Criminal Law Sutton High School History & Social Sciences Department

The Law Two Main Divisions Civil Law Civil Law: the law related to interactions between people. Includes: Contracts, Real Estate, Family & Probate etc. Grievances between parties Criminal Law Criminal Law: Law related to the relationship between society and the acceptable norms and behaviors of the society and those who violate those “formalized” norms. Crimes against society.

The Criminal Law Criminal law can be broken into two general types. Substantive Law Substantive Law: The actual violations of societal norms. What is a violation of the law? What are the elements of a crime? Procedural Law Procedural Law: Provides the manner in which society prosecutes, rights that are protected and the manner of adjudication and punishment.

Criminal Law The Rules of Society MORES: Serious Infractions of the Rules of a society FOLKWAYS: Less serious infractions of a society Informal Rules Etiquette Social Behavior Don’t Pick Your Nose Personal Space Non-verbal Cues Rule for certain situations Formal Rules Codified (written down) as laws Violation is a CRIME Felony Misdemeanor Violation or Infraction

Sources of Criminal Law English Common Law English Common Law: A system of traditional legal precedents passed down from thousands of year of court decisions. Statutory Law Statutory Law: Those laws passed by legislatures. Regulatory Law Regulatory Law: Those rules and regulations that have force of law established by bureaucracies. Case Law Case Law: More recent court cases that change and evolve existing law.

Substantive Criminal Law Most of the substantive criminal law come through statutory and regulatory sources. This law establishes the socially sanctioned law of behavior in a society. Each statute or regulation establishes a set of “elements” for the crime.

Elements of a Crime Section 1. Murder committed with deliberately premeditated malice aforethought, or with extreme atrocity or cruelty, or in the commission or attempted commission of a crime punishable with death or imprisonment for life, is murder in the first degree. Murder which does not appear to be in the first degree is murder in the second degree. Petit treason shall be prosecuted and punished as murder. The degree of murder shall be found by the jury. (MGL c. 265 s. 1) Elements of Murder Commission of unlawful killing Of another person. With malice aforethought; and with deliberate premeditation, or Extreme atrocity or cruelty, or Commission or attempted commission of a crime punishable by life imprisonment. Unlawful killing Of another Without malice aforethought.

Model Penal Code The model penal code is codification of all the statutory crimes from across the country to try to unify the concepts of criminal law. It is not the actual code of any state. Three states have adopted the MPC almost in its entirety. ( New York, New Jersey and Oregon.) Criminal Codes vary by state. The complexity and organization are different from state to state. Massachusetts does not subscribe to the Model Penal Code. Massachusetts has the fifth worst organized criminal code, in large part that it is cluttered with laws that have never been repealed or removed from the law. (Blue laws)

Massachusetts General Laws Criminal Code= Part IV ( Organization of Massachusetts Criminal Code CHAPTER  Section  subsections CHAPTER 264 CRIMES AGAINST GOVERNMENT CHAPTER 265 CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS CHAPTER 266 CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY CHAPTER 267 FORGERY AND CRIMES AGAINST CURRENCY CHAPTER 268 CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE CHAPTER 269 CRIMES AGAINGST PUBLIC PEACE CHAPTER 270 CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH CHAPTER 271 CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY CHAPTER 272 CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY, DECENCY & GOOD ORDER CHAPTER 90 MOTOR VEHICLE LAWS CHAPTER 90B RECREATIONAL VEHICLES (ATV’S AND BOATING) CHAPTER 140 LICENSES /FIREARMS LAWS

Activity: GTK MGL

Criminal Law Seven Principles of Criminal Law

7 Principles of Criminal Law may In the law, a person in order to commit a crime must meet the elements of that crime. Any crime also adhere to these seven principles as well. Absence of one or more of these may be a defense against conviction of that crime. Legality Legality Conduct (Actus Reus) Conduct (Actus Reus) Harm Harm Causation Causation Criminal Intent (Mens Rea) Criminal Intent (Mens Rea) Concurrence Concurrence Punishment Punishment

LEGALITY This principle requires that in order for a crime to be charged a crime must first exist. Meaning a law must have been duly passed. Legislature typically pass laws. Often called statutes. (i.e MGL) Bureaucracies can make regulations with force of law, when authorized by legislatures through statutes. (i.e. CFR CMR) Local cities and towns can pass ordinances or by-laws. The law, regulation, ordinance or by-law must specifically address the act or omission that is prohibited.

LEGALITY Laws are broken down by their severity FELONIES are serious infractions of the law, generally punishable by lengthy prison terms in long-term facilities. Rarely, intermediate sentences of probation may be permitted but with more strict conditions MISDEMEANORS are less serious infractions that are more likely to receive intermediate punishment, such as probation and community service, but carry shorter incarceration terms and often in county facilities such as the House of Correction. VIOLATIONS are minor and often not considered crimes in the true sense. The do not carry prison time, instead there is generally a fine and possibly some probation supervision.

LEGALITY EX POST FACTO LAWS:

CONDUCT (Actus Reus)

HARM

CAUSATION

CRIMINAL INTENT (Mens Rea)

CONCURRENCE

PUNISHMENT