Chapter 2- Crime and the Nature of Law

abettor

a person who, with the requisite criminal intent, encourages, promotes, instigates, or stands ready to assist the perpetrator of a crime

accessory after the fact

a person who, knowing that a felony has been committed, receives, relieves, comforts, or assists the felon to hinder apprehension or conviction

accessory before the fact

a person who abets a crime but is not present when the crime was committed

administrative law

a branch of public law that deals with the powers and duties of government agencies

anomie

a condition of normative confusion or "normlessness", in which existing rules and values have little impact.

case law

law that results from court interpretations of statutory law or from court decisions where rules have not been fully codified or have been found to be vague or in error.

civil law

the body of principles that determine private rights and liabilities

common law

customs, traditions, judicial decisions, and other materials that guide courts in decision making but have not been enacted by the legislatures into statutes or embodied in the Constitution

conspiracy

concert in criminal purpose

constitutional law

the legal rules and principles that define the nature and limits of governmental power and the duties and rights of individuals in relation to the state

crime

an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law committed without defense or justification and sanctioned by the state as a felony or misdemeanor

criminal law

the branch of jurisprudence that deals with offenses committed against the safety and order of the state.

defense

any number of causes and rights of action that serve to excuse or mitigate guilt in a criminal offense

deviance

conduct that the people of a group consider so dangerous, embarrassing, or irritating that they bring special sanctions to bear against the persons who exhibit it.

differential association

the theory of crime that suggests that criminal behavior is learned through the same processes that noncriminal behaviors are learned

differential opportunity theory

the theory that suggests that people commit different crimes because they are subjected to different opportunities

differential reinforcement theory

the theory that criminal behavior is not only learned but also reinforced by instrumental conditioning, i.e., the learned behaviors that result from the consequences, effects, and outcomes of an individual's social and cultural environment

Durham Rule

legal standard by which an accused is not held criminally responsible if he or she suffers from a diseased or defective mental condition at the time the unlawful act is committed.

entrapment

the inducement of an individual to commit a crime not previously contemplated by him or her

felony

a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in a federal or state penitentiary

general strain theory

Robert Agnew's theory through which crime is viewed as a direct result of strain, or the negative feelings that originate from life in disorganized and lower socioeconomic areas where legitimate opportunities to achieve success are restricted.

labeling theory

the theory of crime that focuses on the processes of interaction through which behaviors become defined as criminal and the ways in which the labeling process can bring about more criminality

Lambert v. California

Ruling whereby the U.S. Supreme Court held that "due process requires that ignorance of a duty must be allowed as a defense when circumstances that inform a person as to the required duty are completely lacking.

mens rea

criminal intent; a person's awareness of what is right and wrong under the law concurrent with an intention to violate the law

misdemeanor

a crime punishable by not more than a $1,000 fine and/or one year of imprisonment, typically in a local institution

misprision of felony

the concealment of a felony committed by another

M'Naghten Rule

the "right-or-wrong" test of criminal responsibility

natural law

general principles that determine what is right and wrong according to some higher power

primary deviation

the term used in labeling theory to describe the violation of some norm or law

Robinson v. California

the 1962 ruling whereby the U.S. Supreme Court declared that "sickness may not be made a crime nor may sick people be punished for being sick

secondary deviation

the term used in labeling theory to describe the demeanor and conduct that people cultivate as a result of being labeled deviant or criminal

social control theory

a theory of crime that centers on how individuals are constrained by the social structure and holds that crimes are committed when an individual's attachments to society are weakened.

social disorganization theory

a theory of crime that states that crime rates are related to neighborhood characteristics.

statutory law

laws created by statute, handed down by legislatures

vicarious liability

the doctrine under which liability is imposed upon a employer for the acts of employees that are committed in the course and scope of their employment