Chapter 4Inside Criminal Law

Law: Enforceable RulesLaw consists of enforceable rules

governing relationships among individuals and their society

An early example of law was Hammurabi’s Code, which was based on the principle of lex Talionis

Mosaic Code – covenant

Code of Justinian – collected laws

English Common Law

English Common Law- judges borrowed from English traditions and prior rulings on similar cases – Precedence

Precedence – authority for subsequent cases to rule based on similar facts

Developed from the customs of the populace

Stare Decisis ( to stand on decided cases)

Judges are obligated to follow the precedents established under prior decisions

In the U.S. these decisions can be pre-empted by the constitution

Sources of American Criminal Law

1. Constitutional Law

The U.S. Constitution and the various state constitutions

2. Statutory Law

Laws and ordinances passed by Congress and state legislatures

3. Administrative Law

Regulations, created by agencies such as the federal Food and Drug Administration

4. Case Law Court decisions

Sources of American Criminal Law

Protect and PunishProtect and Punish:

The legal function of the law

Maintain social order by protecting citizens from criminal harm ( easier function although there are different degrees and elements)

Includes harms to both individuals and society in general ( Problem: what are societies collective interests)

Maintain and TeachMaintain and Teach:

The social function of the lawExpressing public morality

(reflects values and norms of society/ societies views of morality changes over time)

Teaching societal boundariesLaws teach values as expressed by

societyVarious forms of punishment drive the

social orderCriminal Justice System teaches a lesson

to people

( Traffic Laws/ Burglary )

Elements of a CrimeCorpus delicti = “body of the crime”

(Body of circumstances that must exist in order for a criminal act to have occurred)

Criminal Act Actus reus = guilty act

Crimes may be acts of commission ( voluntary ) Maybe acts of omission, or even attempted actsMust have taken substantial steps to have

committed the crime ( Punishment is less )NYS Penal law – attempted crimes and conspiracy

Elements of a CrimeMental State

Mens rea

Intent is required to establish guilt of a crime.

(Need to know that it is a crime) Categories of Mens rea ( RICK)

Reckless (consciously disregard a risk)Intentionally ( purposefully) act with intent of

criminal resultCriminal Negligence – failure to exercise the standard

of care a “reasonable person” would exercise in similar circumstances

Knowingly – be aware of illegality; fail to dispel or confirm belief

Elements of a CrimeConcurrence

The guilty act and the guilty intent must occur together

Coming together of the criminal act and the guilty mind

CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Intent plays an important part in allowing the law to differentiate varying degrees of criminal liability for similar, though not identical, guilty acts

Different degrees of criminal liability leads to different penalties

Ie. Intentional vs. negligence vs. reckless

NYS Homicide Stautes

STRICT LIABILITY

Mens Rea plays a crucial role in differentiating between varying degrees of criminal responsibility or criminal liabilitySTRICT LIABILITY

Offenses hold the defendant guilty even if intent to commit the offense is lacking

Generally involve endangering the public welfare in some way

Drug control statutes, health and safety regulations, statutory rape provisions and traffic ordinances are all strict liability laws

ACCOMPLICE LIABILITY

Accomplice Liability Suspects can be charged for crimes they did not

actually commit if it can be proven they acted as an accomplice

To be found guilty as an accomplice, suspect needs to have “dual” intent

1)To aid the person who committed the crime

2)Such aid would lead to the commission of the crime

Under felony – murder law, a person can be convicted as an accomplice to an intentional killing, even when there is no intent

MORE CORPUS DELICTI

Corpus delicti also consists of:Concurrence

The guilty act and the guilty intent must occur together

Coming together of the criminal act and the guilty mind

Causation

The criminal act caused the harm suffered

The link between the act and the legal definition of the crime

MORE CORPUS DELICTI Attendant Circumstances

In certain crimes, accompanying circumstances are relevant to corpus delicti

Any accompanying circumstances

Allow for differentiating amongst varying degrees of crime

Attendant circumstances must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt

Hate crime laws consider a motive of bias an attendant circumstance and increase the criminal penalty accordingly

Harm For a crime to occur, some harm must have been done to a person or to

property

Some crimes are categorized according to the harm done to the victim regardless of the intent behind the criminal act

Many acts are deemed criminal if they could do harm that the laws try to prevent ( inchoate offenses )

DEFENSES UNDER CRIMINAL LAW

Defenses generally rely on two arguments:

The defendant is not responsible for the crime

The defendant was justified in committing the crime

DEFENSES UNDER CRIMINAL LAW

Excuse Defenses: the law “excuses” the person for his/her behavior

Infancy

Youthful offenders cannot understand the consequences of their actions.

Earlier criminal codes the age was 7

Some states the age is 18 / NYS = 16

13,14,15 in NYS for certain crimes

Juvenile Offender vs. Juvenile Defender

DEFENSES UNDER CRIMINAL LAW

Insanity – defendants state of mind is such that he/she cannot claim legal responsibility for his or her actions if he/she:

Does not perceive the physical nature or consequences of his/her conduct

Does not know that his/her conduct is wrong and/or criminal

Is sufficiently unable to control his or her conduct so as to be held accountable for it

INSANITY TESTS Measuring Sanity

Society has long debated standards for a criminal trial

M’Naghten Rule – right/wrong test

ALI/MPC Test – the defendant lacked “substantial capacity” to know the act was wrong or to conform to the requirements of the law

Irresistible – Impulse test – aware criminal act was wrong but irresistible impulse resulting from mental deficiency drove them to commit the crime

MORE INSANITYPrior to the trial, defendant may have a

competency hearing to determine that the defendant is competent to stand trial

Guilty but mentally ill

Allows a jury to determine that a defendant is “mentally ill” though not insane, and therefore criminally responsible for his/her actions

Defendants found guilt but mentally ill spend the early years of their sentence in a psychiatric hospital

DEFENSES UNDER CRIMINAL LAW

Intoxication Defense- criminal defense for liability in which the defendant claims that the taking of intoxicants rendered him or her unable to form the requisite intent to commit a criminal act.

Involuntary intoxication occurs when a person is physically forced to ingest or is injected with an intoxicating substance, , or is unaware that a substance contains drugs or alcohol and can be a viable defense to a crime

Voluntary intoxication is not a defense in itself

MISTAKE DEFENSEMistake of Law:

Ignorance of the law can be a modified defense

If the law was not published or reasonably known to the public

If the person relied on an official statement of the law that was erroneous

Mistake of Fact:

Operates as a defense if it negates the mental state to commit the crime

JUSTIFICATION DEFENSES

Duress - the defendant is threatened with seriously bodily harm, which induces him/her to commit the crime

The threat must be of serious bodily harmThe harm threatened must be greater than the

harm caused by the crimeThreat must be immediate and inescapableDefendant must have become involved in the

situation through no fault of his own

JUSTIFICATION DEFENSESSelf - Defense – legally recognized right to

protect self or property from injury by another. The priviledge of self-defense covers only acts that are reasonably necessary to protect one’s self or property

People can use the amount of nondeadly force necessary to protect themselves, their dwellings or other property to prevent the commission of a crime.

Deadly Physical force can be used in self-defense if there is reasonable belief that imminent death or bodily harm will otherwise result

Duty to retreat – outside the home

JUSTIFICATION DEFENSESNecessity

Circumstances required the defendant to commit the act

Justifiable if “the harm or evil sought to be avoided by such conduct is greater than that sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense charged”

Used as a defense against criminal liability in which the defendant asserts that circumstances required him or her to commit an illegal actre

JUSTIFICATION DEFENSESEntrapment

The defendant claims to have been induced by police to commit the act

A justifiable defense that criminal law allows when a police officer or government agent deceives a defendant into wrongdoing

Police cannot persuade a suspect to commit a criminal act, nor can they coerce a suspect into doing so, even if they are certain that he or she is criminal.

PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS

Substantive Criminal Law:Law that defines the

acts that the government will punish

Procedural Criminal Law:

Procedures, drawn from the Bill of Rights that are designed to protect the Constitutional Rights of individuals

Defines laws for criminal procedures

AMENDING the CONSTITUTION

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

Ten Amendments adopted into the Constitution in 1791

Have been interpreted by the United States Supreme Court

Serve as safeguards for those accused in this country

AMENDING the CONSTITUTION

Fourth Amendment

Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures

Requirement that no warrants for a search or an arrest can be issued without probable cause

Fifth Amendment

Requirements that no one can be deprived of life, liberty or property without “due process” of law

Prohibits against “ double jeopardy”

Guarantees that no person can be a witness against him/her self

THE CONSTITUTIONSixth Amendment

Guarantees a speedy trial, a trial by jury, a public trial

Guarantees the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a lawyer at various stages of criminal proceedings

Eight Amendment

Protects against excessive bail and fines

Protects against cruel and unusual punishment

DUE PROCESSDue Process clause, as expressed by the

fifth and the fourteenth amendments, requires that the government not act unfairly or arbitrarily

Procedural due process is a provision in the Constitution that states that the law must be carried out in a fair and orderly manner

Substantive due process is a Constitutional requirement that laws used in accusing and convicting persons of crimes must be fair

DUE PROCESSJudicial Role:

Supreme Court ultimately decides if due process has been violated

Lawmaking body may be able to prove that its interests are greater than the due process rights of the individuals and in those causes the statute may be upheld

Due Process and National Security:

The Supreme Court is more likely to defer to the government in times of national crisis

Controversies concerning anti-terrorism strategies have their basis in due process concerns