Term | Definition |
criminal law | one of two general types of laws practiced in the United States (the other is civil law); "a formal means of social control [that uses]rules... unacceptable behavior." |
penal code | the criminal law of a political jurisdiction. |
tort | a violation of a civil law. |
civil law | one of two general types of laws practiced in the United States (the other is criminal law);a means of resolving conflicts between individuals. it includes personal injury claims (torts), such as administrative law and the regulation of public utilities. |
substantive law | the body of law that defines criminal offenses and their penalties. |
procedural law | the body of law that governs the ways substantive laws are administered; sometimes called adjective or remedial law. |
due process of law | the rights of people suspected of or charged with crimes. |
politicality | an ideal characteristic of criminal law, referring to its legitimate source. only violations of rules made by the state, the political jurisdiction that enacted the laws, are crimes. |
specificity | an ideal characteristic of criminal law, referring to its scope. although civil law may be general in scope, criminal law should provide strict definitions of specific acts. |
regularity | an ideal characteristic of criminal law, the applicability of the law to all persons, regardless of social status. |
uniformity | an ideal characteristic of criminal law: the enforcement of the laws against anyone who violates them, regardless of social status. |
penal sanction | an ideal characteristic of criminal law: the principle that violators will be punished or at least threatened with punishment by the state. |
precedent | a decision that forms a potential basis for deciding the outcomes for similar cases in the future; a by-product of decisions made by trial and appellate court judges, who produce case law whenever they render a decision in a particular case. |
stare decisis | the principle of using precedents to guide future decisions in court cases; Latin for "to stand by decided cases" |
searches | explorations or inspections, by law enforcement officers, of homes, premises, vehicles, or persons, for the purpose of discovering evidence of crimes or persons who are accused of crimes. |
seizures | the taking of persons or property into custody in response to violations of the criminal law. |
warrant | a written order from a court directing law enforcement officers to conduct a search or arrest a person. |
arrest | the seizure of a person or the taking of a person into custody, either actual physical custody, as when a suspect is handcuffed by a police officer, or constructive custody, as when a person peacefully submits to a police officer's control. |
mere suspicion | the standard of proof with the least certainty; a "gut feeling." with mere suspicion, a law enforcement officer can not legally even stop a suspect. |
reasonable suspicion | a standard of proof that is more than a gut feeling. it includes the ability to articulate reasons for the suspicion. with reasonable suspicion, a law enforcement officer is legally permitted to stop and frisk a suspect. |
frisking | conducting a search for weapons by patting the outside of a suspect's clothing, feeling for hard objects that might be a weapons. |
probable cause | the amount of proof necessary for a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been committed or that items connected with criminal activity can be found in a particular place. it is the standard of proof need to conduct a search or to make an arrest. |
preponderance of evidence | evidence that likely then not outweighs the opposing evidence, or sufficient evidence to overcome doubt or speculation. |
clear and convincing evidence | the standard of proof required in some civil cases and, in federal courts, the standard of proof needed for a defendant to make a successful claim for insanity. |
beyond a reasonable doubt | the amount of proof necessary to find a defendant guilty in a criminal trial. |
exclusionary rule | the rule that illegally seized evidence must be excluded from trials in federal courts. |
double jeopardy | the trying of a defendant a second time for the same offense when jeopardy attached in the first trial and a mistrial was not declared. |
self-incrimination | being a witness against oneself. if forced, it is a violation of the fifth amendment. |
confession | an admission by a person accused of a crime that he or she committed the offense charged. |
doctrine of fundamental fairness | the rule that makes confessions inadmissible in criminal trials if they were obtained by means of either psychological manipulation or "third degree" methods. |
venue | the place of the trial. it must be geographically appropriate. |
subpoena | a written order issued by a court that requires a person to appear at a certain time and place to give testimony. it can also require that documents and objects be made available for examination by the court. |