Legal Lingo
This Latin term refers to the "guilty act."
What is Actus Reus?
This person represents the state in a criminal trial.
Who is the Prosecutor?
Public whippings and stocks were examples of these.
What are Early Punishments?
This must exist to prove a crime occurred — even without a body.
What is Corpus Delicti?
The formal process of resolving a criminal case in court.
What is Adjudication?
The mental state or "guilty mind" is needed to prove a crime.
What is Mens Rea?
The accused person in a criminal trial.
Who is the Defendant?
A punishment designed to teach the offender a lesson.
What is Deterrence?
Proving someone did something wrong physically.
What is Actus Reus?
The first thing a prosecutor does during a trial.
What is the Opening Statement?
This is when the act and the intent occur at the same time.
What is Concurrence?
The person who makes the final ruling in a bench trial.
Who is the Judge?
A sentence served in the community instead of jail.
What is Probation?
The difference between an accident and a crime often lies in this.
What is Mens Rea?
Who decides guilt in a jury trial?
What is the Jury?
This term means "body of the crime" — the proof that a crime actually happened.
What is Corpus Delicti?
The defense’s first chance to explain their side in court.
What is an Opening Statement?
The model that believes punishment should fit the crime, not the criminal.
What is Just Deserts?
These two legal elements must happen together for a conviction.
What are Actus Reus and Mens Rea (Concurrence)?
A defense lawyer’s goal in a trial.
What is to create reasonable doubt?
The philosophy that people deserve punishment in proportion to the crime.
What is Just Deserts?
A persuasive final summary in court.
What is a Closing Statement?
The process of deciding a penalty after conviction.
What is Sentencing?
You need this kind of evidence to move a case forward.
What is Proof beyond a reasonable doubt?
The burden of proof in a criminal trial rests with this side.
Who is the Prosecution?