Schmalleger ch03 lecture

Criminal JusticeCriminal JusticeA Brief IntroductionA Brief Introduction

CHAPTER

Copyright © 2016, 2014, 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.All Rights Reserved

Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction, 11eFrank Schmalleger

ELEVENTH EDITION

Criminal Law

3



The Nature and Purpose of LawThe 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

continued on next slide




• 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





• Penal code The written, organized, and compiled

form of the criminal laws of a jurisdiction





• Case law The body of judicial precedent,

historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, that serve as a guide to decision making, especially in the courts





• Common law The body of law originating from usage

and custom rather than from written statutes• The term refers to an unwritten body of

judicial opinion, originally developed by English courts.



The Rule of LawThe Rule of Law

• 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• Sometimes referred to as the supremacy

of law• Has been called the greatest political

achievement of our culture





• 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• Also been called "the foundation of

liberties in the Western world"





• ABA notes that the rule of law includes these elements: Freedom from private lawlessness A relatively high degree of objectivity in

the formulation of legal norms Substantive and procedural limitations

on governmental power





• Jurisprudence The philosophy of law or the science and

study of the law, including the rule of law



Types of LawTypes of Law

• Criminal law The body of rules and regulations that

define and specify the nature of and punishments for offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or society• Also called penal law





• Substantive law The part of the law that defines crimes

and specifies punishments• For example• murder, rape, robbery, and assault





• Procedural law The part of the law that specifies the

methods to be used in enforcing substantive law

• Civil law The branch of modern law that governs

relationships between parties Contracts, divorces, child support and

custody, property transferscontinued on next slide




• Tort A wrongful act, damage, or injury not

involving a breach of contract• Also a private or civil wrong or injury• Not a crime





• Parties to a civil suit Plaintiff• Who seeks relief

Defendant• Against whom relief is sought





• Administrative law The body of regulations that

governments create to control the activities of industries, businesses, and individuals• Tax laws, health codes, vehicle

registration laws





• Precedent A legal principle that ensures that

previous judicial decisions are authoritatively considered and incorporated into future cases





• Stare decisis A legal principle that requires that in

subsequent cases on similar issues of law and fact, courts be bound by their own earlier decisions and by those of higher courts having jurisdiction over them



General Categories of CrimeGeneral Categories of Crime

• Felony 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





• Offenses Refers to minor violations of the law that

are less serious than misdemeanors• Infractions





• Treason A U. S. citizen's actions to help a foreign

government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the United States• The attempt to overthrow the

government of the society of which one is a member





• Espionage The "gathering, transmitting, or losing"

of information related to the national defense in a manner that the information becomes available to enemies of the United States





• Inchoate offenses An offense not yet completed An offense that consists of an action or

conduct that is a step toward the intended commission of another offense



General Features of CrimeGeneral Features of Crime

• The criminal act (Actus Reus) A guilty act To be something is not a crime; to do

something may be. Threatening to act can be a criminal

offense. Conspiracies are another criminal act.





• A guilty mind (Mens Rea) The state of mind that accompanies a

criminal act





• Types or levels of mens rea Purposeful (or intentional) Knowing Reckless Negligent




FIGURE 3-3 Features of a CrimeSource: Frank A. Schmalleger, Daniel E. Hall, and John J. Dolatowski, Criminal Law Today, 4th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2010), p. 46. Reprinted by permission of Pearson-Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.




• Reckless behavior An activity that increases the risk of

harm

• Criminal negligence A behavior in which a person fails to

reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences





• Motive A person's reason for committing a

crime• Mens rea must generally be inferred from

a person's actions and from all circumstances.





• Strict liability A liability without fault or intention• Does not require mens rea• Also called absolute liability offenses

• Concurrence The coexistence of (1) an act in violation

of the law, and (2) a culpable mental state



Other Features of CrimeOther Features of Crime

• Causation Refers to the fact that the concurrence

of a guilty mind and a criminal act may cause harm• Must be demonstrated in court in order

to hold an individual criminally liable for causing harm

• Harm Not all harms are crimes





• Legality Highlights the fact that a behavior

cannot be criminal if no law exists that defines it as such

Includes the notion of ex post facto laws• Latin for "after the fact"• Laws are binding only from the date of

their creation.





• Punishment No crime can be said to occur where

punishment has not been specified in the law.





• Necessary attendant circumstances Includes such things as time and place May be classified as aggravating or

mitigating circumstances Aggravating and mitigating

circumstances are not elements of an offense.



Elements of a Specific Criminal Elements of a Specific Criminal OffenseOffense

• Element In a specific crime, one of the essential

features of that crime, as specified by law or statute




Elements of a Specific Criminal Elements of a Specific Criminal OffenseOffense

• The corpus delicti of a crime Literally means "the body of the crime"• The facts that show that a crime has

occurred.• Two aspects to the corpus delicti of an

offense:• A certain result has been produced.• A person is criminally responsible for its

production.



FIGURE 3-4 Body of CrimeSource: Frank A. Schmalleger, Daniel E. Hall, and John J. Dolatowski, Criminal Law Today, 4th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2010), p. 61. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.



Types of Defenses to a Criminal Types of Defenses to a Criminal ChargeCharge

• Alibi A statement or contention by an

individual charged with a crime that he or she was so distant when the crime was committed;

The defendant could not have committed the crime.





• Justifications Admits to committing the act but claims

that it was necessary to avoid some greater evil





• Defense of others Alter ego rule• A person can only defend a third party

under circumstances, and only to the degree that the third party could legally act on his or her own behalf.

• Defense of home and property





• Necessity The claim that some illegal action was

needed to prevent an even greater harm, is a useful defense in cases that do not involve serious bodily harm.





• Consent Whatever harm was done occurred only

after the injured person gave his or her permission for the behavior in question

• Resisting unlawful arrest Such laws generally say that a person

may use a reasonable amount of force, other than deadly force, to resist arrest or an unlawful search.





• Excuses Duress (sometimes also called

coercion), Age, Mistake, Involuntary intoxication, Unconsciousness, Provocation, Insanity





• The M'Naghten Rule A rule for determining insanity that asks

whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing, and whether the defendant knew that what he or she was doing was wrong

• Irresistible rule• The Durham Rule• The Substantial-Capacity Test





• Guilty but mentally ill verdict A verdict, equivalent to a finding of

"guilty" that establishes that the defendant, although mentally ill, was in sufficient possession of his or her faculties to be morally blameworthy for his or her acts





• The insanity defense under federal law• The consequences of an insanity ruling• Diminished capacity

A defense based on claims of a mental condition that may be insufficient to exonerate the defendant of guilt but that may be relevant to specific mental elements of certain crimes





• Mental incompetence Incompetent to stand trial• A finding by the court that, as a result of

mental illness, a defendant is incapable of understanding the nature of the charges and proceedings against him or her, of consulting with an attorney, and of aiding in his or her own defense



Procedural DefensesProcedural Defenses

• Procedural defenses make the claim that the defendant was in some manner discriminated against in the justice process. Entrapment• An improper or illegal inducement to

crime by agents of law enforcement





• Procedural defenses make the claim that the defendant was in some manner discriminated against in the justice process. Double jeopardy• A common law and constitutional

prohibition against a second trial for the same offense





• Collateral estoppel• Selective prosecution

Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection of the laws





• Denial of a speedy trial Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial

• Prosecutorial misconduct• Police fraud