CJUS Study Sheet from Pearson Questions

Chs 1-2
1. According to Justice Black, due process: embodies a system of rights based on moral
principles deeply embedded in the traditions and feelings of our people.
2. The law may be defined as: a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling
authority, and having a legal force.
3. The word that sociologists use to refer to the unwritten rules that underlie and are inherent in
the fabric of society is: norms
4. Crimes are essentially offenses against: the public
5. Murder is a: felony
6. A violation of a city ordinance would normally be considered a/an: infraction
7. Rape is considered as a mala in se crime.
8. Motor vehicle theft is a: property crime.
9. The only crime mentioned in the U.S. Constitution is: treason
10. The "law of arrest" is considered procedural law.
11. The burden of proof required before an individual may be convicted of a crime is

proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

12. Criminal liability refers to: whether or not an individual is subject to being convicted of a crime
based on his or her actions.
13. What is the meaning of the term actus reus? The guilty act; an act in violation of the

law.
14. An omission to act may be a criminal act under what circumstances? When a duty is
created by a special relationship, When you have a contractual duty to act, and When a
statute places you under a legal duty to act.
15. When an individual does not have actual possession of a substance, but has control

over it, he or she has what type of possession? Constructive possession

16. In legal usage, mens rea can encompass notions of: a guilty mind, criminal intent,

and a wrongful purpose.

17. Specific intent crimes usually involve a secondary purpose; that is: the perpetrator

commits one crime with the intent to commit another.

18.

General intent crimes are those particular forms of voluntary behavior that are
prohibited by law.

19. The term scienter is sometimes used to signify a defendant's knowledge or "guilty

knowledge."
20. The concurrence of an unlawful act and a culpable mental state provides the third

fundamental aspect of crime.

21. Criminal law and civil law are basically the same in function and process. FALSE
22. Jurisdiction includes the philosophy of law and science and study of law. TRUE
23. The rule of law includes the notion of due process of law. TRUE
24. Due process guarantees are found in the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. FALSE
25. Natural law is defined as the rules of conduct inherent in human nature and in the natural
order, which are thought to be knowable through intuition, inspiration, and the exercise of
reason without the need for reference to man-made laws. TRUE
26. Natural law principles continue to be influential in many spheres. TRUE
27. Common law is the result of early English statutes. FALSE
28. The common law traditions were never accepted by the American colonies. FALSE
29. Most states today are considered common law states because the principles and precedents of
common law continue to hold sway. TRUE
30. The U.S. Constitution is not so much a source of specific laws or criminal prohibitions as it is a
constraint on government police powers. TRUE
31. Federalism embraces both national and state governments. TRUE
32. In the U.S. v. Lopez, the Supreme Court limited the power of the federal government to
criminalize what might otherwise be undesirable activity. TRUE The MPC was developed by

the American Law Institute.

33. The Model Penal Code (MPC) was first developed in England and imported into the United
States. FALSE
34. The Model Penal Code (MPC) proposes limits on the criminal liability of those who served
merely as accomplices. TRUE
35. The "presumption of innocence" places upon the prosecution the burden of proving the
defendant in a criminal trial guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. TRUE
36. Central to the adversarial system is the advocacy model. TRUE
37. In the In re Winship case, the U.S. Supreme Court clearly defined "reasonable doubt." FALSE

38. The Supreme Court encourages judges to define "reasonable doubt" as equal to a "moral
certainty." FALSE
39. There is no distinction between legal guilt and factual guilt. FALSE
40. Factual guilt is established only when the prosecutor presents evidence that is sufficient to
convince the judge or jury that the defendant is guilty. FALSE
41. For an act to be a crime there must be a concurrence between the mens rea and the actus
reus. TRUE
42. For purposes of criminal law, "act" often means a movement, a performance, or a deed. TRUE
43. Thinking may constitute an act for criminal law purposes. FALSE
44. The failure to act can never constitute a crime. TRUE

Chs 3-4
45. The primary or moving cause that plays a substantial part in bringing about injury or

damage is: proximate cause

46. The felony murder rule is an exception to the general notion that criminal liability

does not accrue when the harm that results is different in kind from the harm
intended.
47. The felony murder statutes hold a person involved in the commission of a felony responsible
for homicide if another person dies during the offense, even thought the death may have
been: unintentional.
48. Statutes defining crimes may specify that additional elements, called attendant circumstances,
be present for a conviction to be obtained.
49. Aggravating and mitigating circumstances are not elements of an offense, because they are
primarily relevant at the sentencing phase.
50. Many scholars contend that the three features of crimeactus reus, mens rea, and
concurrenceare sufficient to describe the essence of the legal concept of crime.
51. A proximate cause is also a factual cause.
52. Proximate cause can be thought of as the first cause in a string of events that ultimately
produced the harm in question.
53. To constitute a crime, not only must the prohibited conduct be prescribed, but also
punishment need(s) to be specified.
54. In the Kansas v. Hendricks case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the civil commitment of
sexually violent offenders.
55.