AGENDA Class exercise Finish up with CHAPTER THREE Slide 23

Nature and Purpose of Law Why do we have laws? Imagine a society without laws? In my opinion a society without laws is a society in a state of chaos. A state without laws and government would be anarchy. By definition anarchy is a state of disorder due to the absence or recognition of an authority figure. Life without some type of rules to control us would literally be a state of disorder

Law

Nature and Purpose of Law Law- a rule of conduct, generally found enacted in the form of a statute, that proscribes or mandates certain forms of behavior  Laws make things fair for all groups of people.  Laws are not different or special for any one group.  It does not matter what race, religion, age, or sex you are, nor how much money you make. Laws protect everyone

Nature & Purpose of Law Without criminal law, people wouldn’t feel safe because the more powerful could take what they wanted

Statutory Law The written or codified law; “the law on the books,” as enacted by a government body or agency having the power to make laws. Federal- United States Code (U.S.C.) http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml Page 64

Penal Code http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.html/pen_table_of_contents.html 211. Robbery is the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear.

Case Law http://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/CACourts/ The body of judicial precedent, historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, that serves as a guide to decision making, especially in the courts

Common Law The body of law origination from usage and custom rather than from written statutes Common Law is the traditional body of unwritten historical precedents created from everyday social customs, rules, and practices. Many of which were supported by judicial decisions during early times

Common Law example Common law is defined as a body of legal rules that have been made by judges as they issue rulings on cases, as opposed to rules and laws made by the legislature or in official statutes. An example of common law is a rule that a judge made that says that people have a duty to read contracts

Rule of Law The maxim that an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members “No one is above the law” Rule of law implies that every citizen is subject to the law, including law makers themselves

Types of Laws Criminal Law (Penal Law) Murder, rape, robbery, assault

Statutory Law Substantive criminal law- the part of the law that defines crimes and specific punishments Procedural Law- The part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law

General Categories of Crime Felonies (Serious Crimes) Misdemeanors (Minor Crimes) Offenses (Infractions) Page 66

Felony Felonies- A criminal offense punishable by death or by incarceration in a prison facility for at least one year

Misdemeanor An offense punishable by incarceration, usually in a local confinement facility, for a period whose upper limit is prescribed by statute in a given jurisdiction, typically one year or less Page 66

Misdemeanor punishment A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county or city jail or detention facility not to exceed one year. Except where the law specifies a different punishment, a misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months and/or a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars California Page 66

INFRACTIONS Infractions (sometimes called violations) are petty offenses that are typically punishable by fines, but not jail time. ... Traffic offenses are the most common form of infraction. Page 66

Treason A U.S. Citizen’s actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the United States

Espionage The gathering, transmitting or losing of information related to the national defense. Information becomes available to enemies of the United States

Actus Reus The Criminal Act Guilty act, act in violation of a law The necessary first feature of any crime

Mens Rea Four types The state of mind that accompanies a criminal act, (Guilty mind) (There state of mind) Purposeful Knowing Reckless Negligent

Glad she died 1st try so I didn’t have to go back again Purposeful Glad she died 1st try so I didn’t have to go back again Knowing She need to be taught a lesson, so what if she lost her life Reckless Glad I was driving like that, otherwise she wouldn’t have died Negligent I shouldn’t have been on my phone, I should have watched the road Page 70

Corpus Delicti Corpus Delicti- “The body of the Crime”

Corpus Delicti cont’d Two aspect to the Corpus Delicti That a certain result has been produced That a person is criminally responsible for its production

Criminal Defenses Alibi Justification Excuse Procedural Defense

Alibi

Alibi A statement or contention by an individual charged with a crime that he or she was do distant 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

Justification A legal defense in which the defendant admits to committing the act in question but claims it was necessary in order to avoid some greater evil.

Justification examples Self defense Necessity Defense of others Consent Defense of home or property Resisting unlawful arrest

Self Defense Best known of the justifications Where a “path of retreat” exists for a person being attacked, it should be taken.

Excuse A legal defense in which the defendant claims that some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that he or she should not be held accountable under the criminal law

Excuse (examples) Duress Diminished capacity Age Mental Incompetence Mistake Involuntary intoxication Unconsciousness Provocation Insanity Page 80-81

Procedural Defense A defense that claims that the defendant was in some significant way discriminated against 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

Procedural Defense excuses Entrapment Denial of a speedy trial Double Jeopardy Prosecutorial misconduct Police Fraud Selective Prosecution Collateral estoppel

Double Jeopardy Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction.

Collateral estoppel Collateral estoppel (CE), known in modern terminology as issue preclusion, is a common law estoppel doctrine that prevents a person from relitigating an issue.

Collateral estoppel In California, there are four criteria for application of collateral estoppel: (1) the prior conviction must have been for a serious offense so that the defendant was motivated to fully litigate the charges; (2) there must have been a full and fair trial to prevent convictions of doubtful validity from being used; (3) the issue on which the prior conviction is offered must of necessity have been decided at the criminal trial; and (4) the party against whom collateral estoppel is asserted was a party or in privity with a party to the prior trial Privity- a relation between two parties that is recognized by law, such as that of blood, lease, or service

Police Fraud http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/fabricated-drug-charges-innocent-people-meet-arrest-quotas-detective-testifies-article-1.963021

Questions? What is the rule of law? Monday, Chapter 4, Policing-Purpose and Organization Wednesday, Sept 21, Quiz #1