Vocab Criminal Law PowerPoint Notes Vocab 1 First Degree Murder Killing a person after premeditation and deliberation 2 Premeditation Considering the criminal act beforehand which suggests that it was motivated by more than a simple desire to engage in an act of violence 3 Deliberation Planning a criminal act after careful though rather than carrying it out on impulse 4 Second Degree Murder A person s wanton disregard for the victim s life and his or her desire to inflict serious bodily harm on the victim which results in the victims death 5 Substantive Criminal Law A body of specific rules that declare what conduct is criminal and that prescribe the punishment to be imposed for such conduct 6 Criminal Procedure The rules and laws that define the operation of criminal proceedings Procedural law describes the methods that must be followed in obtaining warrants investigating offenses effecting lawful arrests conducting trials introducing evidence sentencing convicted offenders and reviewing cases by appellate courts 7 Civil Law All law that is not criminal including the law of torts personal wrongs and contract property maritime and commercial law 8 Tort A personal injury or wrong for which an action for damages may be brought 9 Public Law The branch of law that deals with the state or government and its relationships with individuals or other governments 10 Lex talionis Latin for law as retaliation From Hammurabi s ancient legal code the belief that the purpose of the law is to provide retaliation for an offended party and that the punishment should fit the crime 11 Wergild Refers to what the person and therefore the crime was worth 12 Stare Decisis Latin for to stand by decided cases The legal principle by which the decision or holding in an earlier case becomes the standard by which subsequent similar cases are judged 13 Common Law Early English Law developed by judges that incorporated Anglo Saxon tribal custom feudal rules and practices and the everyday rules of behavior of local villages Common law became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of criminal law in the United States 14 Mala in se Refers to acts that society considers inherently evil such as murder and rape and that violate the basic principles of Judeo Christian morality 15 Mala Prohibitum Crimes created by legislative bodies that reflect prevailing moral beliefs and practices 16 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 17 Actus Reus An illegal act The actus reus can be an affirmative act such as taking money or shooting someone or a failure to act such as failing to take proper precautions while driving a car 18 Mens rea Guilty mind The mental element of a crime or the intent to commit a criminal act 19 Strict Liability Crime Illegal act whose elements do not contain the need for intent or mens rea usually an act that endangers the public welfare such as illegal dumping of toxic wastes 20 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 21 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 22 Entrapment A criminal defense that maintains the police originated the criminal idea or initiated the criminal action 23 Obitiatry Helping people take their own lives 24 Stalking The willful malicious and repeated following and harassing of another person 25 Bill of Rights The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution that spell out specific freedoms granted to citizens and limit the power of the Federal government to conduct criminal prosecutions 26 Exclusionary Rule Evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in a court of law Society needs laws to uphold fairness and prevent victimization of innocents PURPOSE OF LAW this definition is for all types of Law NATURE OF LAW Statutory law what the legislators say is unacceptable the law of the land Case law the exception to the laws Ex One can t smoke weed UNLESS reasons x y z Common Law law originating from usage and custom rather than from written statutes Common law originates from early English Law Ex If someone is not married under statutory law but share everything like one would if they were married for at least 7 years they re considered married under common law Historical Development Common Law 1 The Babylonian code of Hammurabi the proportionate eye for an eye tooth for a tooth Ex If he break another man s bone his bone shall be broken 2 The Ten Commandments 3 Wergild a form of monetary compensation developed after the Dark Ages a Compurgation Oath helpers when an offender made an oath to do something to compensate the victim oath helpers made sure they held their end of the deal b Ordeal a task or serious of task an offender would go through to prove his her innocence Ex If you re truly innocent put your hand on this hot iron and it won t hurt Common Law and Stare Decisis Common law was developed in Early English law Judges adapted Anglo Saxon tribal customs and Feudal Laws into standardized codes Stare Decisis is Latin for to stand by decided cases It is a legal principle that requires judges to base decisions on previously made judicial rulings similar to the case at hand Types of Law 4 types 1 Substantive Criminal Law 2 Civil Law 3 Statutory Law 4 Public or Administrative law overlap exists between these branches of law Substantive Criminal Law aka Penal Law Punishments for offenses for wrongs committed against the state or society Public order being violated state against society Believes the offender intended the harm to the whole of society Composed of both statutory and case law Civil Law Governs the relationship between parties contains rules for contracts divorces child support custody etc Ex Suing someone is under civil law Criminal Law vs Civil Law Similarities 1 Formal judicial proceedings 2 Allegations of wrong doing Differences 1 A Criminal Law proceeding involves the state versus an individual 2 A Civil Law proceeding involves an individual versus an individual 3 The level of proof in a criminal law proceeding is lower than the level of proof in a civil law proceeding Statutory Law Two types
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