Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections: Key Concepts and Cases Flashcards | Quizlet

Commerce Clause Power

The constitutional authority granted to the federal government to pass criminal statutes, which is restricted to three limited categories of activity and requires that the activity substantially affect interstate commerce.

United States v. Lopez

A landmark decision in which the Supreme Court held that Congress exceeded its authority by attempting to regulate the possession of firearms within 1,000 feet of school grounds, as the activity did not sufficiently affect interstate commerce.

Wickard v. Filburn

A ruling in which the Supreme Court upheld the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, determining that a farmer's home consumption of wheat, when viewed cumulatively, would profoundly affect interstate commerce.

Ex Post Facto Laws

Retroactive laws that are constitutionally prohibited because they punish individuals without prior notice that their actions were illegal; violated if adopted after the act and increasing crime severity or punishment.

Bill of Attainder

A legislative act that inflicts punishment on a specific individual or an easily identifiable group without the benefit of a judicial trial, such as a law barring Communist party members from serving as union officers.

First Amendment Protections

The explicit constitutional provisions that safeguard the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press.

Strict Scrutiny

The highest level of judicial review applied to content-based regulations; requires rigorous examination, though regulations are not always unconstitutional if they conflict with a fundamental liberty.

Incitement

A category of unprotected speech intended to provoke immediate lawless action.

Fighting Words

A category of unprotected speech defined as derogatory words that inflict injury or disrupt the peace.

Hate Speech

Derogatory racial words that are restricted only insofar as they qualify as fighting words.

Defamation

A false statement of fact published to third parties that results in injury to a person's reputation.

Obscenity

Materials or speech that meet legal criteria for being offensive and lacking value, falling outside First Amendment protection.

Miller 3-Prong Test

The judicial standard utilized to determine whether speech or material qualifies as unprotected obscenity.

Content-Neutral Regulation

A regulation that restricts the form or location of speech rather than the message itself, such as a rule stating, 'No billboards on Route 202.'

Content-Based Regulation

A regulation that restricts speech based on the specific message or viewpoint expressed, such as a rule stating, 'No Republican candidate billboards on Route 202.'

Unconstitutional Per Se

A legal challenge to a law that, by its very nature, encroaches on a constitutionally protected liberty or exceeds the government's constitutional powers.

Unconstitutional As Applied

A legal challenge where a law is considered valid on its face but is enforced in a manner that impermissibly restricts or punishes the exercise of a constitutional right.

Overbreadth

A constitutional defect occurring when a law is drafted so broadly that it interferes with fundamental rights and risks punishing conduct that should be protected.

Vagueness

A constitutional challenge to a law that is so unclearly defined that a person of common intelligence cannot determine if their conduct is prohibited, such as a law banning a 'destructive device' without a specific definition.

Rule of Law

The foundational principle that an individual cannot be held guilty of a crime unless they have committed a specific offense against a law that provides a clear penalty.

Substantive Law

The branch of law that defines specific crimes and establishes the parameters for penalties, such as a statute making the possession of heroin a crime.

Procedural Law

The rules and processes that regulate the enforcement of substantive laws, including the determination of guilt and the administration of punishment.

Actus Reus

The wrongful act specifically prohibited by criminal law, including voluntary physical acts or omissions where a legal duty exists, excluding mere thought.

Mens Rea

The element of criminal intent required for the commission of most crimes.

Motive

The underlying reason or drive that leads an individual to commit a criminal act.

Strict Liability

A category of offenses that do not require mens rea or criminal intent to establish guilt, such as statutory rape and the sale of liquor to a minor.

Mala In Se

Crimes that are considered inherently wrong or evil by their very nature and have been condemned since ancient times, such as murder, rape, and robbery.

Mala Prohibita

Offenses that are not inherently evil but are considered wrong only because the law declares them to be prohibited.

3rd Degree Felony (Pennsylvania)

A crime classification under Pennsylvania legislative classifications carrying a maximum punishment of not more than 7 years.

1st Degree Misdemeanor (Pennsylvania)

A crime classification under Pennsylvania legislative classifications carrying a maximum punishment of not more than 5 years.

English Common Law

The 11th-century legal system that serves as the earliest source of criminal laws.

Stare Decisis

The common law doctrine that requires courts to adhere to established legal precedents from previous cases.

Judicial Review

The power of the judiciary to invalidate substantive or procedural laws that are found to be in conflict with the Constitution.

Circuit Courts

The thirteen federal appellate courts that occupy the intermediate level of the federal judiciary.

Court of Common Pleas

The trial court level within the Pennsylvania judicial system where criminal trials are conducted.

Double Jeopardy

A constitutional protection preventing an individual from being tried twice for the same criminal offense; civil suits for the same incident do not violate this.

Burden of Proof

The obligation of the prosecution to prove every element of a crime to secure a conviction.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

The specific evidentiary standard to which the prosecution must prove every element of a crime in a criminal proceeding.