BL 240 Chapter 6

Entrapment

A defense in which a defendant claims that he or she was induced by a public official to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed.

Information

A formal accusation or complaint (without an indictment) issued in certain types of actions (usually criminal actions involving lesser crimes) by a law officer, such as a magistrate.

Indictment

A formal charge by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that a named person has committed a crime.

Grand jury

A group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime.

Actus Reus

A guilty (prohibited) act. The commission of a prohibited act is one of the two essential elements required for criminal liability, the other element being the intent to commit a crime.

Misdemeanor

A lesser crime punishable by a fine and/or county jail time for up to one year

exclusionary rule

A rule that prevents evidence that is obtained illegally or without a proper search warrant—and any evidence derived from illegally obtained evidence—from being admissible in court.

Worm

A type of malware that is designed to copy itself from one computer to another without human interaction. A worm can copy itself automatically and can replicate in great volume and with great speed. Worms, for example, can send out copies of themselves to every contact in your e-mail address book.

Crime

A wrong against society proclaimed in a statute and punishable by society through fines and/or imprisonment—or, in some cases, death.

self-incrimination

Giving testimony in a trial or other legal proceeding that could expose the person testifying to criminal prosecution.

Probable cause

Reasonable grounds for believing that a search should be conducted or that a person should be arrested.

Bonet

Short for robot network, a group of computers that run an application that is controlled and manipulated only by the software source.

Plea bargaining

The process by which a criminal defendant and the prosecutor work out and agreement to dispose of the criminal case, subject to court approval.

Insider trading

The purchase or sale of securities on the basis of inside information (information that has not been made available to the public).

beyond a reasonable doubt

The standard of proof used in criminal cases.

Mens rea

The wrongful mental state ("guilty mind"), or intent, that is one of the key requirements to establish criminal liability for an act.

Larceny

The wrongful taking and carrying away of another person's personal property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property.

Duress

Unlawful pressure brought to bear on a person, causing the person to perform an act that he or she would not otherwise perform.

Felony

a crime, typically one involving violence, regarded as more serious than a misdemeanor, and usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death.

money laundering

Engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, or destination of illegally gained funds.

Phishing

An e-mail fraud scam in which the messages purport to be from legitimate businesses to induce individuals into revealing their personal financial data, passwords, or other information.

Search warrant

An order granted by a public authority, such as a judge, that authorizes law enforcement personnel to search particular premises or property.

White collar crime

Nonviolent crime committed by individuals or corporations to obtain a personal or business advantage.

Robbery

The act of forcefully and unlawfully taking personal property of any value from another

Forgery

The fraudulent making or altering of any writing in a way that changes the legal rights and liabilities of another

identity theft

The illegal use of someone else's personal information to access the victim's financial resources.

Arson

The intentional burning of a building.

Petty offense

The least serious kind of criminal offense, such as a traffic or building-code violation.

Self defense

The legally recognized privilege to do what is reasonably necessary to protect oneself, one's property, or someone else against injury by another.

double jeopardy

the Fifth Amendment right providing that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime

embezzlement

the fraudulent conversion of property by a person to whom that property was entrusted