Criminal Law Test Review - Chapters 1 to 4

Vocabulary flashcards covering core criminal law concepts, legal doctrines, causation elements, mens rea mental states, and case law referenced in the test review.

Actus reus

One of the two primary components of criminal law, referring to the physical act or conduct required for a crime.

Mens rea

One of the two primary components of criminal law, referring to criminal intent or the mental state required for a crime.

Burden of proof

The legal obligation on the prosecution to prove a case, requiring the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Retribution

One of the two broad categories defining why society punishes criminal offenders.

Prevention

One of the two broad categories of punishment, which includes four underlying subparts.

Mala in se

A classification of crime denoting acts that are inherently wrong or evil in themselves.

Mala prohibitum

A classification of crime denoting acts that are prohibited by statute rather than inherently evil.

Stare decisis

A foundational doctrine in the lexicon of appellate law that essentially means adhering to established legal precedent.

Capital punishment

Another legal term used for the death penalty.

Void for vagueness doctrine

A constitutional doctrine requiring statutes to define offenses clearly, referenced in relation to the Metzger indecent exposure case.

Rational basis test

The lowest equal protection standard of review used by courts to determine if the state has a valid reason to treat groups differently, such as restricting alcohol use by juveniles.

Heightened scrutiny

An intermediate equal protection standard of judicial review commonly applied to gender-related issues.

Strict scrutiny

The highest standard of equal protection review applied when laws involve racial classifications or fundamental rights; laws evaluated under it almost always fail.

Griswold v. Connecticut

The landmark Supreme Court case concerning a contraception ban for married couples that launched the line of cases establishing an implicit right to privacy.

Legal duty to act

An obligation to take action where failure to do so carries legal criminal liability, arising from three sources: special relationship, contract, or statute.

Powell v. Texas

A United States Supreme Court case included in the course reading that deals with the offense of being drunk in public.

Strict liability

A legal rule where a defendant can be convicted without proof of mens rea (criminal intent), as seen in minor offenses and statutory rape.

But for cause

Also known as factual cause; the first prong of causation establishing that the harm would not have occurred without the defendant's act.

Foreseeability

A primary term in legal causation evaluating whether a result or intervening event could reasonably be anticipated.

Intervening cause

An independent event or act that occurs between a defendant's conduct and the final result, such as a truck running over a victim in the road.

Four levels of culpability

The core mental states of mens rea established by the Model Penal Code: purpose, knowledge, recklessness, and negligence.

Ex post facto

A constitutionally prohibited law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed before the enactment of the law.

Legal fiction

A concept created by legal scholars and courts to categorize a passive condition like possession as an action within the scope of actus reus.