CJCENTRAL: Criminal Law Today, 2E: Glossary

capital murder
murder for which the death penalty is authorized by law.

capital punishment
the imposition of a sentence of death.

career offender
under federal sentencing guidelines, a person who (1) is at least 18 years old at the time of the most recent offense; (2) is convicted of a felony that is either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense; (3) has at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense.

case law
the body of previous decisions, or precedents, which have accumulated over time and to which attorneys refer when arguing cases, and which judges use in deciding the merits of new cases.

castle exception
an exception to the retreat rule that recognizes a persons' fundamental right to be in his or her home, and also recognizes the home as a final and inviolable place of retreat. Under the castle exception to the retreat rule it is not necessary to retreat from one's home in the face of an immediate threat, even where retreat is possible, before resorting to deadly force in protection of the home.

causation in fact
an actual link between an actor's conduct and a result.

civil law
that form of the law that governs relationships between parties.

claim of right
a defense against a charge of larceny, consisting of an honest belief in ownership, or right to possession.

clear and convincing evidence
evidence that establishes the reasonable certainty of a claim. It is a standard less than that of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt," but greater than that required by a "preponderance of the evidence" standard.

code jurisdictions
those states that have enacted legislation recognizing as criminal only that conduct specifically prohibited by statute.

common law
law originating from usage and custom rather than from written statutes. The term refers to non-statutory customs, traditions, and precedents that help guide judicial decision making.

common law states
jurisdictions in which the principles and precedents of common law continue to hold sway.

community service
a sentencing alternative that requires offenders to spend at least part of their time working for a community agency.

competent to stand trial
a finding by a court, when a defendant's mental competency to stand trial is at issue, that the defendant has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, and that he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.

complicity
involvement in crime either as principal or accomplice. The term also refers to the activities of conspirators, and may therefore be taken to mean the conduct on the part of a person that is intended to encourage or aid another person in the commission of a crime, assist in an escape, or avoid prosecution.

compounding a crime
also known as compounding a felony, "consists of the receipt of property or other valuable consideration in exchange for an agreement to conceal or not prosecute one who has committed a crime."

computer crime
crime which employs computer technology as central to its commission, and which could not be committed without such technology. See also, cybercrime.

computer fraud
a statutory provision, found in many states, which makes it unlawful for any person to use a computer or computer network without authority and with the intent to (a) obtain property or services by false pretenses; (b) embezzle or commit larceny; or (c) convert the property of another.

computer tampering
the illegal insertion or attempt to insert a "program" into a computer, while knowing or believing that the "program" contains information or commands that will or may damage or destroy that computer (or its data), or any other computer (or its data) accessing or being accessed by that computer, or that will or may cause loss to the users of that computer or the users of a computer which accesses or which is accessed by such "program."

computer trespass
the offense of using a computer or computer network without authority and with the intent to (a) remove computer data, computer programs or computer software from a computer or computer network; (b) cause a computer to malfunction; (c) alter or erase any computer data, computer programs or computer software; (d) effect the creation or alteration of a financial instrument or of an electronic transfer of funds; (e) cause physical injury to the property of another; or (f) make or cause to be made an unauthorized copy of data stored on a computer, or of computer programs or computer software.

concealed weapon
one that is carried on or near one's person and is not discernible by ordinary observation.

concurrence
the simultaneous coexistence of an act in violation of the law, and a culpable mental state.

concurrent sentence
one of two or more sentences imposed at the same time after conviction for more than one offense and to be served at the same time.

conduct
in the criminal law, behavior and its accompanying mental state.

consecutive sentence
one of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, and which is served in sequence with the other sentences.

consent
a justification offered as a defense to a criminal charge which claims that the person suffering an injury either agreed to sustain the injury, or that the possibility of injury in some activity was agreed to before that activity was undertaken.

conspiracy
see criminal conspiracy.

constructive entry
in the crime of burglary, one that occurs when the defendant causes another person to enter a structure to commit the crime or achieve a felonious purpose.

constructive possession
the ability to exercise control over property and objects, even though they are not in one's physical custody.

constructive touching
a touching which is inferred or implied from prevailing circumstances. Also, a touching for purposes of the law.

controlled substance
a specifically defined bioactive or psychoactive chemical substance which comes under the purview of the criminal law.

conversion
unauthorized assumption of the right of ownership. Conversion is a central feature of the crime of embezzlement, as in the unlawful conversion of the personal property of another, by a person to whom it has been entrusted.

corpus delicti
The "body of crime." Facts which show that a crime has occurred.

crime
any act or omission prohibited by public law, committed without defense or justification, and made punishable by the state in a judicial proceeding in its own name.

crime against nature
a general term which can include homo- or heterosexual acts of anal intercourse, oral intercourse, and bestiality, and which may even apply to heterosexual intercourse in "positions" other than the generally accepted "missionary" position.

criminal conspiracy
an agreement between two or more persons to commit or to effect the commission of an unlawful act, or to use unlawful means to accomplish an act that is not unlawful.

criminal contempt
deliberate conduct calculated to obstruct or embarrass a court of law. Also, conduct intended to degrade the role of a judicial officer in administering justice.

criminal homicide
The purposeful, knowing, reckless, or negligent causing of the death of one human being by another. Also, that form of homicide for which criminal liability may be incurred. Criminal homicide may be classified as murder, manslaughter, or negligent homicide

criminal law
that body of rules and regulations that defines and specifies punishments for offenses of a public nature, or for wrongs committed against the state or society; also called penal law.

criminal liability
the degree of blameworthiness assigned to a defendant by a criminal court, and the concomitant extent to which the defendant is subject to penalties prescribed by the criminal law.

criminal mischief
the intentional or knowing damage or destruction of the tangible property of another.

criminal negligence
1.) behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences; 2.) negligence of such a nature and to such a degree that it is punishable as a crime; 3.) flagrant and reckless disregard for the safety of others, or willful indifference to the safety and welfare of others.

criminal sexual conduct
a gender-neutral term which is applied today to a wide variety of sex offenses, including rape, sodomy, criminal sexual conduct with children, and deviate sexual behavior.

criminal simulation
the making of a false document or object that does not have any apparent legal significance.

criminal solicitation
the encouraging, requesting, or commanding of another person to commit a crime.

criminal syndicalism
advocating the use of unlawful acts as a means of accomplishing a change in industrial ownership, or to control political change.

criminal trespass
the entering or remaining on the property or in the building of another when entry was forbidden or; having received notice to depart, failing to do so.

criminalize
to make criminal. To declare an act or omission to be criminal or in violation of a law making it so.

criminally negligent homicide
homicide which results from criminal negligence.

culpable ignorance
the failure to exercise ordinary care to acquire knowledge of the law or of facts which may result in criminal liability.

cybercrime
crime which employs computer technology as central to its commission, and which could not be committed without such technology. Another word for computer crime.

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