Legal Studies - Exam 1

Factual Guilt

whether a defendant has committed a crime

Legal Guilt

whether guilt has been established via procedure/trial

Civil Law

form of private law, governing relationships between individuals (i.e. property, contract, business dispute); intent usually not required, resolved by trial/settlement, preponderance of evidence, results in liability to pay damages

Criminal Law

form of public law, designed to prevent/enforce certain types of behaviors and punish offenders; defined by state legislatures and Congress; intent required, resolved by trial/plea bargain, beyond a reasonable doubt, results in "guilty sentence"

Double Jeopardy

prosecuting a defendant for the same crime in the same jurisdiction multiple times

Sources of Law

Constitutions, statutes, case law

Goals of Criminal Justice System

doing justice, controlling crime, preventing crime

"Doing Justice"

accountability, protection of rights; fairness, impartiality, and equality

Discretion

freedom of one to make decisions based on personal judgment rather than rules; judges, jury, officers, prosecution, parole boards

Jurisdiction

the territory within which power can be exercised

Dual court system

system consisting of separate judicial system; state and federal

Crime

actions that violate laws and invite punishment

Mala in se

wrong in themselves (i.e. rape, murder)

Male prohibita

wrong by the government, not necessarily in themselves (i.e. prostitution, gambling, drug use)

Nominal damages

trivial sum of money awarded to persons who legal right have been technically violated

Utilitarian/Consequentialist approach

looking at the numbers, data, "1 is better than 5" (trolley)

Categorical/Value approach

morality based on freedom/autonomy; Immanuel Kant

Categorical Imperative

moral obligation that is binding, not dependent on purpose

Legal System

operating set of interdependent institutions & actors, procedures, and laws/rules directed to justice; must always be considered within culture

Police

collection of agencies; keep the peace, apprehend violators/combat crime, prevent crime, and provide social service

Courts

responsible for adjudication; determining whether or not a defendant is guilty

Corrections

the department of local government that is responsible for managing the treatment of convicted offenders

Flow of Decision-Making

Police > Prosecution > Courts > Corrections

Model

conceptual representation of IRL phenomena. Made for when it is slightly understood but hard to see directly

Crime Control Model

assumes every effort must be made to repress crime. Emphasizes efficiency, capacity to catch > try > convict > punish offenders. Speed and finality; crime control > individual rights

Due Process Model

assumes freedom is top priority, decision-making must be based on reliable information. Stresses adversarial process, defendant rights, formal decision-making procedures

Presumption of Guilt

Packer; more "prediction of guilt" - pragmatic/practical, only spend time on cases that will end in conviction

Presumption of Innocence

Packer; assumes the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Burden of proof on prosecution - safeguards proper procedure

Ultima ratio

Criminal sanctions should be the last end resort

Deviance

abnormal behavior going against social norms/expectations (i.e. theft, murder, homelessness, standing too close to someone)

Cultural Foundations of Crime

deviance + crime are culturally determined (i.e. in Germany, insulting someone is a misdemeanor)

Substantive Criminal Law

defines actions the government can punish, and defines the punishments for them; Congress, state legislatures, city council (also called penal code)

Procedural Criminal Law

defines rules that govern how laws will be enforced; Supreme Court and state courts

Criminalization and Enforcement

reclassification and expansion of crimes and what are considered crimes (i.e. reclassifying e-bikes from being motorized vehicles)

Decriminalization

legislation that makes something legal that was formerly illegal

Distinguish

creation of new crimes and legislatures; interpreting existing crimes via judges

Michelle Carter

young woman texts boyfriend encouraging his suicide, ends up in her incarceration for manslaughter; blurs line of "free speech"

Overcriminalization

overuse/abuse of criminal law to address societal problems and punish mistakes

Types of Crimes

classification by severity/status

Felony

a serious crime with imprisonment 1 or more years

Misdemeanor

a crime less serious than a felony; imprisonment 1 or less year, probation, or intermediate sanctions

Status Offense

juvenile crimes (i.e. underage drinking, truancy, violating curfew)

Strict Liability

do not need to establish a guilty mind (i.e. statutory rape)

Infraction/Citation

quasi-criminal, violation of a rule/local ordinance (no jailtime) (i.e. littering, parking ticket)

Visible Crime

offense against person/property, committed primarily by members of lowest class ("street/ordinary crime")

Occupational Crime

crimes committed through opportunities in business or operation

Transnational Crime

profit-seeking crimes that involve planning/execution across borders

Victimless Crimes

offenses involving willing + private exchanges of illegal goods/services; victims do not feel harmed, based on society as a whole being injured (i.e. prostitution, drug use, gambling)

Political Crimes

acts done for ideological purposes; against the state or by the state (treason, sedition, espionage)

Cybercrime

offenses that involve one or more computers

Characteristics of Criminal Law

politicality, specificity, uniformity, penal sanction

Politicality

Ony rules made by state or federal govs. are crimes

Specificity

no crime, no punishment w/out specific law; law has to give "fair warning"; if not, "void" - people can only guess at its meaning

Uniformity

evenhanded justice; no bias to persons or social status (individualization, equity, uniformity)

Penal Sanction

law without punishment is powerlessness; not necessarily jail, could be rehab

Elements of Crime

Legality + Act + Concurrence + Mens rea > Causation -> Harm -> Punishment

Legality and Punishment

do not need to be proven by state

Burden of proof

duty of proving beyond a reasonable doubt; the prosecutor

Crime Rates

crimes aren't increasing; rather decreasing

Voluntarily v. Intent

If you can control it, it's voluntary | Intent - mens rea

Actus Reus

human conduct (speech, attempt, doing/being, failure to act)

mens rea

"guilty mind", blameworthiness, state of mind that accompanies a crime

Establishing mental state

"What would a reasonable person do?" (exception: strict liability crimes)

Concurrence

act must concur w/ mens rea (A pulls trigger to shoot B, who dies)

Causation

"But for" actor's conduct, harm wouldn't have happened

Necessary Condition

actual evidence that a party is at fault for causing harm to another (also called factual causation)

Sufficient Condition

defendant held criminally responsible for harm caused to another (also called legal causation)

"But-For" Standard

an action causes an injury if, but for the action, harm wouldn't have occurred

Inchoate crime

crime of preparing or seeking to commit another crime (i.e. conspiracy)

Defense

factor that justifies/excuses actor's responsibility (i.e. alibi)

Justification Defenses

self-defense, necessity

Excuse Defenses

duress/coercion, entrapment, mistake of fact, intoxication/drugged

Disparity and Discrimination

minorities are subjected to system at a higher rates than white majority (explanations: POC commit more crimes, racially biased system, system expresses society's racial bias)

Uniform Crime Reports

annual statistical summary of crimes reported to police, based on voluntary reports (also called UCR)

National Incident-Based Reporting System

system where police describe each offense in crime incident w/ data describing offender, victim property (also called NIBRS)

National Crime Victimization System

Bureau of Justice System; determines number and types of criminal victimizations and extent of (un)reported crimes (also called NCVS)

U.S. Mass Shootings

The U.S. has a high rate of shootings because of the high amount of guns, comprising 4.4% of the global population yet 42% of the gun population. (article)

Doing the Right Thing

a real version of the trolley problem - kill Afghani farmers, or risk being found by the Taliban? (article)

I Nearly Died of a Drug Overdose

"Drug-induced homicide laws"; attacking drug dealers and not the ones behind the operations (cartels, drug traffickers). Creates fear within drug users, and deters people from calling for help when OD's happen. (article)

McBoyle v. United States

Reversed sentencing due to rewriting definition of a law; aircraft is not considered motor vehicle (reading)

The Brain on Trial

Biological explanations cannot be ignored when discussing reasoning behind crime - does that excuse it? Is it fair to prosecute someone for it when it could happen to anybody? (article)

Justice for Trafficking Victims

focus on recovery and preventing trafficking; procedural justice, restorative justice, and transitional justice (article)

Restorative Justice

maintains that justice outcomes may not always serve interests of survivors, offenders, and communities

Procedural Justice

maintain that process where justice is achieved is more important than case outcomes

Transitional Justice

rooted in accountability and redress