CJ © 2011 Cengage Learning Chapter 4 Inside Criminal Law

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcomes LO1: List the four written sources of American criminal law. LO2: Explain the two basic functions of criminal law. LO3: List and briefly define the most important excuse defenses for crimes. LO4: Describe the four most important justification criminal defenses. LO5: Distinguish between substantive and procedural criminal law.

1 LO © 2011 Cengage Learning List the four written sources of American criminal law.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 1 American criminal law was originally uncodified. – Difficult for people to know what was illegal. – Difficult for people to know how guilt or innocence is established. American criminal law now has several written sources (substantive criminal law)

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 1 Constitutional Law - The U.S. Constitution and the various state constitutions Statutory Law - Laws and ordinances passed by Congress and state legislatures Administrative Law – rules, orders, and decisions of regulatory agencies. Case Law – rules of law announced in court decisions (precedents)

2 LO © 2011 Cengage Learning Explain the two basic functions of criminal law.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 2 Protect and Punish: the legal function of the law Maintain social order by protecting citizens from criminal harm Includes harms to both individuals and society in general

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 2 Maintain and Teach: the social function of the law Expressing public morality Teaching societal boundaries

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 2 Criminal law normally requires that the corpus delicti (the body of the crime) be proved before a person can be convicted of wrongdoing

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 2 Corpus delicti consists of: Criminal Act - Actus reus – Crimes may be acts of commission, or acts of omission, or even planned/attempted acts. Mental State - Mens rea – Intent is required to establish guilt of a crime. Intent includes elements of purpose, knowledge, negligence, and recklessness.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 2 Corpus delicti consists of: Criminal Liability – Strict Liability – for some crimes, the defendant is found guilty regardless of intent. Helps protect the public and minors – Accomplice Liability – a person can be charged for helping another person commit a crime. – Felony-Murder – a person can be charged as an accomplice if the crime was a “natural and probable consequence” of his actions.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 2 Corpus delicti consists of: Concurrence – The guilty act and guilt intent must occur together. Causation – The criminal act must cause the harm suffered. Attendant Circumstances – Many states differentiate between assault with a gun or a knife.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 2 Corpus delicti consists of: Hate Crime Laws – Make the suspect’s motive an important attendant circumstance. Harm – Some crimes are categorized by the harm done to the victim regardless of intent. – Inchoate offense – acts that are deemed criminal if they could do harm that laws try to prevent.

© 2011 Cengage Learning CAREERPREP Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Job Description: Enforce the nation’s environmental laws protecting air, water, and land resources. Investigate cases that involve negligent, knowing, or willful violations of federal environmental laws. What kind of training is required? Eight weeks of basic federal law enforcement and criminal investigation training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. An additional eight weeks of training in conducting investigations of the criminal provisions of federal environmental laws. Annual salary range? $43,000–$128,000 For additional information, visit: agents.html.

3 LO © 2011 Cengage Learning List and briefly define the most important excuse defenses for crimes.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 3 Criminal Responsibility and the Law In some cases, the law “excuses” a person for his or her behavior because of responsibility.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 3 Excuse Defenses Infancy - youthful offenders cannot understand the consequences of their actions. Insanity- defendant’s state of mind is such that he or she cannot claim responsibility for actions.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 3 Insanity is determined by… M’Naughten Rule – A person is insane if they can’t distinguish right from wrong ALI/MPC Test – Also known as the substantial capacity test, the defendant must lack the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his/her conduct. Irresistible Impulse Test – A person is insane if some “irresistible impulse” resulting from a mental deficiency drove him or her to commit the crime

© 2011 Cengage Learning ABC Video: Killer Free Insanity

© 2011 Cengage Learning

Learning Outcome 3 Excuse Defenses: Intoxication – Voluntary – Involuntary Mistake – Mistake of Law – claim that defendant did not know the law. – Mistake of Fact – claim that defendant did not know actions were criminal.

4 LO © 2011 Cengage Learning Describe the four most important justification defenses.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 4 Justification Defenses Duress – Four conditions The threat must be of serious bodily harm or death. The harm threatened must be greater than the harm caused by the crime. The threat must be immediate and inescapable. The defendant must have become involved in the situation through no fault.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 4 Justification Defenses Self-Defense – There must be reasonable belief of death or harm. – Duty to retreat.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 4 Justification Defenses Necessity – Circumstances required the defendant to commit the act. Entrapment – The defendant claims (s)he was induced by police to commit the act.

© 2011 Cengage Learning

CAREERPREP Criminal Court Judge Job Description: Preside over trials and hearings in federal, state, and local courts. Ensure that all proceedings are fair and protect the legal rights of everyone involved. Rule on admissibility of evidence, monitor the testimony of witnesses, and settle disputes between prosecutors and defense attorneys. What kind of training is required? A law degree and several years of legal experience. Depending on the jurisdiction, judges are either appointed or elected. Annual salary range? $93,000–$162,000 For additional information, visit: education-portal.com/become-a- judge.html.

5 LO © 2011 Cengage Learning Distinguish between substantive and procedural criminal law.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 5 Substantive Criminal Law: Laws that define 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.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 5 The Bill of Rights: – The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. – The Bill of Rights was adopted by the states in Since then, seventeen more amendments have been added – The Bill of Rights has served as the basis for procedural safeguards of the accused in the U.S.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 5 Procedural safeguards in the U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment provides protection from unreasonable searches and seizures Fifth Amendment requires that no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without “due process of the law,” including protections against double jeopardy and individuals being required to be a witness against himself or herself

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 5 Sixth Amendment guarantees a speedy trial, a trial by jury, a public trial, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a lawyer at various stages of criminal proceedings Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bails, fines, and cruel and unusual punishments Fourteenth Amendment provides due process and equal protection of the laws

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 5 Due process clause – Requires that the government not act unfairly or arbitrarily. – The government cannot rely on individual judgment or impulse when making decisions.

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 5 Procedural due process is a provision in the Constitution that states that the law must be carried out in a fair and orderly manner

© 2011 Cengage Learning Learning Outcome 5 Substantive due process is a Constitutional requirement that laws used in accusing and convicting persons of crimes must be fair