| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Tort | "wrong",-> violation of a duty imposed by the CIVIL law |
| Defamation | false statements that harm someones reputation |
| Libel | Written defmataion |
| Slander | Oral defamation |
| Element | fact that a plaintiff must prove to win a lawsuit |
| Defamatory Statement | These are words likely to harm another persons reputation. |
| Falseness | The statement must be false |
| Communicated | The statement must be communicated to at least one person other than the plantiff |
| Injury | In slander cases, the plaintiff generally must show some injury, in libel cases the law is willing to assume injury |
| Opinion | generally a valid defnense in a defamation suit because it cannot be proven true or false |
| Public official | Police Chief |
| Public Figure | movie star, etc |
| Actual Malice | the defendant knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard of the truth |
| Absolute Privilege | exists in courtrooms and legislative hearings-> can say anything at all and never be sued. |
| Qualified Privilege | exists when two people have a legitimate need to excxhange information |
| False imprisonment | the intentional restraint of another person without reasonable cause and without consent |
| Battery | intentional touching of another person in a way that is unwanted or offensive |
| Assult | Occurs when a defendent does some act that makes a plaintiff fear an imminent battery |
| Fraud | injuuring another person by deliberate deception |
| Compensentory Damages | an amount of money that the court believes will restore him to the position he was in before the defendants conduct caused an injury |
| Single-Recovery principle | rquires a court to settle the matter once and for all, by awarding a lump sum for past and future expenses |
| Punitive Damages | intended to punish the defendant for conduct that is extreme and outrageous -> purpose is not to compensate the plaintiff |
| Economic damages | Lost wages and medical expenses |
| Noneconomic damages | pain and suffering |
| Tortious interference | When healthy competition becomes illegal interfence |
| Intrusion | tort if a reasonable person would find it offensive, reasonable expectation to privacy |
| Commerical Exploitation | this right prohibits the use of someones likeness or voice for commercial purposes |
| False light | an example would be like one taken pictures in playboy (tasteful) but then Hustler (not tasteful) put those photos in their magazine |
| Negligence | concerns harm that arises by accident - > the "unintentional" tort |
| Duty of Care | If the defendent could have forseen injury to a particular person, duty to act like a ordinary/reasonable person |
| Breach | you acting below standard of care |
| Factual Cause | Your actions caused the accident |
| Forseeable Harm | Was the harm forseeable |
| Injury | must have been actually hurt |
| Res Ipsa Loguiture | "the things speak for itself" -> the def must prove he was NOT negligent or the facts imply that his negligence caused the injury |
| Negligence per se | When a legislature sets a minimum standard of care for a particular activity, in order to protect a certain group of ppl, and a violation of the statue injures a member of that group |
| Damages | Usually compensatory, designed to restore what was lost. Usual cases - > they be be punitive |
| Contributory negligence | Used to be the law throughout the nation, but it remains in effect in only a few states = even assuming the defendant is negligent, if the plaintiffs is even slightly negligent himself, he recovers nothing. |
| Comparative negligence | a plaintiff may generally recover even if she is partially negligent |
| Assumption of the risk | A person who volutnatrily enters a situation that has an obvious danger cannot complain if she is injured (if you are not willing to tolerate the risk of being hurt by a batted ball -> stay home and watch the game on tv. |
| Strict Liablity | if the defendants conduct led to the harm, the defendant is liable, even if she exercised extraordinary care |
| Restitution | defendant must reimburse the victim for harm suffered |
| acquit | the jury does not find the person guilty |
| Felony | serious crime, for which a defendant can be sentenced to one year or more in prison, murder, robbery, rape, drug dealing, money laundering |
| Misdemeanor | often punishable by a year or less in a county jaim. Public drunkness, driving without a licesnse. |
| Specific deterrence | intended to teach this defendent that crime carreis a heavy price tag, in the hope that he will never do it again |
| General deterrence | the goal of deomonstrating to society generally the crime must be shunned. |
| Retribution | giving back to the criminial precisily what he deserves |
| vengeance | when a serious crime has occured, society wants the perpretator to suffer. If we punish no one, ppl lose faith in the power and effectiveness of government and may take the law into their own hands. |
| Rehabilitate | provide training so that he may return to a nomral life |
| Conduct Outlawed | The prsecution must demonstrate to the cour tthat the defendants alleged conduct is indeed outlawed by a STATUTE |
| Burden of proof - beyond reasonable doubt | If the jury has any significant doubt, it MUST acquit him |
| Actus reus | "guilty act" The prosecution must prove that the defendant voluntarily commited a prohibited act.(example - filing claim |
| Mens Rea | "guilty state of mind" , requires convincing evidence about something that is essntiall psychological. |
| General intent | showing that the dfendent intendend to do the prohibited phsycial action (the actus reus) |
| Specific intent | The prosecution shows that the defendnet willfully intended to do something beyond the physical act |
| Criminal recklessness | consciously disregarding a substantial reisk of injury |
| Criminal negligence | gross deviations from reasonable conduct |
| Entrapment | When the government induces the defendant to break the law, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendnat was predisposed to commit the crime |
| Duress | One can plead this if she can show that a thread by a third person caused her fear of imminent serious phsycial harm |
| Larceny | the trespassory taking of personal property with the intent to steal it |
| "Trespassory taking" | someone else orginally has the propery |
| Fraud | the deception of another person for the purpose of obtaining money or property from him |
| Wire Fraud and Mail fraud | involoving the use of interstate mail, telegram, telphone, radio, or tv to obtain property by deceit. |
| Medicare fraud | using false statements, bribes, or kickbacks to obtain Medicare payments from the federal or state gov. |
| Arson | malicious use of fire or expolovies to damage or destroy any real estate or personal property = both federal and state crim |
| Embezzlement | fraudulent conversion of propety already in the defendants possesion |
| The computer fraud and abuse act | prohibits using a computer to commit theft, espioange, tresspass, fraud and damage to another computer. |
| Access device fraud | outlaws the fradulent use of cards, codes, account numbers and other deveices to obtain money, goods or services. |
| Identity theft and assumption deterrence act | bars the use of false identitfaction to commite fraud or other crime |
| Wire and elextronic communictasions interception act | makes it a crime to intercept most wire, oral and electronic communictaions |
| Skim | to use an elextronic device to record your personal info when you are using a credit card for proper purpose, such as paying at a retail store |
| Phish | to contact you by phone or email posing as a legitimate company attemptiog to correct a problem with your account |
| Federal Sentencing Guidelines | detailed rules that judges must follow when sentencing defendants convicted of crimes in federal courts |
| Compliance program | a plan to prevent and detect criminal conduct at all levels of the company |
| Occumpational Safety and Health Act of 1970 | The most important statute regulating the workplace which sets safety standards for many inudstries. |
| Treble damages | a judgment for three times the harm actually sufferend |
| Money Laundering | taking the proceeds of certain criminal acts and either using the money to provomote crime, or attemtipting to conceal the source of the moeny |
| Antitrust violations | a corporation establishes a monpology |
| search warrant | written permission from a neutral offical, such as a masgistrate, to conudct a search |
| Probable cause | based on all the information presented, it is likely that evidence of crime will be found in the place mentioned |
| being booked | her name, photograph and fingerprints are entered in a log, along with the charges |
| grand jury | group of ordinary citzens, like a tiral jury - holds hearings fro several weeks at a time on many different cases |
| indictment | governemtns formal charge that the defednant has commited a crime and must stand trial |
| Motion to suppress | request that the court exclude certain evidence because it was obtained in violation of the Constitution |
| plea bargain | agreement between prosecution and defence that the defendint will plead guilty to a reduced charge, and the prosecution will recommend to the judge a relatively lenient sentence |
| Fourth Amendment | prohibits the government from making illegal seraches and seizures - protects indivudlas, corporations, partnerships and other organizations |
| Plain view | police may search if they see a amchine gun, for example sticking out from under the front seat |
| stop and frisk | if police have an articulable reason for suspecting that someone may be armed and dangerous, they may pat him down |
| Emergencies | if police pursue a store robber and catch him, they may search |
| automobiles | if police have lawfully stopped a car and observce evidence of other crimes in the car such as burglary tools, they may search |
| lawful arrest | police may always search a suspect they have arrested |
| consent | if someone in lawful occupancy of a home gives consent to a serach, the police may do so |
| Due process | requires fundamentla fairness at all stages of the case. |
| Double jeopardy | criminal defendnet may be prosecuted only once for a particular criminal offense |
| "Custodial interrogation" | the police have prevented the defendent from leaving (usually by arresting him) and are asking him questions |
| Sixth Amendment | guarantees the right to a lawyer at all important stages of the criminal process |
| Eigth amendment | prohibits cruel and unusal punishment |
| Forfeiture | civil law proceeding that is permitted by many diff criminal statues |
Combine with other sets
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