ccjs230 terms

'express' malice aforethought

killings that fit the original meaning of 'murder' - intentional killings planned in advance

'implied' malice aforethought

intentional killings without preplanning or malice aforethought

subjective fault

fault that requires a bad mind in the actor

objective fault

requires no purposeful or conscious bad mind in the actor

strict liability

liability with objective or subjective fault

general intent

the intent to commit a criminal act as defined in the statute

specific intent

criminal intent in addition to the criminal act

factual cause

if it weren't for the actor's conduct, the result would've never happened

legal cause

is it fair to blame the defendant for the harmful chain of events their act set in motion

intervening cause

an event that comes between the initial act and the ending result

superseding cause

an intervening act or force that the law considers sufficient to override the cause for which the original wrongdoer was responsible

failure of proof defense

mistake defenses in which defendants usually present enough evidence to raise a reasonable doubt that the prosecution has proved the mens rea required for criminal liability

embezzelment

the crime of lawfully gaining possession of someone else's property and later converting it to one's own use

abuse of trust crimes

crimes growing out of opportunities to get someone else's property that was entrusted to the perpetrators because of their occupation, now known as white- collar crimes

consolidated theft statutes

eliminate needlessly separating theft into distinct offenses according to their actus reus; comprises crimes of taking and carrying away, converting, or swindling to gain possession of someone else's property

white collar crimes

crimes growing out of opportunities to get someone else's property that was entrusted to the perpetrators because of their occupation