Term
When can the duty to act be imposed
Definition
by statute, by contract, as a result of one's status, or because one has assumed a responsibility
Term
status crimes
Definition
ruling that legislatures cannot make the status of "being without visible means of support" or "being ill as a result of narcotic addiction" into a crime
Term
mens rea
Definition
criminal state of mind
Term
concurrence
Definition
required because some people who commit wrongful acts do not have a wrongful state of mind
Term
General-intent crimes
Definition
include serious offenses such as rape and arson and less serious offenses such as trespass and simple battery
Term
specific-intent crime
Definition
requires proof of the commission of an acts reus, plus a specified level of knowledge or an additional intent, such as the intent to commit a felony
Term
criminal negligence
Definition
results from unconscious risk creation
Term
inchoate crimes
Definition
-society recognizes the need to protect itself from those people who have taken preliminary steps towards a criminal act
- thus, the law acknowledges solicitation, attempt, and conspiracy
Term
solicitation
Definition
-a specific-intent crime committed by a person who asks, hires, or encourages another to commit a crime
-does not matter if the offer is accepted
-the acts reus
Term
attempt
Definition
committed by a person who has intent to commit a substantive criminal offense and does an act that tends to corroborate the intent, under circumstances that do not result in the completion of the substantive crime
Term
conspiracy
Definition
committed when 2 or more people combine to commit a criminal act
- the acts reus- is the agreement
Term
affirmative defenses (excuse defenses) and examples
Definition
-the defendant admits to having acted unlawfully, but argues that no criminal responsibility should be imposed, given the particular circumstances accompanying the act
-duress, insanity, involuntary intoxication
Term
When is a warrant issued?
Definition
when a court magistrate decides that (1)the evidence supports the belief that (2) probable cause exists to believe that (3) a crime has been committed and that (4)the suspect is the probable culprit
Term
custodial interrogation
Definition
people being interrogated while in police custody
Term
Miranda v. Arizona
Definition
people must be informed of their rights
Term
Terry v. Ohio
Definition
the Supreme Court ruled that it was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment for police officers to make brief seizures of individuals based on reasonable suspicion, and, in appropriate circumstances, to make limited searches of the individuals for weapons.
Term
appeal on criminal cases
Definition
- prosecution is prohibited by the 5th amendment to appeal
-statues may permit the prosecution to appeal when (1) pretrial court orders suppressing evidence, (2) a trial judge's refusal to enter judgment on the jury's guilty verdict and the entry instead of judgment for the defendant (JNOV) (3) where the sentencing judge abused his or her discretion and imposed and "inadequate" sentence, and (4) from a judgment of acquittal, for the sole purpose of clarifying the law
Term
personal property can be classified either as...
Definition
tangible or intangible
Term
tangible personal property
Definition
consists of physical objects that are neither realty nor fixtures, such as a book, a boat, or a piece of furniture
Term
intangible personal property
Definition
is personalty that has no physical form (bank account)
Term
fixture
Definition
a category of property between realty and personalty (a dishwasher)
Term
contingent property right
Definition
a property right when some future event must occur for the right to become fully effective
Term
vested
Definition
fully effective
Term
trademark
Definition
a company affixes this symbol to its many products in order to distinguish them from those of competitors
Term
Patents
Definition
-a grant of rights to an inventor from the government
-the inventor, or owner of rights, has the exclusive right to make, use, license others to use, and sell an invention for a period of years
Term
copyright
Definition
the exclusive legs right to reproduce, adapt, publish, sell perform, display, or distribute the matter and form of something such as a liternary,musical, or artistic work
Term
severalty ownership
Definition
exists when property is owned by one person
Term
concurrent ownership
Definition
when property is held simultaneously by more than one person
Term
joint tenancy
Definition
each joint tenant takes an equal, undivided interest in the ownership of property from the same source and at the same time (i.e. from the same conveyance of the property. such as a son and daughter jointly inheriting a house from their deceased parent)
Term
tenancy in common
Definition
similar to a joint tenancy; however there is no automatic passing of the deceased's rights to the surviving tenants.
Term
community property
Definition
-each spouse is legally entitled to a percentage of what the state defines as this
-Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin
Term
title
Definition
-refers to ownership rights to property
-when a student purchases a textbook from a bookstore, he or she is purchasing the seller's title to the book
Term
police power
Definition
refers to the authority of state legislatures to enact laws regulating and restraining private rights and occupations for the promotion of the public health, welfare, safety, and morals
Term
zoning
Definition
state legislatures originally authorized local governments to enact ________________ to promote public health and safety by separating housing districts from incompatible commercial and industrial uses
Term
eminent domain
Definition
the government can take private property for a public purpose over the objection of a landowner, pursuant to what is called the power of...
Term
nuisance
Definition
-exists when an owner's use of his or her property unreasonably infringes on other persons' use and enjoyment of their property rights.
-public, private, or both
Term
estate in land
Definition
-is the amount of interest a person has in land
-some can be inherited
Term
fee simple
Definition
-can pass his or her interest on to to heirs
-represents the maximum ownership right to land that is permissible by law
Term
leasehold
Definition
a person who leases real property has only a possessory interest in land...called...
Term
easement
Definition
a nonposessory property right in land; it is one person's right to use another person's land
Term
privity of estate
Definition
a close, direct relationship between a grantor and a grantee
Term
adverse possession
Definition
-requires that property owners to ensure that no one else uses the land without permission, and a person who fails to use or protect his or her land for many years may one day lose title to an adverse possessor
-easement by prescription
Term
purchase
Definition
-the most common means of obtaining or conveying ownership rights to personal property
-most involve an exchange of money for the ownership rights to goods
Term
creation
Definition
a person who manufactures products out of raw materials through physical or mental labor has title to the items
Term
capture
Definition
-a person who acquires previously unowned property has title to the items
-for example a person who catches a fish
Term
accession
Definition
-a person can take title to additions that occur to his or her property because of natural increases
-person who owns animals have right to offspring
Term
finding
Definition
a person has title that is good against everyone except the original owner
Term
confusion of goods
Definition
involves the blending or intermingling of fungible goods
Term
fungible goods
Definition
-goods of a similar character that may be exchanged or substituted for one another
-for example: wheat, corn, lima beans, or currency
Term
inheritance
Definition
a person can acquire property from a deceased person
Term
testator, testatrix
Definition
makes a bequest of property
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