The Science That Studies the Principals of Law

Criminal Law

·  The science that studies the principals of law.

Domestic violence

·  Also can be called domestic abuse,spousal abuse,intimate partner violence, batteringorfamily violence.

·  A pattern of behavior which involves violenceor other abuseby one person in a domestic context against another, such as inmarriage orcohabitation. Intimate partner violenceis violence by a spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner.

Theft

·  Taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it.

Embezzlement

·  Taking of money or property by a person who has been entrusted with it.

Fraud

·  Deliberate deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain. A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed.

Extortion

·  Taking something by force or threats of harm.

Negligent Homicide

·  The killing of another person through gross negligence or without malice.

Homicide

·  The deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another.

Murder

·  The killing of another person without justification or valid excuse, and it is especially the unlawful killing of another person with malice aforethought.

First Degree Murder

·  Unlawful killing that is both willful and premeditated, meaning that it was committed after planning or "lying in wait" for the victim.

·  For example, Dan comes home to find his wife in bed with Victor. Three days later, Dan waits behind a tree near Victor's front door. When Victor comes out of the house, Dan shoots and kills him.

Second Degree Murder

·  An intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable "heat of passion"; a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life.

·  For example, Dan comes home to find his wife in bed with Victor. At a stoplight the next day, Dan sees Victor riding in the passenger seat of a nearby car. Dan pulls out a gun and fires three shots into the car, missing Victor but killing the driver of the car.

Felony Homicide

·  Ifakillingoccursduringthecommissionorattemptedcommissionofafelony(amajorcrime). The personorpersonsresponsibleforthefelonycanbechargedwithmurder.

Voluntary Manslaughter

·  An intentional killing in which the offender had no prior intent to kill, such as a killing that occurs in the "heat of passion." The circumstances leading to the killing must be the kind that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed.

·  For example, Dan comes home to find his wife in bed with Victor. In the heat of the moment, Dan picks up a golf club from next to the bed and strikes Victor in the head, killing him instantly.

Actus Rea

·  As an element of criminal responsibility, the wrongful act or omission that comprises the physical components of a crime.

Mens Rea

·  The mental state a person must be in while committing a crime for it to be intentional.

Civil Cases

·  One individual sues another for compensation.

Criminal Cases

·  The state prosecutes individuals for injuring society.

Felony

·  A serious crime, characterized under federal law and many state statutes as any offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.

Misdemeanor

·  Crime usually punished by a fine or imprisonment up to a year in a local jail.

Differences between jails and prison

·  Jails are most often run by sheriffs and/or local governments and are designed to hold individuals awaiting trial or a serving short sentences

·  Prisons are operated by state governments and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and are designed to hold individuals convicted of crimes.

Malice

·  Desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness.

Larceny

·  Crime involving the unlawful taking of the personal property of another person with no intent to give it back.

Robbery

·  Crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear.

Why people join gangs

·  A Sense of "Family"

·  Need for food or money

·  Desire for protection

·  Peer Pressure

·  Family history or tradition

·  Excitement

·  To Appear Cool

Insanity

·  A criminal defendant who is found to have been legallyinsanewhen he or she committed a crime may be found not guilty by reason ofinsanity.

Self-defense

·  Countermeasure that involves defending the well-being of oneself or of another from harm.

Entrapment

·  Practice whereby a law enforcement agent induces a person to commit a criminal offense that the person would have otherwise been unlikely to commit.

Defense attorney

·  Lawyer specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity.

Prosecuting attorney

·  Represents the public and presents the government’s case against the defendant in criminal cases.

Judges

·  Gives directions and outlines for the law for the jury.

Bail hearing

·  A judge decides whether to release a defendant from jail before trial by granting or denying bail.

Seizure

·  Huntbylawenforcementofficialsforpropertyorcommunicationsbelievedtobeevidenceofcrime,andtheactoftakingpossessionofthisproperty.

Plea Bargain

·  anyagreementin a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees topleadguilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.

Warrant

·  A specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is performed.

·  Outlines where officials can search and seize

Exclusionary Rule

·  Holds that evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights is sometimes inadmissible for a criminal prosecution in a court of law.

Direct Examination

·  The questioning of a witness by the party who called him or her, in a trial.

Cross examination

·  Interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent.

How juries are selected

·  Juries of six to twelve persons are selected from the jury pool. The size of jury varies from state to state and depends to some extent on the type of case at trial.

Hung Jury

·  Ajurythat cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to change its votes.

Expert Witness

·  A person who is permitted to testify at a trial because of special knowledge or proficiency in a particular field that is relevant to the case.

Closing statements

·  Each party's counsel reiterating the important arguments for the trier of fact, often the jury, in a court case.

Opening Statements

·  The beginning of the trial is limited to outlining fact