Exam 1: Fundamentals of Criminal Law

The __________ Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures.

In Brandenburg v.Ohio (1969), the U.S.Supreme Court struck down a state law prohibiting "criminal syndicalism."

The presumption of innocence in a criminal case flows from the broader principle of strict liability.

What is the relevance of the U.S.Constitution to the system of criminal justice?

Procedural due process contains two basic elements: fair notice and _____________.

The Supreme Court has struck down the practice of plea bargaining because it violates due process of law.

Mala in se offenses include __________.

The reasonable doubt standard that applies to criminal prosecutions differs markedly from the ______________ standard that applies to civil cases.

The federal government has adopted the common law of crimes.

How was the English common law important in the development of the American system of criminal justice?

The most important constitutional principle relative to criminal procedure is "due process of law."

What are the essential elements of a case brief? Why are students of the law taught to brief cases?

A "tort" is a very serious crime for which one may be incarcerated in a prison for more than one year.

"Decisional law" is the body of law developed by appellate courts.

Appellate courts perform an error correction function, but they do not perform a lawmaking function.

In many states, community service is required as part of a (an) ____________ in which first-time nonviolent offenders are offered the opportunity to avoid prosecution.

A defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent and to obtain a conviction the prosecution must establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Of the fifty states, ____________ is the only one whose legal system is not based essentially on the common law.Rather, it is based primarily on the Napoleonic Code.

The authority of state legislatures to enact criminal prohibitions to protect the public health, safety, order and welfare is known as the ________________.

In contrast to Roman law systems, which are based on legal codes, the English common law developed primarily through _____________.