Chapter 4:Inside Criminal Law

1. Chapter 4:Inside Criminal Law

2. The Development of American Criminal Law

3. The Conception of Law • The concept of law has developed over thousands of years, from the Code of Hammurabi to modern day legal situations. • A single definition of law is difficult to establish. • Laws have been influenced by culture groups from the Far East to the ancient Hebrews (Jews) to the Greco-Roman civilization.

4. Plato • Plato saw law as primarily a form of social control. • Laws were given to the people by the gods.

5. Aristotle • Aristotle believed law was a “pledge that citizens of a state will do justice to one another.”

6. Sir William Blackstone • “A rule of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state, commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong.”

7. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. • Law was a set of rules that allowed one to predict how a court would resolve a particular dispute.

8. The Concept of Law • Law consists of enforceable rule governing relationships among individuals & between individuals & their society. • Hammurabi set out crimes & punishments based on lexTalionisor “an eye for an eye.” • Then came the Mosaic Code which reflects a covenant between the Hebrews & God. • The Mosaic Code is the basis for Judeo-Christian teachings.

9. The Mosaic Code is also reflected in modern American law. • Code of Justinian has also influenced modern American law. • Codified many of laws that were made during the Roman Empire. • Code of Justinian influenced the development of civil law. • American legal system has aspects of English Common Law, Constitutional Law, Statutory Law, & Administrative Law

10. English Common Law • Circuit judges in England established a common law which was nothing more than a national legal system. • This system had legal principles that applied to all people equally. • Location or local customs did not dictate the application of law. • Rulings (precedents) became the means of determining the application of the law.

11. A precedent is an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving similar legal principles or facts. • This system was passed on to the English colonies throughout their empire. • Common law developed from the customs of the people rather than from the will of the king/queen. • Common law reflects the social, religious, economic, & cultural values of the people. • The reference to precedents is called stare decisis. • Means “to stand on decided cases.” • Judges are obligated to follow the precedents.

12. Precedents • Relates to the hierarchy of the court system in the U.S. • State courts, courts of appeal, state supreme court • Federal courts, federal courts of appeal, U.S. Supreme Court • The precedents become “binding authorities.” • They must be followed. • In civil law, the precedents are not binding. • Civil law relies on legislation or custom rather than case law.

13. So, what’s the point? • In common law, the system is more efficient & stable. • It allows people to predict how the law will be applied in given situations. • The legal reasoning & opinions can serve as a guide for other cases b/c the cases have been carefully examined. • Keep in mind though that the court system can reverse itself if necessary.

14. Stare Decisis • Common law is based on stare decisis. • SD = “to stand on decided cases” • Judges are obligated to follow the precedents established within their jurisdictions. • These precedents are also called “binding authorities.” • Contrast with civil law: precedent is not binding. • Why is SD important?

15. Importance of Stare Decisis • Legal reasoning & opinions rendered can serve as a guide. • Makes the system more efficient. • Allows people to predict how the law will be applied in given circumstances.

16. Written Sources of American Criminal Law

17. Since there were drawbacks to common law, it was necessary to codify the precedents to help citizens. • Citizens can know which acts are illegal & what procedures must be followed to establish innocence or guilt. • U.S. has developed the “substantive” criminal law which helps citizens. The elements are • Constitutional Law • Statutory Law • Administrative Law • Case

18. Constitutional Law • Federal & state governments have written constitutions. • CL is law expressed in these constitutions. • Recall the hierarchy of the court system in the U.S. • State law cannot conflict with federal law. • Federal law supersedes state law

19. Statutory Law • Statutes = laws passed by legislative bodies. • Federal statutes are those passed by Congress. • State statutes are laws enacted by the states. • Federal law covers all states; state statute applies only in that particular state. • Any law that violates the U.S. Constitution will be overturned by the Supreme Court.

20. Common Law & State Statutes • Significant overlap between statutory law & common law. • Many statutes essentially codify existing common law rules. • Brought common law principle more in line with modern criminal theory. • Example 1—common law says only females can be raped. Today this is no longer the accepted belief. • Example 2—common law says burglary is only at night. Today burglary is any time.

21. Administrative Law • The rules, orders, & decisions of regulatory agencies; federal, state, local governments. • Disregarding certain laws created by regulatory agencies can be criminal violations. • OSHA, EPA, FDA, etc.

22. Case Law • Rules of law announced in court decisions • Interpretations of constitutional provisions state statutes, regulations by gov’t. agencies • How a court interprets a particular statute. • Can vary from one jurisdiction to another.

23. The Purposes of Criminal Law Protect & Punish: legal requirements Maintain & Teach: social values

24. Protect & Punish • Law is designed to maintain social order by protecting citizens from criminal harm. • Laws are designed to protect individuals & their safety, property, etc. • Laws must also protect society’s interest, as a whole. • Society must be protected from unsafe foods or consumer products, polluted environment, or poorly constructed buildings.

25. Maintain & Teach • “Morally” wrongful activities • Laws may also express public morality; remember though that society’s moral views change over time. • Many of these activities are “victimless” crimes like bigamy, prostitution, gambling. • Laws also teach what are the acceptable boundaries in society. • Helps to maintain social order.

26. Elements of a Crime

27. What you need to have a crime? • Admission of guilt alone cannot establish the innocence or guilt of a suspect. • There needs to be a “body of the crime” (AKA corpus delicti) • Corpus delicti: proof that a specific crime has been committed by someone. • Basic elements include • Actus reus --Link • Mens rea --Attendant circumstances • Concurrence --Harm/result

28. Actus Reus • Confession is insufficient for conviction. • It’s the investigation that matters. • Most crimes requires an act of commission; the person must do something that is illegal (KA actus reus.) It’s the guilty act. • Commission must be voluntary. • An act of omission can also be a crime but only when a person has a legal duty to perform the omitted act (special relationship.)

29. Special relationships include parent-child, adult children to aged parents, spouses. • Contractual relationships are also covered; physicians & lifeguards for example. • Planning can also be considered criminal behavior if substantial steps were taken toward the criminal act. • The punishment for conspiracy is usually less severe than if the act had succeeded.

30. Mens Rea • Wrongful mental state • INTENT is required to establish guilt of a crime • Awareness & desire • Categories include • Purpose • Knowledge • Negligence • Recklessness

31. Categories • Purpose: desire to engage in certain criminal conduct or cause a certain criminal result. • Knowledge: a person must know or have awareness of the illegality of the act. • Negligence: defendant GROSSLY deviates from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use under the same circumstances.

32. Recklessness: consciously disregarding a substantial & unjustifiable risk; this defendant is more blame-worthy than one that is criminally negligent.

33. Liability • The degree of intent determines the degree of criminal liability. • For example— willful, deliberate, premeditated as contrasted with accident or negligence. • Different degrees of criminal liability leads to different penalties. • Strict liability: intent to commit the offense was lacking but the act is still criminal/illegal. • Endangering the public welfare; statutory rape laws

34. Examples • Father forgets his child in a locked car. The car overheats & the child is killed. • Murder or tragic accident? • Father forgets his child in a locked car & goes gambling in a truck-stop casino. • Ignorance of the law is no excuse. • 70 mph in a school zone during take in or release. • Putting things in food that are dangerous & allowing that food to be served to the public.

35. Accomplice Liability • Person can be charged with & convicted of a crime that s/he didn’t actually commit. • Helping another person commit a crime = accomplice. • Must have dual intent for a conviction. • Aid the person who committed the crime and • That such aid would lead to the commission of the crime. • Accomplice must have given either physical help or psychological help.

36. In some states, a person can be convicted as an accomplice even without intent if the crime was a “natural & probable consequence” of his or her actions. • Accessory after the fact

37. Concurrence • The guilty act & the guilty intent must occur together. • Example: a woman intends to murder her husband with poison but on the day she intends to carry out the act, she accidently runs off the road driving him home from work. The husband is killed in the accident. Guilty? • No, b/c she had not planned to kill him in a car accident. Just a tragic accident.

38. Causation • Criminal law also requires that the criminal act cause the harm suffered. • A victim can die from his injuries years later & the defendant can be charged with causing his death if the death is the result of harm done during a criminal activity. • The historical rule though is that the victim’s death must occur within a year & a day from the date of the defendant’s crime.

39. Attendant Circumstances • AKA accompanying circumstances • The circumstances surrounding the crime are relevant to the charges brought against a defendant. • Difference between simple assault & aggravated assault; degrees of property crime based on amount stolen. • Bank robbery: <$100 = misdemeanor • Bank robbery: >$100 = felony

40. Harm • Harm done to the victim plays an important role in the charges brought against a defendant. • Victim hit with a tire iron which results in death; charge is murder or manslaughter. • Victim hit with tire iron which results in unconsciousness; charge is battery. • Note how extent of harm plays its role. • Inchoate offenses: acts deemed criminal even if they don’t cause any harm—conspiracy.

41. Defenses Under Criminal Law Defendant is not responsible Defendant is justified

42. Defendant not responsible • Age • Insanity • Guilty but mentally ill • Intoxication • Mistake

43. AGE • Defendant must meet certain mental conditions to understand & appreciate the wrongful act. • Infancy is used to excuse a defendant’s wrongdoing because he or she lacked the capacity to be held liable for the crime. • Although there are some cases where children were held criminally liable for their actions. • New phenomenon in the criminal justice system.

44. Insanity • Defendant’s state of mind is such that s/he cannot claim legal responsibility for h/h actions. • Divorced from reality • Measuring Sanity: • M’Naughten Rule (AKA right-wrong test) • Irresistible impulse test • Durham Rule • Substantial capacity test

45. M’Naughten Rule • A person is legally insane & therefore not criminally responsible if, at the time of the offense, s/he was not able to distinguish between right & wrong. • Developed in 1843 • Louisiana uses M’Naughten Rule • Some states view M’Naughten as too narrow.

46. Irresistible Impulse • Combines M’Naughten with the idea that some act drove the person to commit the crime. • Irresistible Impulse = a person may be found insane even if s/h is aware that the criminal act was “wrong.” • However, there has to be some irresistible impulse resulting from mental deficiency the drove the person to commit the crime.

47. Durham Rule • Developed in 1954 • A defendant is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect. • Not used any more since it’s difficult to determine what constituted mental defect or disease.

48. Substantial Capacity Test • A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time s/he lacks substantial capacity for appreciating the wrongfulness of h/h conduct. • Key words: “substantial capacity.”

49. Guilty but Mentally Ill • Public backlash against the insanity defense caused 7 state legislatures to pass “guilty but mentally ill” statutes. • Capacity to distinguish b/w right & wrong but b/c of mental defect or disease lacked sufficient capacity to conform….to the requirements of the law. • Jury can find the defendant criminally responsible for h/h actions but is mentally ill though not insane. • Instead of jail, defendant goes to psychiatric hospital.

50. Intoxication • Voluntary & involuntary • Involuntary intoxication: a person if forced to take some intoxicating substance or is unaware that a substance contains drugs or alcohol. • The substance leaves the person unable to form the mental state necessary to understand that the act committed (while under the influence) was wrong.