What are the five categories of criminal law violations? Describe each, and rank the categories in terms of seriousness
What will be an ideal response?
• Felonies are serious crimes, such as murder and rape. Offenders convicted of felonies can be incarcerated or sentenced to death and will lose certain privileges.
• Misdemeanors are relatively minor crimes, such as petty theft. Generally, misdemeanors are punishable by a year or less in prison.
• Offenses are minor violations of the law, such as spitting on the sidewalk and littering. Offenders are usually ticketed.
• Treason and espionage are considered among the most serious felonies. Treason occurs when a U.S. citizen helps a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or injure the United States. Espionage focuses on the gathering, transmitting, and losing of information related to national defense.
• Inchoate offenses are offenses not yet completed, such as conspiracy or an attempt. Inchoate offenses can still be serious (attempted murder), but they are less serious because the offense was not completed.
• In rank order of seriousness: treason and espionage; felonies; inchoate offenses; misdemeanors; offenses.
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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
In ______, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of using victim impact statements at sentencing.
a. Virginia v. Clarke b. Payne v. Tennessee c. Kansas v. Hendricks d. United States v. Booker
The term stare decisis refers to a higher court's reversal of a lower court's decision
a. True b. False Indicate whether the statement is true or false
When referring to age-graded theory, research supports Sampson and Laub's assertion that criminal career trajectories can be reversed if:
A) ?life conditions improve. B) ?criminal labels are withdrawn. C) ?criminal labels are not internalized. D) ?social capital is reduced.