Criminal Law
Crimes can be broadly divided into two categories with different degrees of severity. What are these two categories?
Misdemeanors and Felonies
An act of killing that is premeditated, deliberate, and done with malice fits what category of homicide?
First-degree murder
When might police conduct a search without a warrant?
Probable cause
What happens when a jury cannot come to an agreement on a case?
Hung jury results in a mistrial, process starts over.
Mark David Chapman stalked and killed which member of The Beatles?
John Lennon
What are the two parties in a civil case? What are the two parties in a criminal case?
Civil-Plaintiff v. defendant
Criminal-Prosecutor v. defendant
What is embezzlement?
Using money for personal use that has been entrusted to you for another reason.
Most criminal cases do not go to trial, but are rather settled through which process?
Plea Bargaining
What is parole and how does it work?
Release of a convicted individual before their sentence is complete.
Who is the famous aviator whose son was kidnapped and murdered in the 1930s?
Charles Lindbergh
What is the burden of proof in a criminal case?
Beyond a reasonable doubt.
Arson is often paired with what other crime?
Insurance fraud.
Describe what happens during the booking process.
Accused individual provides personal information, is fingerprinted and photographed, may be asked for a DNA sample, urine test, or handwriting sample.
Name three options available to a judge during the sentencing phase.
Fines/restitution, home confinement, suspended sentence, work release, imprisonment, death penalty
Give two reasons why you think Scott Peterson was innocent or two reasons why you think Scott Peterson was guilty.
Various.
Give an example of each of the following terms: principal, accomplice, accessory before the fact, accessory after the fact.
Various.
With most property crimes, what determines if the crime will be a felony or a misdemeanor?
The value of the stolen item.
What are bond companies?
What are the four purposes of punishment?
Retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation
Michelle Carter was obsessed with what TV star?
Lea Michele from Glee
What are the three inchoate crimes?
Solicitation, Attempt, Conspiracy
What is the key difference between second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter?
Voluntary manslaughter has the element in which a "reasonable person" might lose their temper in that situation.
What is the exclusionary rule?
Any evidence obtained from an illegal search may not be used against a defendant in court.
The Fifth Amendment protects an individual from self-incrimination, but also protects against double jeopardy. What is double jeopardy?
Being tried twice for the same crime.
What does the O.J. stand for in O.J. Simpson?
Orenthal James