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Civil Law pertains to the duties that exist between persons or between persons and their governments Criminal Law has to do with crime crime a wrong against society proclaimed in a stature and punishable by a fine or/and imprisonment criminal sanctions designed to punish those who commit crimes and to deter others from committing similar acts in the future Felonies serious crimes punishable by death or by imprisonment for more than one year Misdemeanor less serious crime, punishable by a fine or by confinement for up to a year petty offenses considered to be a subset of misdemeanors that are minor violations such as jaywalking or violations of building codes three elements must exist for a person to be convicted of a crime act, state of mind, concurrence Act of Commission the person must do something in order to be accused of a crime Actus Reus a prohibited act or guilty act Mens Rea a wrongful state of mind criminal negligence the mental state in which the defendant deviates from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use under the same circumstances criminal recklessness consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk Violent Crime crimes agains persons, cause others to suffer harm or death robbery the taking of money, personal property, or any other article of value from a person by means of force or fear aggravated robbery robbery with the use of a deadly weapon Property Crime the goal of the offender is some form of economic gain or the damaging of property burglary breaking and entering the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony larceny the unlawful taking and carrying away of someone else's personal property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession arson the willful and malicious burning of a building owned by another receiving stolen goods the recipient need not know the true identity of the owner or the thief forgery the fraudulent making or altering of any writing in a way that changes the legal rights and liabilities of another obtaining goods by false pretenses like paying with a check when you have insufficient funds or using someone else's credit card number Public Order Crime crimes that are considered contrary to public values and morals White Collar Crime illegal act or series of acts committed by an individual or business entity using some nonviolent means to obtain a personal or business advantage embezzlement when a person entrusted with another person's property or funds fraudulently appropriates that property or those funds mail and wire fraud using the mails to defraud the public bribery offering to give something of value to a person in an attempt to influence that person, usually a public official, to act in a way that serves a private interest bankruptcy fraud numerous white collar crimes may be committed during the many phases of bankruptcy action insider training a person who has inside info about the plans of a publicly listed corporation makes stock trading profits by purchasing or selling corporate securities theft of other intellectual property federal crime to buy or possess another person's trade secrets, knowing that the trade secrets were stolen or otherwise acquired Organized Crime a form of crime conducted by groups operating illegitimately to satisfy the public's demand for illegal goods and services money laundering establishment of legitimate enterprises through which "dirty money" (money obtained through criminal activities) can be "laundered" (made to appear as if it is a legitimate income) RICO makes it a federal crime to use income obtained from racketeering activity to purchase any interest in an enterprise, acquire or maintain an interest in an enterprise through racketeering activity, conduct to participate in the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity, or conspire to do any of the preceding activities Defense to show that their actions were justified under the circumstances Justifiable use of force self-defense Necessity showing that the criminal act was necessary to prevent an even greater harm Insanity suffering from a mental illness Mistake mistake of fact, not mistake of law Duress the wrongful threat of one person induces another person to perform an act that he or she would not otherwise have performed Entrapment designed to prevent police officers or other government agents from enticing persons to commit crimes in order to later prosecute them for those crimes Statute of Limitations criminal action was brought after the statutory time period has expired Immunity in cases in which the state wishes to obtain info from a person accused of a crime, the state can grant immunity from prosecution or agree to prosecute for a less serious offense in exchange for the info The Exclusionary Rule any evidence obtained in violation of the constitutional rights spelled out in the fourth fifth and sixth amendments generally is not admissible at trial The Miranda Rule decision in Miranda vs. Arizona case, stating that in order for any statement made by a defendant to be admissible, the defendant must be informed of certain constitutional rights prior to police interrogation Criminal Process arrest, information, trial Booking suspect is searched again, photographed, fingerprinted, and allowed at least one telephone call. Charges are reviewed and, if they aren't dropped, a complaint is filed and a magistrate (judge) reviews the case for probable cause Initial Appearance the defendant appears before the judge, who informs the defendant of the charges and of their rights. if the defendant requests a lawyer and can not afford one, one is appointed. bail is set. Grand Jury/Preliminary Hearing grand jury determines if there is probably cause to believe that the defendant committed the crime prelim hearing a prosecutor presents evidence and the judge determines if ther is probable cause to hold defendant over for trial Indictment or Information individuals must be formally charged with having committed specific crimes before they can be brought into trial indictment charges issued by a grand jury grand jury does not determine the guilt or innocence of an accused party, just listens to state's evidence and determines if there is reasonable basis for trial information a criminal complaint, can also formally charge an individual of a crime Arraignment the defendant is brought before the court, informed of the charges, and asked to enter a plea Plea Bargain a prosecutor's promise to make concessions in return for a defendant's guilty plea. concessions may include a reduced charge or a lesser sentence. guilty plea a result of a plea bargain, and the judge sets the case for sentencing trial accused person does not have to prove anything, the entire burden of proof is on the state (prosecutor) Computer Crime any violation of criminal law that involves knowledge of computer technology Cyber Crime any criminal activity occurring via a computer in the firtual community of the Internet cyber fraud fraud committed over the internet cyber theft the stealing of data stored in a networked computer with internet access, anything stolen online identity theft wrongdoer steals a form of identity phishing perpetrator "fishes" for financial data and passwords from consumers by posing as a legitimate business vishing phishing involving voice communication employment fraud criminals posing as jobs hiring and sending emails for personal info hacker someone who uses one computer to break into another botnets networks of computers that have been appropriated by hackers without the knowledge of their owners malware any program that is harmful to a computer or user worm software program that is capable of reproducing itself as it spreads virus must be attached to a host file to travel Cyberterrorists hackers who strive to remain undetected so they can exploit computers for a serious impact burden of proof in a civil case more likely than not burden of proof in a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt