Chapter 7 - Intro to Law

Inchoate Crimes

Offenses based on criminal acts that have been initiated or planned but not yet fully completed.

Solicitation

The act of asking, hiring, or encouraging another person to commit a crime, regardless of whether the act is carried out.

Conspiracy

An agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime, along with an overt act taken in furtherance of that criminal goal.

Attempt

An act performed with the intent to commit a crime that constitutes a substantial step toward its commission, but fails to complete the offense.

Doctrine of Complicity

A legal doctrine establishing that anyone who joins or participates in a crime is as guilty as if they committed the crime alone.

Prima Facie Case

The legal threshold requiring the state to present the minimum amount of evidence necessary to prove every element of an offense and sustain a conviction.

Reasonable Doubt Defense

A defense strategy focused on casting doubt on any core aspect of the prosecution's evidence or case.

Alibi

A defense asserting that the defendant was at a different physical location during the commission of the crime, making participation impossible.

Self-Defense

The legal right to use proportional force to protect oneself from an imminent threat of harm.

Defense of Others

The right to use proportional force to protect a third party who is unable to defend themselves.

Defense of Property

The limited right to use non-deadly force to protect personal or real property from unlawful interference.

Necessity (Choice-of-Evils)

An affirmative defense asserting that committing an illegal act was justified to prevent a greater imminent harm.

Duress

A defense claiming the defendant was coerced into committing a criminal act under threat of immediate physical harm or death.

Mistake of Fact

An honest, reasonable misunderstanding regarding a factual circumstance that negates the required mental state (mens rea) for a crime.

Entrapment

An affirmative defense alleging that law enforcement induced an individual to commit a crime they were not otherwise predisposed to commit.

Involuntary Intoxication

A defense claiming the defendant unknowingly or forcibly consumed an intoxicating substance, negating their ability to form mens rea.

Syndromes Defense

Arguments (e.g., PTSD or Battered Person Syndrome) positing that extreme traumatic conditions impaired the capacity to form criminal intent.

Insanity

A legal defense alleging that a mental disease or defect prevented the accused from forming the requisite mens rea or understanding the wrongfulness of their act.

Infancy

The legal presumption that young children lack the cognitive capacity to form criminal intent, which becomes rebuttable as they grow older.

Due Process

Constitutional protections ensuring that legal and judicial proceedings remain fair, equitable, and unbiased before depriving an individual of liberty.

Adversarial System

A judicial structure in which opposing sides (prosecution and defense) present evidence before an impartial judge or jury.

Arrest

The physical taking into custody of a person believed to have committed a crime, governed by Fourth Amendment protections.

Probable Cause

Facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonably intelligent person to believe an offense occurred and that the suspect committed it.

Custodial Interrogation

Questioning by law enforcement while a suspect is in custody, triggering Fifth Amendment self-incrimination protections.

Miranda Warnings

Constitutional warnings given before custodial interrogation advising suspects of their right to remain silent and right to legal counsel (Miranda v. Arizona).