| A | B |
|---|
| double jeopardy | A common law and constitutional prohibition against a second trial for the same offense. |
| actus reus | An act in violation of the law. Also, a guilty act. |
| alibi | A statement or contention by an individual charged with a crime that he or she was so distant when the crime was committed, or so engaged in other provable activities, that his or her participation in the commission of that crime was impossible. |
| alter ego rule | In some jurisdictions, a rule of law that holds that a person can only defend a third party under circumstances and only to the degree that the third party could legally act on his or her own behalf. |
| attendant circumstances | The facts surrounding an event. |
| case law | The body of judicial precedent, historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, that serves as a guide to decision making, especially in the courts. |
| civil law | The branch of modern law that governs relationships between parties. |
| common law | The body of law originating from usage and custom rather than from written statutes. The term refers to an unwritten body of judicial opinion, originally developed by English courts, that is based on nonstatutory customs, traditions, and precedents that help guide judicial decision making. |
| concurrence | A liability without fault or intention. Strict liability offenses do not require mens rea. concurrence The coexistence of ( 1) an act in violation of the law and ( 2) a culpable mental state. |
| corpus delicti | The facts that show that a crime has occurred. The term literally means “ the body of the crime.” |
| criminal law | The body of rules and regulations that define and specify the nature of and punishments for offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or society. |
| criminal negligence | A behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences. |
| defense ( to a criminal charge) | The evidence and arguments offered by a defendant and his or her attorney to show why the defendant should not be held liable for a criminal charge. |
| diminished capacity | A defense based on claims of a mental condition that may be insufficient to exonerate the defendant of guilt but that may be relevant to specific mental elements of certain crimes or degrees of crime. |
| element ( of a crime) | In a specific crime, one of the essential features of that crime, as specified by law or statute. |
| entrapment | An improper or illegal inducement to crime by agents of law enforcement. Also, a defense that may be raised when such inducements have occurred. |
| espionage | The “ gathering, transmitting, or losing” iv of information related to the national defense in such a manner that the information becomes available to enemies of the United States and may be used to their advantage. |
| excuse | A legal defense in which the defendant claims that some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that he or she should not be held accountable under the criminal law. |
| ex post facto | Latin for “ after the fact.” The Constitution prohibits the enactment of these laws, which make acts committed before the laws in question were passed punishable as crimes. |
| felony | A criminal offense punishable by death or by incarceration in a prison facility for at least one year. |
| guilty but mentally ill ( GBMI | A verdict, equivalent to a finding of “ guilty,” that establishes that the defendant, although mentally ill, was in sufficient possession of his or her faculties to be morally blameworthy for his or her acts. |
| Hudud crime | A serious violation of Islamic law that is regarded as an offense against God. |
| inchoate offense | An offense not yet completed. Also, an offense that consists of an action or conduct that is a step toward the intended commission of another offense. |
| incompetent to stand trial | In criminal proceedings, a finding by a court that as a result of mental illness, defect, or disability, a defendant is incapable of understanding the nature of the charges and proceedings against him or her, of consulting with an attorney, and of aiding in his or her own defense. |
| infraction | minor violation of state statute or local ordinance punishable by a fine or other penalty or by a specified, usually limited, term of incarceration. |
| insanity defense | A legal defense based on claims of mental illness or mental incapacity. |
| Islamic law | System of laws, operative in some Arab countries, based on the Muslim religion and especially the holy book of Islam, the Koran. |
| jurisprudence | The philosophy of law. Also, the science and study of the law. |
| justification | A legal defense in which the defendant admits to committing the act in question but claims it was necessary in order to avoid some greater evil. |
| law | A rule of conduct, generally found enacted in the form of a statute, that proscribes or mandates certain forms of behavior. |
| stare decisis | A legal principle that requires that in subsequent cases on similar issues of law and fact, courts be bound by their own earlier decisions and by those of higher courts |
| legal cause | A legally recognizable cause. It must be demonstrated in court in order to hold an individual criminally liable for causing harm. |
| mens rea | The state of mind that accompanies a criminal act. Also, a guilty mind. |
| misdemeanor | An offense punishable by incarceration, usually in a local confinement facility, for a period whose upper limit is prescribed by statute in a given jurisdiction, typically one year or less. |
| M’Naghten rule | A legal defense based on claims of mental illness or mental incapacity. M’Naghten rule A rule for determining insanity that asks whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing or whether the defendant knew that what he or she was doing was wrong. |
| motive | A person’s reason for committing a crime. |
| offense | A violation of the criminal law. Also, in some jurisdictions, a minor crime, such as jaywalking, that is sometimes described as ticketable. |
| precedent | A legal principle that ensures that previous judicial decisions are authoritatively considered and incorporated into future cases. |
| procedural defense | A defense that claims that the defendant was in some significant way discriminated against in the justice process or that some important aspect of official procedure was not properly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the crime charged. |
| procedural law | The part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law. |
| reasonable force | A degree of force that is appropriate in a given situation and is not excessive. Also, the minimum degree of force necessary to protect oneself, one’s property, a third party, or the property of another in the face of a substantial threat. |
| reckless behavior | An activity that increases the risk of harm. |
| rule of law | The maxim that an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members. |
| self- defense | The protection of oneself or of one’s property from unlawful injury or from the immediate risk of unlawful injury. Also, the justification that the person who committed an act that would otherwise constitute an offense reasonably believed that the act was necessary to protect self or property from immediate danger. |
| strict liability | A liability without fault or intention. Strict liability offenses do not require mens rea. |
| procedural law | The part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law. |
| penal code | The written, organized, and compiled form of the criminal laws of a jurisdiction. |
| treason | A U. S. citizen’s actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the United States. iii Also, the attempt to overthrow the government of the society of which one is a member. |
| tort | wrongful act, damage, or injury not involving a breach of contract. Also, a private or civil wrong or injury. |
| Tazir crime | A minor violation of Islamic law that is regarded as an offense against society, not God. |
| substantive criminal law | The part of the law that defines crimes and specifies punishments. |
| statutory law | The written or codified law; the “ law on the books,” as enacted by a government body or agency having the power to make laws. |
| The Crown v. Dudly & Stephens | use of necessity or clain that some illegal action was needed to prevent an even greater harm. Two sailors tried to use this claim to justify eating the cabin boy. Did not work. |
| U. S. v. Felix | the Supreme Court ruled that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the U. S. Constitution “ only prevents duplicative prosecution for the same offense” but that “ a substantive offense and a conspiracy to commit that offense are not the same offense for double jeopardy purposes.” A Missouri man was convicted in that state of manufacturing methamphetamine and was then convicted again in Oklahoma of the “ separate crime” of conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance— in part based on his activities in Missouri. |
| U. S. v. Brawner | Created a new criterion for gauging insanity in places responsibility for deciding insanity squarely with the jury. |
| Foucha v. Louisiana | U. S. Supreme Court held that a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity in a criminal trial could not thereafter be institutionalized indefinitely without a showing that he or she was either dangerous or mentally ill. |
| Ford v. Wainwright | US Supreme Court decision 1986 decision specified that prisoners who become insane while incarcerated cannot be executed. |
| Durham v. U. S. | A person is not criminally responsible for his or her behavior if the person’s illegal actions were the result of some mental disease or defect. |
| Ake v. Okllahoma | Government must ensure access to a competent psychiatrist whenever a defendant indicates that insanity will be an issue at trial |
