Chapter 3

What are the classifications of a civil wrong?

Breach of contract and Tort

Legally, the victim of a crime is a(n) _____.

Community

Who is a crime technically committed against?

Community at large

A serious crime that is usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death is termed _____.

Felony

Defining words as criminal acts can create conflict with the _____ to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

First Amendment

Tom planted a bomb at a school as an act of terrorism. He was aware that his action could lead to the deaths of multiple students. The bomb killed 10 students. Identify a true statement about Tom in this scenario.

He knowingly caused a result.

Identify an example of a result crime.

Homicide

What are the terms used to describe petty offenses?

Infractions and Violations

Identify the reasons why motive is important as a matter of the proof of a crime.

It can explain why a suspect may have acted in a particular way, and it may help identify the perpetrator of the crime.

John is a bartender, and he lets Annie buy a drink without the knowledge that she is underage. Identify a true statement about this scenario.

John is strictly liable in this case.

A crime that is less serious than a felony and is usually punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or confinement in a jail for less than one year is termed _____.

Misdemeanor

Mary had an epileptic seizure in a grocery shop and damaged the goods in the aisles. Is Mary criminally liable in this case?

No, because Mary did not take any voluntary action.

Who is a tort technically committed against?

One or more private citizens

an insignificant crime involving minor misconduct is a:

Petty offense

What are the non-violent crimes that constitute felony?

Posession or distribution of illegal narcotics and white-collar crimes

What are some of the factors that a prosecutor may consider in deciding whether to charge an offense as a felony or a misdemeanor?

Prior offenses, seriousness of offense, number of victims, and age of perpetrator

What consequence does a party have to face in a civil suit?

Punitive damages

Rob fired a gun to kill a criminal who was standing across the road from him. He unintentionally killed an innocent bystander instead. Identify a true statement about this scenario.

Rob is guilty under the doctrine of transferred intent.

What are the steps in determining whether an act caused a specific result?

The accused person's actions must be the proximate cause of the result, and the accused person's actions must be the cause-in-fact of the result.

Which of the following are essential requirements for involuntary manslaughter?

The commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony, and the mens rea of negligence

What is an essential characteristic of punishment?

The condemnation that accompanies conviction of a crime

What is a reason for the division of felonies into various categories or degrees?

The level of punishment differs for different categories.

What are the components of concurrence of elements?

The mens rea must have been present at the same moment in time that the accused did the act, and the concurrence must be motivational.

A wrongful act that results in injury and leaves the injured party entitled to compensation is a(n) ________

Tort

True or False: The test that asks whether the result would have occurred if the defendant had not acted is termed but-for test.

True

True or false: According to the Model Penal Code, a risk is considered substantial and unjustified if a reasonable law-abiding citizen considers it a clear deviation from how a reasonable person would behave.

True

What is a difference between thoughts and voluntary actions?

Unlike voluntary actions, one cannot be punished for thinking about committing a crime.

What is an argument that is used by those who defend the concept of criminal speech?

Words that have a very good possibility of causing physical harm should be illegal.

John stabbed Ryan with desire to cause Ryan's death. The mens rea here is of _____.

a specific intent to kill

A person _____ if the person knows that his or her actions are criminal or that attendant circumstances make an otherwise legal act a criminal one.

acts knowingly with respect to conduct and attendant circumstances

The cause of the social harm in a criminal act, as determined by the but-for test is termed ______ _______ ______

cause-in-fact

A person who is convicted of a misdemeanor and incarcerated usually serves his or her sentence in a _____.

county jail

An act or omission that the law makes punishable, generally by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or confinement is a(n) __________.

crime

What are the terms that can be used synonymously with guilty mind or mens rea?

culpability and intent

Proximate cause is decided by distinguishing between _____.

dependent and independent intervening causes

True or false: Possessing questionable moral character is considered a crime.

false

In most jurisdictions, statutory rape requires sexual intercourse with a child who is underage, but the perpetrator does not have to be shown to have specific knowledge that the girl or boy was underage. This is a _____ intent crime.

general

The intent only to do the actus reus of the crime, without any of the elements of specific intent is termed _____.

general intent

A difference between a person who commits a civil wrong and a person convicted of a crime is that a person convicted of a crime _____.

is punished

In the context of general and specific intent crimes, the crime of bigamy, which is committed when a married person remarries while his or her spouse is still alive is considered a general intent crime because _____.

it does not require that the perpetrator specifically know that his or her spouse is living

A person _____ if the person knows or is practically certain that his or her conduct will cause this result.

knowingly causes a result

To prove a possessory offense, the prosecutor must prove that the accused person _____.

knowingly possessed an illegal item

The mens rea requirement for murder in many jurisdictions is "_____," a form of mens rea that can exist in four different mental states.

malice aforethought

An element of criminal liability, _____ is a certain mental state or intent.

mens rea

What are the conditions that can diminish a person's criminal responsibility?

mental infirmity

If one commits an act that is morally bad, it is a(n) _______ wrong.

moral

The component of the concurrence of elements that states that the motivation to commit a specific crime must be present is termed _____.

motivational requirement

The emotion that prompts a person to act is generally termed _____.

motive

Acting in a manner in which one unknowingly ignores a substantial and unjustified risk of which one should have been aware is termed acting _____.

negligently

The Model Penal Code (MPC) classifies petty offenses as _____.

noncriminal

The narrowly defined circumstance in which a failure to act is viewed as a criminal act is termed _____.

omission

Criminal offenses in which the law defines possession as an act are termed _________ _________

possessory offenses

The cause, from among all of the causes-in-fact that may exist, that is the legal cause of the social harm is termed _____.

proximate cause

Boris entered a supermarket in order to burgle it. He acted _____.

purposely with respect to attendant circumstances

When an actor is aware of conditions that will make the intended crime possible, or believes or hopes that they exist, he or she is acting _____.

purposely with respect to attendant circumstances

Jordan bought a sharp knife, pointed it at a victim, and stabbed the victim with it with an intent to hurt or kill. Jordan acted _____.

purposely with respect to result or conduct

When a perpetrator acts _____, it is his voluntary wish to act in a certain way or produce a certain result.

purposely with respect to result or conduct

Acting in a manner that voluntarily ignores a substantial and unjustified risk that a certain circumstance exists or will result from one's actions is termed acting _____.

recklessly

What are examples of misdemeanors?

shoplifting and disorderly conduct

Anna received a necklace from her boyfriend who told her that it was stolen. Anna is guilty of a _____ crime.

specific intent

John commits larceny by shoplifting in a store. This is a _____ crime.

specific intent

The intention to commit an act for the purpose of doing some additional future act, to achieve some further consequences, or with the awareness of a statutory attendant circumstance is termed _____.

specific intent

The component of the concurrence of elements that states that the mens rea must have been present at the same moment in time that the accused did the act (or omission) that caused the social harm is termed _____.

temporal requirement

A doctrine that holds a person criminally liable even when the consequence of his or her action is not what the actor actually intended is termed _____.

transferred intent

True or false: Failing to act in certain circumstances can constitute the actus reus of a crime.

true

The actus reus usually consists of a(n) _____.

voluntary action

Under the general principles of criminal responsibility developed from the common law tradition, the physical act must be _____.

voluntary and cause social harm