Definitions - Criminal Law

Law Definitions
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Instructor’s Name
Course Date
Definitions - Criminal Law
1 Actus Reus
If the perpetrator establishes failure to prevent murder, the failure will be considered actus reus of manslaughter.
2 Mens Rea
If an individual attacks another and is hurt due to self-defense, then it is not a crime, but if the attacked individual intends to get revenge, it is a crime, and this is how men’s rea is established.
3 Malum in Se
Adultery and robbery are examples of mala in se crimes because they are considered innately immoral alongside being unlawful.
4 Malum Prohibitum
An illegal action culminates in being immoral but not be considered illegal because it is categorized as evil. If an individual possesses a controlled substance, it is against the law but cannot be inherently wrong.
5 Felony
Suppose Kennedy kill his father due to a conflict arising from property inheritance. In that case, it is important to note that he will be treated as a felony because he will be judged with murder which attracts up to life imprisonment without parole.
6 Misdemeanor
Instead of being jailed, the crime perpetrator can be released after paying a fine and be put on probation while doing community service because the crimes involve violating traffic rules, public intoxication, and vandalism.
7 The Corpus Delicti
Applying the principle, an accused can only be convicted of shoplifting in a courtroom if the prosecutor presents convincing evidence for the crime.
8 Intended Results Doctrine
The doctrine holds an individual accountable for a crime resulting from his actions because he understood that the activities would lead to that outcome of breaking the law regardless of the fact that another factor from a different source contributed to the commission of the crime.
9 The Doctrine of Contributory Causes
Suppose a robber goes in to rob a bank and threatens to shoot the teller with a gun, causing him to step back away from the gun, trip, and fall. Later, the teller dies from the injuries sustained; then, the robber is responsible for his death too because of the Doctrine of Contributory causes.
10 Homicide
In law, some homicides are murder, manslaughter and some are lawful if justifiable as self-defense.
Murder
John plans to attack and kill Joe, and when the time comes, he stabs Joe to death. Since John had the intention to kill Joe, before the actual action, he will be convicted of murder.
First-Degree Murder
The prosecutor must prove that willfulness, premeditation, and deliberation are evident in a first-degree murder for the accused to be convicted by life imprisonment without parole or capital punishment.
Second-Degree Murder
If an individual drive while drunk and causes an accident that leads to the death of another person, then the death was not premeditated but is still punishable under the law as second-degree murder.
Manslaughter
A driver commits manslaughter if he hits and kills a pedestrian if he was driving under the influence of alcohol. The crime usually attracts fewer years than murder and, in most cases, up to eleven years in jail.
Voluntary Manslaughter
If Joe came hom...