Term | Definition |
Court | Judicial branch; proper legal authority; adjudication |
Adjudication | the process by which a court arrives at a decision regarding a case |
Civil Courts | resolve disputes between private parties |
Criminal Courts | try suspected offenders |
Dual Court System | separates federal and state courts |
Dual Federalism | only explicitly listed is federal and the rest is left to the states |
Cooperative Federalism | lines between federal and state courts are blurred |
Functions of the Court System | 1. Upholding the Law
2. Protecting Individuals
3. Resolving Disputes
4. Reinforcing Social Norms |
Code of Hammurabi | Earliest-known formal written legal code |
Common Law | All judges went by this law and knew about it |
Special Law | Laws of specific villages |
Precedent | A previous decision was incorporated into future cases; Stare decisis which means "to stand by things decided" |
Modern Legal Codes (United States Code) | federal laws, violations and rights that can lead to federal prosecution; states have their own codes |
Administrative Regulation (Code of Federal Regulations) | government agencies that have their authority by the executive and legislative branch; these agencies enforce administrative regulations; civil rather than criminal |
Constitution (Bill of Rights) | most significant source of law; place limits on government authority; (first ten amendments) |
Oversight | how police officers do their jobs; the use of deadly force |
Presumption of Innocence | Innocent until proven otherwise |
Rebuttable Presumption | Prosecutor has provided evidence to incriminate the individual |
Amendment I | Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition |
Amendment II | Right to bare arms |
Amendment III | Cannot quarter solders without consent of owner |
Amendment IV | Right against unreasonable searches and seizures |
Amendment V | Right to due process, right against self-incrimination, double jeopardy |
Amendment VI | Right to a speedy and public trial |
Amendment VII | Right to a trial by jury for a civil case |
Amendment VIII | Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments |
Amendment IX | Other rights for the people |
Amendment X | Power to the States |
Due Process (Substantive and Procedural) | Protecting people's life liberty and property interests; fairness |
Adversarial Justice System | Allowing two parties (defendant's and the government's) to go at each other in pursuit of the truth |
Adversarialism | The founding fathers allowing argument, debate, and openness as a defense against the government |
Crime | A violation of the criminal laws of any jurisdiction |
Felony | Serious offenses generally punishable by more than one year of incarceration |
Misdemeanor | Less serious than Felony and are generally punished with less than a year of incarceration |
Infractions | Less serious than Misdemeanors and punishable by fine; violations of state statutes or local ordinances |
Corpus Delicti | "the body of the crime" |
Actus Reus | "the criminal act" |
Mens Rea | "a guilty mind" |
Alibi | Somewhere else at the time of the crime |
Justification Defense | Admits to committing the act but claims that it was necessary in order to avoid some greater evil |
Excuse Defense | Admits to crime but was not in state of mind. Insanity, diminished capacity, age, duress, intoxication, and entrapment. |