Criminal Justice and Criminology Lecture Notes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering criminal vs. civil law, crime classification, elements of crime, legal defenses, constitutional amendments, policing, crime typologies, and criminological theories.

Criminal law

The branch of law that addresses crimes against society, people, and property, with the primary purpose of protecting people and property from harm.

Penal code

A written collection of criminal laws.

Substantive criminal law

The category of law that defines crimes and specifies their punishments.

Procedural criminal law

The body of law that establishes the procedures and rules for enforcing criminal law, illustrated in cases such as Miranda v. Arizona.

Civil law

Law governing disputes between individuals, businesses, and organizations, aiming to regulate interactions, resolve disputes, and provide compensation or legal remedies.

Liable

The status of being legally responsible for harm or a civil violation in civil court.

Tort law

A branch of civil law allowing people to seek compensation for harm caused by wrongful acts or omissions, such as injuries resulting from a car crash.

O. J. Simpson case

A legal case illustrating the overlap between criminal and civil proceedings.

Felony

A serious crime punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year, which may result in losing rights such as voting, firearm ownership, or public office eligibility.

Misdemeanor

An offense generally punishable by up to one year in a local jail or similar facility.

Infraction

A minor violation of law, often punishable by a fine and commonly handled as a ticketable offense, such as speeding or littering.

Actus reus

The guilty act required for a crime, which can constitute a voluntary act, a legally punishable omission, or prohibited possession.

Omission

The failure to perform a legally required action, such as a mandated reporter failing to report suspected abuse.

Mens rea

The guilty mind or culpable mental state examining the defendant's mental state when the act occurred.

Concurrence

The requirement that the criminal act ($actus\ reus$) and culpable mental state ($mens\ rea$) occur together.

Purposeful conduct

A level of mens rea characterized by acting with the specific intention of achieving a goal.

Knowing conduct

A level of mens rea involving acting while aware of the nature or likely outcome of the behavior.

Reckless conduct

A level of mens rea involving knowingly disregarding a substantial risk of harm.

Negligent conduct

A level of mens rea characterized by failing to recognize a risk that a reasonable person should recognize.

Strict liability

An offense that does not require proof of a culpable mental state, such as certain traffic offenses, statutory rape, and selling alcohol to a minor.

Alibi

A defense offering evidence that the defendant was somewhere else when the crime occurred.

Justification defense

A defense in which the defendant admits to committing the act but argues it was necessary or legally justified, asserting the act was warranted.

Self-defense

Using legally justified force to protect oneself from a threat.

Necessity

A defense claiming an act was needed to prevent a greater harm.

Castle doctrine

A rule that can remove the duty to retreat from one's home before using qualifying defensive force.

Stand-your-ground law

A law removing the duty to retreat in certain places before using legally justified force.

Procedural defense

An argument that a legal rule or required procedure was violated, including defenses such as entrapment or denial of a speedy trial.

Entrapment

A procedural defense claiming government agents improperly induced a person to commit a crime.

Excuse defense

A defense claiming that personal circumstances mean the defendant should not be held criminally or fully responsible.

Duress

An excuse defense claiming a crime was committed because of an unlawful threat or coercion.

Involuntary intoxication

Intoxication caused without a person's voluntary choice, which may provide a defense in some circumstances.

Insanity defense

A legal concept and defense based on a qualifying mental condition that negates criminal responsibility, examined through legal standards rather than mental illness alone.

Insanity defense plea rate

Plea entered by approximately $0.9\%$ of defendants, succeeding in about $25\%$ of those attempts.

Civil commitment

A possible outcome following a successful insanity defense where the person is committed for treatment until applicable legal and clinical release criteria are met.

First Amendment

Constitutional amendment protecting freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.

Fourth Amendment

Constitutional amendment protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Fifth Amendment

Constitutional amendment providing due process and protecting against self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

Sixth Amendment

Constitutional amendment guaranteeing rights including counsel, a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the right to confront witnesses.

Eighth Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment providing due process and equal protection, applying key protections to state governments.

Griswold v. Connecticut and Lawrence v. Texas

Legal cases associated with constitutional privacy rights in the lecture notes.

National Crime Information Center (NCIC)

An FBI-administered system that provides law enforcement agencies with criminal justice information.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

A federal law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing federal controlled-substance laws.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

A federal agency that investigates matters involving alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives, and related federal offenses.

U.S. Marshals Service

A federal agency responsible for judicial security, fugitive apprehension, witness protection, and prisoner services.

Secret Service

A Department of Homeland Security agency that protects national leaders and investigates certain financial crimes, including counterfeiting.

Peak gang-involvement age

Identified in the notes as occurring around age $14$.

Neglect

The most common form of child maltreatment identified in the notes.

Sexual coercion

Pressuring or forcing someone into sexual activity without freely given consent.

Personal economic crimes

Individual nonviolent crimes committed for financial gain, such as check forgery and tax cheating.

White-collar crime

Illegal or unethical conduct committed within business or professional settings for financial or organizational gain, including embezzlement, bribery, and price fixing.

Price fixing

An illegal agreement among competitors to set prices rather than compete.

Environmental crime

Illegal conduct that harms the environment, such as unlawful chemical dumping.

Syndicated or organized crime

Illegal activity conducted by a structured criminal organization, typically featuring a complex, hierarchical structure and activities such as gambling, loan-sharking, and narcotics.

Political crime

A crime committed against a government (such as treason or espionage) or a crime committed by government actors (such as war crimes or illegal wiretapping).

Consensual crimes

Offenses involving consenting participants, often referred to as victimless crimes and related to prohibited goods or services such as drug possession or prostitution.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Supreme Court decision holding that laws criminalizing private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults were unconstitutional.

Criminology

The scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of crime.

Choice theory

A criminological theory positing that individuals weigh perceived benefits, rewards, costs, and risks when deciding whether to commit a crime.

Crime control perspective

An approach to justice that emphasizes controlling crime through enforcement and sanctions.

General deterrence

A crime prevention strategy that punishes one offender to discourage others in the general public from committing similar crimes.

Specific deterrence

A crime prevention strategy that punishes an individual offender to discourage that specific person from reoffending.