| A | B |
|---|
| mens rea | the Latin term used by lawyers when discussing the requirements for a guilty state of mind |
| elements | the components that make up a crime |
| principal | the person who commits a crime |
| accomplice | someone who helps the principal commit a crime |
| accessory before the fact | a person who orders a crime or helps the principal commit the crime, but who is not present during the crime |
| accessory after the fact | a person who, knowing a crime has been committed, helps the principal or accomplice avoid capture or helps them escape |
| omission | when a person fails to act in accordance to law. |
| inchoate crimes | a term referring to preliminary crimes |
| strict liability offenses | crimes that do not require a guilty state of mind because the act itself is criminal, regardless of the knowledge or intent of a person committing it |
| conspiracy | agreement between two or more people to commit a crime coupled with the intent to commit the crime and (in most states) some action or conduct that furthers the agreement |
| attempt | occurs when someone performs all of the elements of a crime but fails to achieve the criminal result. |
| overt act | an act that open to view |
| solicitation | ask, urge, command, or advise someone to commit a crime. |
| infancy defense | children under a specified age shall not be tried for their crimes |
| intoxication defense | claiming that at the time a crime, they were drunk on alcohol or high on drugs |
| insanity defense | the basic idea that someone with a mental disease or disorder should not be convicted if they did not know that they were doing or the difference between right and wrong |
| entrapment | applied with the defendant admits to committing a criminal act but claims he or she was induced by law enforcement |
| duress | acting as a result of coercion or a threat to immediate danger of life or to personal safety |
| necessity | acting when compelled to react to a situation that is unavoidable in order to protect life |
