Criminal Law Basics
The two basic elements generally required for a criminal offense are a criminal act and this.
What is criminal intent (mens rea)
The primary purpose of an arrest is to do this.
What is take a person into legal custody based on lawful authority?
This process generally occurs after arrest and records information about the person entering the criminal justice system.
What is booking?
These warnings are connected to questioning a person while that person is in police custody.
What are Miranda warnings?
This goal of punishment seeks to discourage people from committing crimes in the future.
What is deterrence?
A crime generally punishable by a more severe penalty than a misdemeanor.
What is a felony?
The Fourth Amendment primarily protects people from these.
What are unreasonable searches and seizures?
This allows a defendant to be released before trial while helping ensure that the defendant returns to court.
What is bail?
The prosecution must prove a defendant's guilt to this standard.
What is beyond a reasonable doubt?
This goal of punishment focuses on changing an offender's behavior and reducing future offending.
What is rehabilitation?
This crime involves taking property from another person through force or threat of force.
What is robbery?
Police generally need this, along with judicial authorization, to obtain a search warrant.
What is probable cause?
At this proceeding, a defendant is formally informed of the charges and typically enters a plea.
What is an arraignment?
This principle means the defendant is not considered guilty unless the prosecution proves guilt.
What is the presumption of innocence?
This is the conditional release of a prisoner before the full sentence has been completed.
What is parole?
A person lawfully possesses someone else's property but later converts it to personal use. What crime may have occurred?
What is embezzlement?
Police have facts and circumstances that lead them to reasonably believe evidence of a crime will be found. What legal standard does this describe?
What is probable cause?
A defendant and prosecutor agree to resolve a criminal case without a full trial, often in exchange for a plea.
What is a plea bargain?
The Sixth Amendment protects the right to a speedy and public trial and this.
What is assistance of counsel?
This type of facility commonly holds people awaiting trial or serving shorter sentences, while prisons generally hold people serving longer sentences.
What is a jail?
Unlike criminal law, this type of law generally resolves disputes between individuals or other parties.
What is civil law?
Evidence was obtained through an unlawful search. What rule may prevent prosecutors from using that evidence in court?
What is the exclusionary rule?
This group generally determines whether there is sufficient evidence to issue an indictment in appropriate cases.
What is a grand jury?
A defendant refuses to testify because doing so could require the defendant to provide evidence against himself or herself. What constitutional protection is involved?
What is the right against self-incrimination?
A 16-year-old is accused of committing an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult. What is this type of case generally called?
What is a juvenile delinquency case?