Administrative and Criminal Law Overview

Administrative Law

• Body of law regulating government agency activities and procedures.

Case Law

• The law established through court decisions; also known as legal precedent.

Commentaries on the Laws of England

• Treatise on English common law influential on early US law, authored by Sir William Blackstone.

Common Law

• Legal system originating in England, relying on judicial precedents; in the US, it involves a historical succession of judicial decisions articulating legal principles.

Criminal Law

• Body of law defining crimes and punishments.

Cybercrime

• Crimes committed via internet or computer networks.

Damages

• Monetary compensation paid by defendants to plaintiffs in civil cases.

Embezzlement

• Theft of employer's property by an employee.

Felony

• Serious crime, usually punishable by at least one year imprisonment.

Hate Crime

• Crime motivated by racial or other prejudice, often violent.

Misdemeanor

• Offense punishable by one year or less imprisonment (usually in county jail).

Ordinary Crime (Street Crime)

• Highly visible public crimes.

Organized Crime

• Group with formalized structure aiming for money through illegal activities.

Phishing

• Obtaining sensitive information from online accounts via fraudulent impersonation; often involves posing as a legitimate business or organization.

Precedent

• Court decision in an earlier similar case used to guide new cases.

Procedural Criminal Law

• Law controlling how criminal justice system handles individuals.

Reporter

• Series of books containing written court opinions.

Sir William Blackstone

• English legal scholar; author of Commentaries on the Laws of England. Influence on US criminal law.
• Wrote the Commentaries on the Laws of England, influential on US criminal law development.

Stare Decisis

• Legal principle to abide by previous court decisions; Latin for "to stand by things decided."

Street Crime

• Crimes in public places.

Substantive Criminal Law

• Part of criminal law detailing prohibited acts and punishments.

Tort

• Civil, non-criminal wrong.

Visible Crime (Street Crime)

• Offenses committed publicly.

Arson

• Common law definition: malicious burning of another's dwelling.

Assault

• Common law definition: intentional act creating apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact.

Battery

• Crime of unwanted physical contact, often causing harm.

Burglary

• Entering or remaining unlawfully in a structure with intent to commit a crime.

Carnal Knowledge

• Act of a man having sex with a woman.

Commercial Burglary

• Entering a non-residential structure to commit theft or felony.

Common Law Arson

• Definition of arson in common law.

Delinquent

• Juvenile committing an act which would be a crime if committed by an adult.

Dependent and Neglected Children

• Children requiring care and supervision in court.

Depraved Heart Murder

• Killing due to gross negligence; callous disregard for human life.

Dwelling House

• Structure where people live.

Felony Murder Rule

• Doctrine where felony-related death results in murder conviction, regardless of intent to kill.

Grievous Bodily Harm

• Deliberate serious bodily injury inflicted on one person by another.

Lesser-Included Offense

• Crime included in the legal definition of a more serious offense.

Marital Rape

• Rape committed by a married partner.

Murder

• Common law definition: killing another human being with malice aforethought.

Rape

• Common law definition: forced sexual intercourse without consent.

Rape Shield Laws

• Laws protecting rape victims from questioning about past sexual history in court.

Rebuttable Presumption

• Fact assumed true unless proven otherwise.

Residential Burglary

• Unlawful entry into a dwelling with intent to commit a crime.

Robbery

• Common law definition: taking another's property by force or fear.

Sexual Battery

• Unwanted sexual contact for sexual gratification.

Status Offender

• Juvenile committing acts prohibited due to age, but not a crime for adults.

Status Offense

• Prohibited juvenile act not a crime committed by an adult.

Truancy

• Absence from school without valid excuse.

Coercion

• Illegally using force or threats for compliance.

Deadly Force

• Force likely to cause serious bodily injury or death.

Duress

• Legal defense for actions taken under threat.

Entrapment

• Criminal defense claiming police encouraged the crime.

Excuse

• Criminal defense admitting act but denying blame due to extenuating circumstances.

Imminent Danger

• Potential harm likely to occur immediately.

Insanity Defense

• Criminal defense for crimes committed due to mental illness.

Involuntary Intoxication

• Criminal defense where intoxication was not voluntary.

Irresistible Impulse Test

• Insanity defense test assessing control; established in Parsons v. State (1887).

Justification

• Criminal defense arguing for the rightness of an act under specific circumstances.

Lesser of Two Evils Defense (Necessity Defense)

• Defense for a small harm needed to prevent a greater harm.

M'Naghten Rule

• Legal test for insanity, focusing on defendant's inability to distinguish right from wrong; originated in 1843 English court case.

Mistake Defense

• Mistake regarding facts surrounding the event can be a defense. Mistake of law is not.

Mistake of Fact

• Mistaken belief about the facts surrounding an event.

Mistake of Law

• Mistake of law is not a valid defense

Necessity Defense

• Defense for a small harm to prevent a greater harm.

Non-Deadly Force

• Force not likely to cause death or serious bodily injury.

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

• Plea for insanity defense.

Parsons v. State (1887)

• Alabama Supreme Court case establishing Irresistible Impulse Test.

Self-Defense

• Criminal defense allowing force for protection.

Solicitation

• Crime of inducing another to commit a crime.

Substantial Capacity Test

• Model Penal Code insanity test.

Voluntary Intoxication

• Knowingly and willingly entering into a state of intoxication.

Bill of Attainder

• Unconstitutional legislative act declaring a person guilty of a crime.

Clear and Present Danger Test

• Supreme Court test for curtailing First Amendment rights.

Compelling State Interest

• Supreme Court test balancing state interests and individual rights.

Concealed Carry Law

• Statutory provisions allowing licensed individuals to carry firearms hidden.

Criminal Procedure

• Body of law governing criminal case processing.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

• Inhumane or degrading punishments prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

Eighth Amendment

• Prohibits excessive bail, fines, and cruel/unusual punishments.

Ex Post Facto Law

• Unconstitutional law criminalizing an act after it has occurred.

Fair Notice

• Due process requirement that government clearly defines criminal acts.

Fighting Words

• Unprotected speech calculated to incite violence.

First Amendment

• Protects freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition; freedom of expression, freedom of assembly.

Freedom of Assembly

• First Amendment right to peaceful assembly.

Freedom of Expression

• First Amendment right to express opinions and ideas.

Freedom of Religion

• First Amendment right to practice any religion or no religion.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

• Supreme Court decision striking down sodomy laws.

Right to Privacy

• Implied right recognized by Supreme Court, not explicitly in the Constitution.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion based on privacy rights.

Schenck v. United Sates (1919)

• Supreme Court case defining clear and present danger test.

Second Amendment

• Protects the right to bear arms for militia.

Void for Vagueness

• Doctrine striking down unclear laws.

Actual Possession

• Physical control.

Actus Reus

• Prohibited act or omission.

Causation

• Criminal act causing the intended harm.

Concurrence

• Criminal act related to criminal intent.

Constructive Possession

• Legal doctrine where a person is in possession of an object even if not in physical control.

Elements (of crimes)

• Essential facts for a criminal conviction.

Harm

• Required outcome of a criminal act.

Knowingly

• Culpable mental state of awareness.

Malice Aforethought

• Deliberate intent to cause harm in a crime.

Model Penal Code

• Model criminal code developed by the American Law Institute.

Negligently

• Culpable mental state involving unawareness of substantial risk.

Omission

• Failure to act legally required.

Possession

• Control over something, often element in crimes.

Purposely

• Culpable mental state with criminal act as a conscious objective.

Recklessly

• Culpable mental state of conscious disregard of substantial risk.

Explore the key concepts and definitions related to Administrative Law, Case Law, Common Law, and Criminal Law. This quiz covers various aspects including hate crimes, embezzlement, and legal precedents that shape our understanding of the law. Test your knowledge of important legal terms and their implications.