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