Midterm Study Guide

Thursday, October 15th, 2026

What is crime?

what the state/jurisdiction deems as immoral or illegal, definitions change based on the location of where you are at

What is criminal law?

conduct that a portion of society (jurisdiction) says you cannot do

sued by the state or government

What is civil law?

two entities or individuals suing the other, usually over money damages or a specific reief (ie divorce, child custody, etc)

What is tort law>

when you damage someone else (car accident), handled by personal injury lawyers

What is a felony?

more serious crime, punishable by more than one year in prison

What is a misdemenor?

punishment is less than a year in jail, community service, or up to a $1000 monitary fine

What Amendments are important for criminal law?

4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments

What is the 4th Amendment?

right of the people to be secure in their homes and protected from unreasonable search and seizure unless there is probable cause (ie: the right to privacy)

What is the 5th Amendment?

the right to remain silent

What is the 6th Amendment?

the right to a speedy public trail with an impartial jury of your peers

What is the 8th Amendment?

no cruel or unusual punishment, excessive bail or excessive fines imposed

What are the theories on why we punish?

deterrence, retribution, incapacitation, rehabiliation, and restoration

What is deterrence?

so the person does not commit the crime after seeing the punishment

so the person who committed the crime does not repeat te crime to avoid the

What is retribution?

“an eye for an eye”

What is incapacitation?

taking the person out of society so they cannot commit crime

What is rehabilitation?

reform the criminal for when they return to society

teach the criminal what not to do so they don’t return to prison

What is restoration?

replacement for what was lost, damaged, or stolen

restitution = cash

What is probation?

instead of prison

but mess up on probation and you go to prison

some crimes do not allow probation

What is parole?

occurs after pisone, often when a person is released early

but mess up on parole, you go back to prison

no guarantee you get parole

When is the death penalty available?

cases of homicide or treason

What are determinant sentences?

depending on the type of crime, there is a set amount of time you are serving and it cannot change

What are indeterminate sentences?

a range of time you might serve based on other life factors (age, criminal record, remorseful/understand the consequences, family life)

What is consecutive sentencing?

sentences served after the other

What is concurrent sentencing?

sentences served at the same time

What are the sentencing guidelines for domestic violence?

minimum 2 days in jail, maximum 6 months

maximum $1,000 fine

mandatory domestic violence counseling (you pay the cost)

What are the sentencing guidelines for first offense DUI?

minimum 2 days in jail, maximum 6 months

maximum $1,000 fine

lose your license for 45 days (or strict to/from work)

breath device in your car

mandatory alchol counseling (you pay the cost)

What is a plea bargain?

the condition tht the person pleads guilty or reveals how they committed the crime to lower the sentence or remove the death penalty

used in 99% of sentencing

What is a count plea bargain?

if the person commits multiple crimes, the count is lowered

What is a charge plea bargain?

the charge could be changed to a lower charge

What is a sentence plea bargain?

change how the sentence will be served (amount of time, if it will be consecutive or concurrent), often need approval of the judge

What is actus reus?

the (guilty) act

What are the types of criminal defenses?

• not guilty

• mens rea

• insanity

• corpus delicti

• technical

What are two types of mens rea criminal defenses?

• self defense: I did the crime, but it was justified to preserve myself or a loved one

• under duress: I did the crime, but was under pressure to commit the crime by someone else

What is the insantiy criminal defense?

I committed the crime, but did not know or understand right from wrong and should therefore not be helf criminally responsible

What is the corpus delicti criminal defense?

I did the act, but it was not a crime

What is the technical criminal defense?

I did the act, but because the government did not follow constitutional procedure the charges should be dropped

What are the ways people die?

• homocie

• suicide

• natural causes

• undetermined

What is first degree murder?

act of killing another human being with malice or forethought, premeditated, and willfully committed the act

most significant crime, punishable by death and life without parole

What is second degree murder?

killing of another human being with malice, without forethought, premeditation, or willingness

punishable by 20-40 years

What is voluntary manslaughter?

killing another human being during a heat of passion

punishable by 2-20 years

Wht is involuntary manslaughter?

killing another human being as a result of negligence/a negligent act

there is no intent to kill

What is recklessnes?

no intent to hurt someone but you know you are committing a crime; aware of the law but continute to act anyway

What is negligence?

no intent to hurt someone, but you have a responsibility to act appropriately and instead act lazy; aware of the law but forgot

What are strict liabilty offenses?

do not require criminal intent

What are examples of strict liability offenses?

• sexually assaulting a minor

• felony murder - during the commission of a violent felony if the victim dies during the course of the felony it becomes first degree murder

What is willful blindness?

pleading ignorance, “I didn’t know…”

What was the year and a day rule?

victim would have to die within a year and a day for the criminal to be charged with murder, they could only be charged with attempted murder

Who is a co-consperiter?

person who knows the plan of the crime, the only way to withdraw from the conspiracy is to tell all other co-conspirators

What is aiding and abetting?

legal concept where a person is held criminally liable for helping, encouraging, or facilitating another person in the commission of a crime

What is an accessory before the fact?

will be charged with the same crime you assisted with; it’s as if you committed the crime and are just as guilty even if you did not commit the crime

What is an acessory after the fact?

will not be charged with the crime you assisted with; but will be charged with assisting the crime

What is the mere presence rule?

the person is merely present at the crime but did not commit the crime and does not have mens rea of what the criminal did

What is pleading alfred?

acknowledge that when people plead to something they did not do because the ramifications are greater if they lose

(pleading to get 10 years, whereas they’d get 40 if they lost trial)

What is vicaarious liability?

person is responsible for those they supervise (parents, guardians, employer)

What is derivative liabiliy?

businesses are responsible for their employees actions

What are inchoate crimes?

describes a right, contract, or offense that is partial, pending or unfinished

include attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation

What is an attempted crime?

inolves a specific attempt to commit a crime, but you did not do it

some of the toughest crimes to prove because the act wasn’t finished and there is no evidence the crime was commited

What is attempt?

step toward the completion of a crime + specific intent or purpose to commit the crime attempted + a failure to complete a crime

What is conspiracy?

working with multiple people and requires an overt act and discussion of a criminal nature (any time two or more people commit a crime)

you are liable for all the acts of your co-conspirators

What is a chain conspiracy?

when the conspiracy is all linked together and have specific jobs within the plan

What is a wheel conspiracy?

involves a head planner who tells everyone their job but not everyone knows one another; difficult to abandon because you do not know everyone involved

What is solicitation?

soliciting another person to commit a crime for you; someone else committing the crime on your behalf

What is factual impossibility?

was not possible to carry ou the crime (did not have a gun)

What is legal impossibility?

legal defense, impossible to complete the crime (cannot kill a dead body)

What is reasonable justification?

would a reasonable person act the same way as in the scenario

What is justification?

it was the right thing to do

What is an excuse?

I wasn’t capable of doing the right thing, typically in insanity cases

What is the diminished capacity defense?

the person did not have the capacity (mens rea) to commit the crime

What is the intoxication defense?

voluntary intoxication is not a defense for a crime but can be a defense to your mens rea

involuntary intoxication is a defense

What is the defense of age?

childnre age 7 and younger cannot commit a crime

What is the cultural defense?

different cultures have different laws

What is the technical defense?

I did the crime, but the government did not appropriately investigate or found evidence illegallt

What is the prosecutor’s burden?

beyond a reasonable doubt