Make No Mistake
The want of ordinary care, or negligence that could have been avoided if one had exercised ordinary, reasonable, or proper care
What is ordinary negligence
A finding by a court that the defendant has sufficient present ability to consult with his/her lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and that the defendant has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceeding against him
What is "competent to stand trial"
The basic components of crime, and for a specific crime it the essential features of a crime, as specified by a law or statute
What is the elements of a crime
Something that is seen as wrong in and of itself
What is Mala in se
Unwritten, but generally known rules that govern serious violations fo the social code
What are Mores
The killing of a human being as a result of another person's operation of a motor vehicle in a reckless manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm
What is vehicular homicide
A test for insanity that evaluates defense claims that at the time the crime was committed, a mental disease or disorder prevented the defendant from controlling his or her behavior in keeping with the requirements of the law
What is the "irresistible impulse test"
A thoughtful conscious intention to perform a specific act in order to achieve a particular result
What is specific intent
Something that is wrong because there is a law or statute against it
What is Mala proibita
Possession in which one may or may not be aware of what he or she possesses
What is mere possession
Flagrant and reckless disregard for the safety of others or of willful indifference to the safety and well being of others
What is criminal negligence
A rule for determining insanity the holds that an accused is not criminally responsible if his or her unlawful act was the product of a mental disease or mental defect.
What is the Durham rule
An action taken with awareness
What is knowing behavior
The body of a crime
What is Corpus delicti
A legal term that refers to the intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or legal excuse. In cases of homicide, the term refers to "intention to kill"
What is Malice
An unintended killing caused during the commission of an unlawful act NOT amounting to a dangerous felony OR as the result of criminal negligence or recklessness
What is Involuntary Manslaughter
A rule for determining insanity that asks whether a defendant knew what he or she was doing or whether the defendant knew that what he or she was doing was wrong
What is the M'Naughten rule
A legal construction by which an unintended act that results from intended action undertaken in the commission of a crime may also be illegal
What is transferred intent
After the fact, something enacted retrospectively
What is ex post facto
The intentional infliction of injury on another that causes the removal of, seriously disfigures, or impairs the function of a member or organ of the body
What is mayhem
A legal term that is used to describe an act or course of behavior that , by its very nature, is likely to result in death or serious bodily harm to either the person involved in the behavior or to some one else
What is inherently dangerous
A test embodied in the MPC that holds that " a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law
What is the substantial capacity test
A conclusion drawn from other facts, often from a defendant's behavior
What is inference
Let the decision stand
What is stare decisis
An act or omission that may be part of a course of conduct planned to culminate in the commission of a crime but fails to meet the requirement of a substantial step, or preparatory actions taken toward completion of a crime that are remote from the actual commission of a crime
What is mere preparation