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CCJ 420 Midterm
Study Guide
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is a Crime | An act committed in violation of a law prohibiting it or omitted in violation of a law ordering it |
| True or False? A criminal law has to be enacted before a crime is committed | True |
| Criminal Law | Defines the rights and obligations of individuals in society. |
| Criminal Procedure | Concerns the enforcement of individuals' rights during the criminal process |
| Civil Law | Regulates the private rights of individuals |
| Criminal Law | Regulates individuals' conduct to protect the public |
| Civil Litigation | A legal action between individuals to resolve a civil dispute |
| Criminal Prosecution | When the government prosecutes a defendant to punish illegal conduct |
| Malum in se Crimes | Crimes that are evil in nature |
| Malum Prohibitum Crimes | Regulatory crimes (Failure to pay taxes) |
| What are felonies and what are the punishment options? | Felonies are the highest graded offenses, with punishments including execution, prison time, fines, or alternative sentencing. |
| What are misdemeanors and what are the punishment options? | Misdemeanors are graded lower than felonies, with punishments including jail time, fines, or alternative sentencing. |
| How are felony-misdemeanors punished? | They are punished as either felonies or misdemeanors |
| What are infractions, and what are the punishment options? | Infractions, otherwise known as violations, are graded lower than misdemeanors and have less severe punishment options such as fines and alternative sentencing. |
| What is the difference between jail and prison? | Cities and counties operate jails while the state and federal government run prisons. Jails are meant for less serious offenses and generally less restrictive |
| What is specific deterrence? | Preventing crime by frightening an individual defendant with punishment. |
| What is general deterrence? | Preventing crime by frightening the public with the punishment of an individual defendant |
| What is incapacitation? | Preventing crime by removing a defendant from society |
| What is rehabilitation? | Preventing crime by altering a defendant's behavior |
| What is retribution? | Preventing crime by giving victims or society a feeling of avengement |
| What is restitution? | Preventing crime by punishing the defendant financially |
| What are the three sources of law? | Constitutional, statutory, and case law (Judicial review makes case law powerful) |
| What are the purposes of US and State Constitutions? | To regulate government actions |
| What is the purpose of statutory law? | To regulate individual or private action |
| What is the purpose of case law? | To supplement the law when there is no statute on point and also to interpret statutes and the Constitution |
| Judicial Review | The court's power to invalidate statutes as unconstitutional |
| True or False? You have a right to a court-appointed attorney in Civil cases. | False |
| Where do criminal laws come from? | Separation of powers by the Constitution, splitting the government into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. |
| What does the legislative branch do? | They make laws |
| What does the executive branch do? | They enforce the laws and have veto power if necessary |
| What does the judicial branch do? | They decided whether laws are constitutional and are responsible for judicial review. |
| What are the parties in a civil case? | Plaintiff and defendant |
| What are the parties in a criminal case? | The state and the defendant. Individuals cannot initiate criminal charges. |
| What are some of the rights a person can lose once convicted with a felony? | The right to own a gun, the right to vote, to join the military, deportation, or losing a job |
| What is administrative law? | The body of law that regulates the operation and procedures of government agencies |
| What are court rules? | The rules that determine how a court is supposed to work |
| The Model Penal Code | Not a law in and of itself, but rather a model for law in a perfect society. |
| What is the goal of criminal law? | To hold people accountable for violating social norms and to protect society. |
| True or False? Some conduct can result in a Civil and Criminal suit. | True |
| Article 1 Section 1 | Legislative powers go to the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress |
| Article 1 Section 8 | Congress has the power to do everything necessary and proper to keep the country running properly. (Includes the necessary and proper clause, the commerce clause, and other delegated powers.) |
| What is Federalism? | A system of government in which power is divided between one national government and several independent state governments. |
| What is the Commerce Clause? | Gives Congress the power to regulate commerce that crosses state lines and borders. |
| What is the Necessary and Proper Clause? | Gives Congress the power to regulate is necessary to carry out all powers listed in the Constitution |
| True or False? The State government is intended to be limited with the bulk of regulatory power residing in the Federal government. | False. Almost 90% of all criminal laws rely almost exclusively on the states |
| The Tenth Amendment | The power not delegated to the US by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or the people. |
| What conduct does Federal Criminal Law regulate? | Piracies, felonies on the high seas, counterfeiting, and treason. Federal criminal laws also address crimes that occur on federal property, involves federal employees, currency, rights secured by the constitution, or commerce that crosses state lines. |
| What is Police Power | A state's power to provide for the health, welfare, and safety of state citizens |
| What is Federal Supremacy? | When there is conflict between federal and state law, the Supremacy Clause states that courts are required to follow federal law. (ie. Texas trying to take immigration into their own hands) |
| Who are the heads of the Federal Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches? | Congress, the President, and the SCOTUS |
| Who are the heads of the State Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches? | The legislature, the Governor, and the highest-level state appellate court |
| Which branch of government operates prisons? | The executive branch |
| What is a Federal Hook? | The idea that for a law to be Constitutionally valid, it must have basis in the US Constitution (ie. Commerce clause with human trafficking, drug trafficking, etc.) |
| What are the exceptions to legislative, executive, and judicial branch roles? | The executive branch can veto laws, commute a sentence, or grant clemency. The legislative branch can override a veto by a 3/5ths majority. Some states can vote for laws (ie. Measure 11) |
| Federal Court Structure | US District Court, US Circuit Court, SCOTUS |
| State Court Structure | Small Claims Court, Circuit Court, State Court of Appeals, State Supreme Court |
| Burden of Proof | Preponderance of Evidence for Civil cases and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt for Criminal Cases. The state has the burden of proof. The defense does not have to prove anything |
| What is unanimity | There must be a unanimous jury for felony or acquittal cases |
| Direct Evidence | Evidence that directly proves a fact (ie. eyewitness testimony, confession, or physical evidence) |
| Circumstantial Evidence | Evidence that indirectly proves a fact (ie. fingerprints, DNA, etc) Convictions are frequently made from circumstantial evidence. |
| The First Amendment | The right to free speech, press, and assembly |
| The Second Amendment | The right to bear arms |
| The Fourth Amendment | Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures |
| The Fifth Amendment | The right to due process in a courtroom, and the right to remain silent |
| The Sixth Amendment | The right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. A defendant will be informed of the charges against them |
| The Eighth Amendment | Protections against cruel and unusual punishments |
| The Fourteenth Amendment | Protections against government discrimination. Laws from the Federal Constitution apply to the states as well |
| What is a Burden of Proof? | A party's obligation to prove a charge, allegation, or defense. (BaRD for Prosecution and Preponderance of Evidence for Defense) |
| What is a Burden of Production? | The duty to present evidence to a trier of fact (Generally Preponderance of evidence for prosecution to disprove defense) |
| What is a Burden of Persuasion? | The duty to persuade the trier of fact to a certain standard (BaRD or Preponderance of Evidence) |
| What is a rebuttable presumption? | A presumption that can be disproved |
| What is an irrebuttable presumption? | A presumption that cannot be disproved |
| What is an inference? | A conclusion the trier of fact may make if they choose to. |
| What is the Ex Post Facto Clause? | You cannot charge someone or make their punishment more harsh for something that wasn't a crime during their conviction/trial. |
| What is Strict Scrutiny? | Strict scrutiny is used when a law goes against somebody's fundamental constitutional rights (ie. Freedom of speech, 2A, etc.) |
| What are the guidelines for strict scrutiny? | A law that arbitrarily violates a person's fundamental constitutional rights is presumptively invalid unless the gov shows it has compelling state interest that uses the least restrictive means possible in drafting the law. |
| What can nullify a law? | If a law is overbroad or void for vagueness. A law must be applied narrowly and clearly defined |
| What is the standard for a class of people who are not arbitrary such as felons, mentally ill individuals, or undocumented immigrants | The rational basis of law |
| What are Fighting Words? | These are words meant to incite imminent violence, which is not protected by the First Amendment |
| Speech not protected by First Amendment | Obscenity, nude dancing, fighting words, hate speech, and incitement to riot |
| The Right to Privacy | Not inherently in the Constitution but, there is an assumption of a right to privacy from the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 9th, and 14th amendments |
| Penumbra | An amalgamation of several ideas (ie. No real Right to Privacy, but because of the combination of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 9th, and 14th amendments, there is an implied right to privacy) |
| Can a trial be tried in both Federal and State courts? | Yes. The state and federal courts are two different sovereigns. |
| What did Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) decide? | Overturned Roe v. Wade. Left the matter of abortion up to the states. |
| What was the Bruen decision (2022)? | Judges must consider the historical implications of firearms as it was written when the Constitution was passed. |
| Measure 114 | Limits gun rights in Oregon |
| How can life sentences be reduced? | Being released on good behavior, commutation by the President/Governor, and early release for the ill and elderly |
| What does the Constitution do? | It protects individuals from certain statutes and governmental procedures |
| What does it mean when a statute is unconstitutional on its face? | The wording of the statue is unconstitutional |
| What does it mean when a statute is unconstitutional as applied? | The application of the statute is unconstitutional |
| What is a Bill of Attainder? | When the legislative branch punishes a defendant without a trial |
| What is substantive due process? | Due process that protects defendants from unreasonable gov. intrusion on their substantive constitutional rights |
| What is procedural due process? | Due process that gives defendants notice of their prosecution and a chance to speak before punishment |
| What are the elements of a crime? | Mens rea, Actus reus, concurrence |
| Are involuntary acts a crime? | No. If somebody seizes while driving and they typically don't get seizures, it is not a voluntary act. |
| Can a person be punished for thoughts? | No. |
| What is an Omission to Act? | People can be punished for failing to act in certain situations. For instance, failing to pay taxes or take care of a child. |
| Actual Possession | When a person is in immediate possession of an object, or very near to it |
| Constructive Possession | The item is within the defendant's control, such as in the house or in the vehicle with them. |
| True or False? A person can be arrested for unknowingly possessing. | False. |
| What is Willful Blindness? | This is when a person has reason to suspect something illegal is in their possession, but they deliberately avoided learning the truth |
| What is the federal definition of criminal possession? | When a defendant is aware of and in immediate control of an illicit object, and has the intent to control it. |
| What are the three common law intents? | Malice aforethought, specific intent, and general intent |
| Malice Aforethought | The common law intent used to describe those that commit criminal homicide |
| Specific Intent | When people commit a crime with the intent to carry out a specific result |
| General Intent | The intent to commit a criminal act |
| What is Motive? | The reason a person commits a crime |
| What are the criminal states of mind? | Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently |
| Purposely | When someone intends to engage in conduct of criminal nature and intends to cause a specific result |
| Knowingly | When someone is aware of the nature of the criminal act and its probable consequences |
| Recklessly | When somebody consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the bad result or harm will occur |
| Negligently | When someone are consciously unaware of the substantial and unjustifiable risk that a certain result would occur |
| What is Strict Liability? | The exception to the mens rea requirement. This includes offenses such as speeding, statutory rape, selling alcohol to minors, etc. |
| Transferred Intent | This is when the criminal intent that was intended for one person accidentally gets taken out on another person. The defendant is still guilty in this situation. |
| Vicarious Liability | When criminal liability is transferred from one person to another by special relationship |
| What is Factual Cause? | The defendant starts the chain of events that leads to the harm |
| What is Legal Cause? | The defendant is held responsible because the harm is an eventual result of their action. |
| What are Diversity of Citizenship cases? | The only civil cases that can be charged in federal courts. This is when a civil suit occurs between people from two different states, or the value of suit exceeds $75k |
Created by:
ayako.harper
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