Substantive criminal law - laws that define crime, meaning laws that tell us what elements the government needs to prove in order to establish that this crime has been committed., Criminal procedure - the set of rules governing the series of proceedings through which the government enforces substantive criminal law., Civil law - the part of a country’s set of laws which is concerned with the private affairs of citizens., Tort - an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability., Public law - The part of the law that deals with the constitution and functions of the organs of central and local government, the relationship between individuals and the state, and relationships between individuals that are of direct concern to the state., Lex talionis - the law of retaliation, whereby a punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and degree., Stare decisis - the legal principle by which the decision or holding in an earlier case becomes the standard by which subsequent similar cases are judged., Common law - law that is derived from judicial decisions instead of from statutes, Mala in se - refers to acts that society considers inherently evil, such as murder and rape., Mala prohibitum - crimes created by legislative bodies that reflect prevailing moral beliefs and practice., Ex post facto laws - acts that retroactively change the legal status of actions that were committed before the enactment of a law and/or change the consequences after it was enacted., Felony - a more serious offense that carries a penalty of incarceration in a state prison, usually for one year or more., Misdemeanor - a minor crime usually punished by less than one year’s imprisonment in a local institution, such as county jail., Actus reus - action or conduct which is a constituent element of a crime, as opposed to the mental state of the accused., Mens rea - Guilty mind. The mental element of a crime or the intent to commit a criminal act., Strict liability crimes - illegal acts whose elements do not contain the need for intent, or mens rea; usually, an act that endangers the public welfare, such as legal dumping of toxic wastes., Excuse defenses - defenses in which a person states that his or her mental state was so impaired that he or she lacked the capacity to form sufficient intent to be held criminally responsible., Justification defense - a defense for a criminal act claiming that the criminal act was reasonable or necessary under the circumstances., Insanity - a legal defense that maintains a defendant was incapable of forming criminal intent because he or she suffers from a defect of reason or mental illness., Entrapment - a criminal defense that maintains the police originated the criminal idea or initiated the criminal action., Self-defense - a legal defense in which defendants claim that their behavior was legally justified by the necessity to protect their own life and property, or that of another victim, from potential harm., Obituary - helping people take their own lives., Stalking - the willful, malicious, and repeated following and harassing of another person., Bill of Rights - the first 10 amendments, Exclusionary rule - evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in a court of law.,

Chapter 3 Key Terms

by
Print
Embed

Leaderboard

Visual style

Options

Switch template

Continue editing: ?