18.CRIMINAL LAW REVISION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Civil law - correct answer law regulating the relationships between or among individuals.
Usually involving property, contract or business disputes
Substantive criminal law - correct answer what is crime? Law defining acts that are subject to
punishments and specifying that punishments for such offenses example: penal code
Procedural criminal law - correct answer how the law should be enforced.
Law defining the procedures that cj officials must follow in enforcement adjudications and
corrections
Common law - correct answer anglo-american system of law in which judges follow precedent
set by earlier decisions when they decided new but similar cases. Substantive and criminal law
were developed like this.
Constitutions - correct answer basic laws of a country or state defining structure or gov't and
relationships of citizens to that gov't
Statutes - correct answer laws passes by legislatures. Statutory definitions of criminal offenses
are found in penal codes
Case law - correct answer court decisions that have status of law and serve as precedents for
later decisions
Administrative regulations - correct answer rules made by gov't agencies to implement pubic
policies in areas such as public health, environmental protection and workplace safety.
Civil forfeiture - correct answer confiscation of property by the state because it was in or
acquired through a crime
, Inchoate offense - correct answer conduct that is criminal even though the harm that the law
seeks to prevent has been merely planned or attempted but not done.
Mens rea - correct answer "guilty mind" or blamesworthy state of mind. Necessary for legal
responsibility for a criminal offense criminal intent as distinguished from innocent intent.
Intro to criminal law - correct answer recap: the cjs is based on criminal laws which are in turn
founded on american values
Substantive law: what is a crime?
Procedural law: how the law is enforced
Sources of criminal law - correct answer common law
Written law(constitutions and statues)
Case law(builds on common law)
Administrative regulations
Important distinctions - correct answer felony vs misdemeanor: why is the distinction
important?
Criminal law treats the 2 crimes differently. Defendants convicted of felonies also lose certain
constitutional rights
Criminal vs civil law - correct answer criminal: punish
Civil: sue
What is a crime? Substantive law - correct answer 7 principles
1) legality- for something to be considered a crime there must be a law that was broken
2)actus reus- act itself must do or fail to do something
3)causation- the act caused harm
4)harm- act must cause harm to some legally protected thing
Civil law - correct answer law regulating the relationships between or among individuals.
Usually involving property, contract or business disputes
Substantive criminal law - correct answer what is crime? Law defining acts that are subject to
punishments and specifying that punishments for such offenses example: penal code
Procedural criminal law - correct answer how the law should be enforced.
Law defining the procedures that cj officials must follow in enforcement adjudications and
corrections
Common law - correct answer anglo-american system of law in which judges follow precedent
set by earlier decisions when they decided new but similar cases. Substantive and criminal law
were developed like this.
Constitutions - correct answer basic laws of a country or state defining structure or gov't and
relationships of citizens to that gov't
Statutes - correct answer laws passes by legislatures. Statutory definitions of criminal offenses
are found in penal codes
Case law - correct answer court decisions that have status of law and serve as precedents for
later decisions
Administrative regulations - correct answer rules made by gov't agencies to implement pubic
policies in areas such as public health, environmental protection and workplace safety.
Civil forfeiture - correct answer confiscation of property by the state because it was in or
acquired through a crime
, Inchoate offense - correct answer conduct that is criminal even though the harm that the law
seeks to prevent has been merely planned or attempted but not done.
Mens rea - correct answer "guilty mind" or blamesworthy state of mind. Necessary for legal
responsibility for a criminal offense criminal intent as distinguished from innocent intent.
Intro to criminal law - correct answer recap: the cjs is based on criminal laws which are in turn
founded on american values
Substantive law: what is a crime?
Procedural law: how the law is enforced
Sources of criminal law - correct answer common law
Written law(constitutions and statues)
Case law(builds on common law)
Administrative regulations
Important distinctions - correct answer felony vs misdemeanor: why is the distinction
important?
Criminal law treats the 2 crimes differently. Defendants convicted of felonies also lose certain
constitutional rights
Criminal vs civil law - correct answer criminal: punish
Civil: sue
What is a crime? Substantive law - correct answer 7 principles
1) legality- for something to be considered a crime there must be a law that was broken
2)actus reus- act itself must do or fail to do something
3)causation- the act caused harm
4)harm- act must cause harm to some legally protected thing
