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What is the definition of criminal liability?
conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens
substantial harm to individual or public interests
Definition of ex-post facto law
a law passed after the occurence of the conduct constituting the crime
attendant circumstances element
a “circumstance” connected to an act, an intent, and/or
a result required to make an act criminal
mens rea
criminal intent
withdrawal exception
if initial aggressors completely withdraw from attacks they
provoke, they can defend themselves against an attack by their initial victims
Definition of Felonies
serious crimes that are generally punishable by one year or more in prison
Void-for-vagenuess doctrine
the principle that statutes violate due process if they don’t
clearly define crime and punishment in advance
concurrence
the requirement that actus reus must join with mens rea to produce criminal
conduct or that conduct must cause a harmful result
objective fault
requires no purposeful or conscious “bad mind” in the actor; it sets a
standard of what the “average person should have known”
defense of consent
the justification that competent adults voluntarily consented to
crimes against themselves and knew what they were consenting to
Definition of common-law crimes
crimes originating in the English common law
Mandatory minimum sentences
laws requiring judges to impose a non discretionary
minimum amount of prison time that all offenders have to serve
Good Samaritan” doctrine
doctrine that imposes a legal duty to render or summon aid
for imperiled strangers
proximate cause
the main cause of the result of criminal conduct; legal cause
battered woman’s syndrome (BWS)
mental disorder that develops in victims of
domestic violence as a result of serious, long-term abuse
Definition of MPC
the code developed by the American Law Institute to
guide reform in criminal law
sentencing scheme which fixes or determines
sentence length according to the seriousness of the crime
criminal omission
failure to report and failure to intervene
failure-of-proof defense
mistake defense where defendants present some evidence that the
mistake raises a reasonable doubt about the formation of a mental element required for criminal liability.
imperfect defense
when a defendant fails in the full defense but is found guilty of a
lesser offense
Definition of Admin Crimes
violations of state and federal rules made by administrative agencies
PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY
a principle of law stating that the punishment must be
proportional to the crime committed
mere possession
physical possession
specific intent
the attitude represented by subjective fault, where there’s a “bad” mind or
will that triggers the act; the intent to do something beyond the actus reus
imminence requirement
an element of self-defense requiring the danger to be
“right now!”