Crime in America & Criminal Law
strict liability
The legal responsibility for damage or injury, even if you aren't negligent
Causing death through criminally negligent behavior
Negligent homicide
infancy
A court order to appear in court or turn over documents on a specified date and time
subpoena
A system of supervised freedom for persons convicted of a criminal offense.
Probation
The harmful overuse of chemicals such as drugs or alcohol
substance abuse
Killing that is done with malice but is not premediated
Second degree murder
A reasonable belief, known personally or through reliable sources, that a specific person has committed a crime
Probably cause
A grand jury's formal charge or accusation of criminal action
indictment
Factors that tend to increase the seriousness of an offense.
Factor is considered in death penalty cases
Aggravating circumstances
The unwritten agreement to submit to forms of interrogation or searches in exchange for certain privileges such as driving or flying
Implied consent
Taking property illegally through threats of harm (popular term is blackmail, I want the legal term)
Extortion
An act by law enforcement officials to persuade a person to commit a crime that the person would not otherwise have committed.
Entrapment
Part of the pretrial jury selection. Attorneys on opposing sides may dismiss a limited number of possible jurors without giving any reason
Peremptory challenge
A defendant cannot be prosecuted a second time for the same crime
Double Jeopardy
This act was passed after the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and JFK and added requirements to ownership and sale of firearms as well as added prohibitions on who could own a firearm
The Gun Control Act of 1968
Killing that would otherwise be seen as murder but that occurs after the victim has done something to the killer that would cause a reasonable person to lose control or act rashly
Voluntary manslaughter
Needed to obtain a search warrant
affidavit
A prosecuting attorney's formal accusation of the defendant, detailing the nature and circumstances of the charge
information
The screening process in which opposing lawyers question prospective jurors to ensure as favorable or as fair a jury as possible
Crimes that are committed before or in preparation for committing another crime
inchoate crimes
Uttering
Questioning by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his or her freedom of movement
Custodial interrogation
Personal recognizance
Release from legal custody based on a defendant's promise to show up for trial
Latin for "you have the body", a writ (court order) which directs the law enforcement officials who have custody of a prisoner to appear in court with the prisoner to help the judge determine whether the prisoner is being held unlawfully
Habeas Corpus