Transcript Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction

Criminal Law
Chapter 3
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The Nature and Purpose of Law

Law refers to:
A _______________, generally found enacted in the
form of a statute, that proscribes or mandates
certain forms of behavior. Laws channel human
behavior & contribute to public order.

Statutory law is often the result of moral
enterprise by interest groups that, through the
exercise of political power, are successful in
seeing their __________________ enacted into
law.
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The Nature and Purpose of Law
What Do Laws Do?

_____________________

Promote orderly social change
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Regulate human interaction
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Sustain individual rights
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Enforce moral beliefs
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Redress wrongs
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Support the powerful

__________________
Define the economic
environment



Mandate punishment and
retribution
Enhance predictability
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The Nature and Purpose of Law

____________ refers to:
Written or codified law; the “law on the books,” as
enacted by a government body or agency having the
power to make laws.

____________ refers to:
The body of judicial precedent, historically built on
legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory
laws, that serve as a guide to decision making,
especially in the courts.
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Interpreting Statutory Law

Courts interpret the statutory laws.

Case law — law that results from judicial decisions.
 Judicial precedent
 Built on legal reasoning and past
 interpretations of statutory law
 Guides decision making, especially in the
 courts
_____________ — the traditional body of unwritten


historical precedents created from everyday social customs,
rules, and practices, which may be supported by judicial
decisions.
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The Rule of Law

____________ holds that an orderly society
must be governed by established principles
& known codes applied uniformly & fairly
to all of its members.
Maxim that an orderly society must be governed by
_________________ and known codes that are applied
uniformly and fairly to all of its members.
The rule of law has been called the greatest
political achievement of our culture!
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The Rule of Law

Elements of the rule of law

Freedom from private lawlessness provided by
the legal system of a politically organized
society.

A relatively _______________________ in the
formulation of legal norms and a like degree of
evenhandedness in their application
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The Rule of Law

Elements of the rule of law

Legal ideas and juristic devices for the attainment of
individual and group objectives within the bounds of
ordered liberty

Substantive and procedural limitations on
________________ in the interest of the individual
for the enforcement of which there are appropriate
legal institutions and machinery
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The Rule of Law

“Americans are free to disagree with the law, but
________________…”
- President John F. Kennedy

Jurisprudence refers to:
The philosophy of the law or science and the
study of the law.
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Criminal Law
Criminal law (also known as ________) is a
branch of modern law that concerns itself
with offenses committed against society, its
members, their property, and the social
order.
 Crimes injure not just individuals, but
_________________
 Punishment for violators of criminal law is
justified by the fact that the offender intended
the harm and is responsible for it.
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WRITTEN CRIMINAL LAW

1.
2.
There are two types of written criminal law:
Substantive law — describes which acts
constitute crimes and specifies punishments
for those acts.
Procedural law — specifies the rules that
determine how those who are accused of
crimes are to be treated by the judicial
system. There are numerous _________
among jurisdictions.
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Civil Law

Civil law refers to:
The branch of modern law that _________________
between parties.

Civil law contains rules for ___________and
social obligations.

______ refers to:
A wrongful act, damage, or injury not involving a
breach of contract. Also, a private or civil wrong or
injury.
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Administrative Law

Administrative law refers to:
The body of regulations that governments have
created to control the activities of industry, business,
and individuals.

Includes laws such as:

__________
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Vehicle registration laws

Health codes

__________

Environmental restrictions

Immigration
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Case Law

___________ refers to:
A legal principle that ensures that previous judicial
decisions are authoritatively considered and
incorporated into future cases.

___________ refers to:
A legal principle that requires that in subsequent cases
on similar issues of law and fact, courts be bound by
their own earlier decisions and by those of higher courts
having jurisdiction over them.
 Creates predictability in the law
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Procedural Law

Procedural law refers to:
The part of the law that specifies the methods to be
used in _________________


It includes general rules of evidence, search
and seizure, procedures to be followed in an
arrest, and other specified processes.
Procedural laws balance _______________
against the state’s interested in speedy and
efficient case processing.
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General Categories of Crime

Felonies

__________

Misdemeanors

__________

__________
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Treason and espionage
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Inchoate offenses
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Felonies

Felony refers to:
A serious criminal offense punishable by _______ or by
incarceration in a prison facility for at least one year.
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There is a move to a scheme of classifying the
seriousness of felonies.
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Crime classified as a felony in one part of the
country may be a ______________ in another.
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Misdemeanors

Misdemeanors refer to:
An offense punishable by incarceration, usually in a
___________________, for a period whose upper
limit is prescribed by statute in a given jurisdiction,
typically one year or less.

Most receive suspended sentences involving a fine and
supervised probation.

Normally, an officer cannot arrest for a misdemeanor
unless it was committed in the _________________.
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INFRACTIONS

Offense refers to:
A violation of the criminal law.

Often used to refer to minor violations.

Infraction refers to:
A minor violation of state statute or local ordinance
punishable by a fine or other penalty or by a specified,
usually _____ term of incarceration.
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Treason & Espionage

________ refers to:
“A U.S. citizen’s actions to help a foreign government overthrow,
make war against, or seriously injure the United States.”

_________ refers to:
The “gathering, transmitting, or losing” of information related to the
national defense in such a manner that the information becomes
available to enemies of the United States and may be used to their
advantage. Can be committed by non-citizen.
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Inchoate Offenses

Inchoate offense refers to:
An offense _______________. Also, an offense that
consists of an action or conduct that is a step toward
the intended commission of another offense.
Conspiracy
 ________

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General Features of Crime
The essence of crime consists of
three elements:
1. Actus reus (the criminal act)
2. Mens rea (a culpable mental state)
3. _______________________
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The Criminal Act
Actus reus — the guilty act
 There has to be an act. Thoughts alone are
not sufficient to constitute a crime.
 To be something (like a drug addict) is not
enough.
 Actus reus can include:
 Threats
 Omission to act
 Attempted criminal acts
 _________________
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A Guilty Mind (Mens Rea)
Mens rea refers to a person’s mental state
at the time the act was committed.
There are four levels of mens rea:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Purposeful
Knowing
Reckless
Negligent
Mens rea is ____ the same as motive.
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A Guilty Mind (Mens Rea)

Reckless behavior refers to:
Activity that increases the risk of harm.

________________ refers to:
Behavior in which a person fails to reasonably
perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of
dangerous consequences.

Motive refers to:
A _____________ for committing a crime.
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Strict Liability and Mens Rea

Strict liability refers to:
Liability without fault or intention. Strict liability offenses
do ____________ mens rea.

Based on the presumption that causing harm is
in itself blameworthy. Absolute liability offences.
Routine traffic offenses
 Narcotic laws
 ______________

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Concurrence

Concurrence refers to:
The _____________ of (1) an act in
violation of the law and (2) a culpable
mental state. Requires the guilty mind
and guilty act occur together for a crime
to take place.
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Other Features of Crime

Some scholars argue that additional principles
must be present:

Causation

________________
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Principle of legality (________________)

________________
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Necessary attendant circumstances
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Elements of a Specific Criminal
Offense

Element (of a crime) refers to:
In a specific crime, one of the essential features of
that crime, as _____________________.

Example: Murder
An unlawful killing
 Of a human being
 Intentionally
 With planning (or “___________________”)
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The Corpus Delicti of a Crime

Corpus delicti refers to:
The facts that show that a crime has occurred. “The
body of the crime”.

A person cannot be tried for a crime unless it
can first be shown that the _______________.

That a certain result has been produced.

That a person is criminally responsible for its
production.
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Multiculturalism and Diversity

___________ refers to:
A system of laws, operative in some Arab countries,
based on the Muslim religion and especially the holy
book of Islam, the Koran (Qur’an)

_____________ to acts of terrorism or jihad

Hudud crimes: offense against Allah

Tazir crime: offense against society
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Types of Defenses

Defense (to a criminal charge) refers to:
Evidence and arguments offered by a defendant and
his or her attorney to show why the defendant
should not be held liable for a criminal charge.

Categories of defense:
–
________
–
Excuses
–
Justification
–
_______________
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Alibi

Alibi refers to:
A statement or contention by an individual
charged with a crime that he or she ________
_________ when the crime was committed, or
so engaged in other provable activities, that
his or her participation in the commission of
that crime was impossible.
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Justifications

Justification refers to:
Legal defense in which the defendant admits to
committing the offense but claims it was necessary in
order to avoid some greater evil.

Categories of justifications:
_____________
– Defense of others
–
–
Defense of home & property
Necessity
– __________
–
–
Resisting unlawful arrest
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Self-Defense
•
•
Self-defense - claim it was necessary to inflict
pain on another to ensure one’s own safety in
the face of near-certain injury or death.
____________ — If the opportunity to escape
exists, the courts require the victim take that
opportunity and flee. If the opportunity to flee
does not exist, then the victim can use
reasonable force to defend themselves.
•
______________ – can use reasonable force to
defend others (alter ego rule)
•
Defense of Home/Property – non-deadly force
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OTHER JUSTIFICATIONS

Necessity – prevent greater harm

_________ – victim consented to the crime

Resisting Unlawful Arrest – right to resist
arrest if believe it is unlawful
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Excuses

Excuse refers to:
A legal defense in which the defendant claims that some
_______________ or circumstance at the time of the act
was such that he or she should not be held accountable
under the criminal law.

Categories of excuses:
Duress
–
–
Age
– Mistake
–
________________
– Unconsciousness
–
–
–
_______________
Insanity
– Diminished capacity
Mental incompetence
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Standards for Insanity
Determinations by Jurisdiction
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Insanity 95

Insanity is:
A legal defense based on claims of mental illness or
_______________.

M’Naghten rule
A
rule for determining insanity, which asks
whether the defendant knew what he or she
was doing or whether the defendant knew
that what he or she was ________________.
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Insanity

Irresistible impulse


The defendant knew what he or she was doing and
that it was wrong, but could ______________
Durham rule

A person is not criminally responsible for his or her
behavior if the person’s illegal actions were the result
of some _________________
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Insanity

Substantial capacity test


Found in the Model Penal Code, it suggests that
insanity should be defined as the lack of a substantial
capacity to ____________________
Brawner rule
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Places responsibility for deciding insanity squarely
with the _______
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Insanity

Guilty but mentally ill (GBMI)

Every statutory element necessary for a conviction
has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defendant is found to have been ________ at the
time the crime was committed.

The defendant was not found to have been ______
_________ at the time the crime was committed.
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Insanity

Other insanity defenses include:
_________________
 Insanity defense under Federal law
 Diminished Capacity
 Mental Incompetence


Consequences of an insanity ruling
Psychiatric treatment until cured
 ___________ declare any potential criminal cured
 Insanity under Federal Law – Insanity Defense
Reform Act 1984

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Procedural Defenses

Procedural defense refers to:
A defense that claims that the defendant was in some
significant way ________________ in the justice process or
that some important aspect of official procedure was not
properly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the
crime charged.

Categories of procedural defense:
______________
–Collateral estoppel
–
–
Selective prosecution
Double Jeopardy
–Denial of a speedy trial
–
–
Police fraud
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