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Chapter 4 Vocabulary
Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Criminal Law | One of two general types of law practiced in the United States (the other is civil law); "a formal means of social control [that uses] rules...interpreted [and enforced] by the courts...to set limits to the conduct of the citizens, to guide the officials. |
Penal Code | The criminal law of political jurisdiction. |
Tort | A violation of the civil law. |
Civil Law | One of two general types of law practiced in the United States (the other is criminal law); a means of resolving conflicts between individuals. It includes torts, the law of contracts and property, and subjects such as admin law and regulation pu. |
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 of similar cases in the future; a by-product of decisions made by trial and appellate court judges, who produce case law whenever the 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 too violations of the criminal law. |
Warrant | A written order from a court directing law enforcement officers to conduct a search or to arrest a person. |
Arrest | The seizure of a person or the taking of a person |
Mere Suspicion | The standard of proof with the least certainty; a "gut feeling." With mere suspicion, a law enforcement officer cannot 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 weapons. |
Probable Cause | The amount of proof necessary for a reasonably intelligent 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 proof needed to conduct search or to arrest. |
Preponderance of Evidence | Evidence that more likely than 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 necessary for a defendant to make a successful claim of insanity. |
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | The standard 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. |
Self-Incrimination | Being a witness against oneself. It 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 to be made available for examination by the court. |