Chapter 4:

Inside Criminal Law

The Development of American Law

Laws consist of enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society.

The Development of American Law

Ancient Sources of Law:

• Hammurabi’s Code (1792-1750 B.C.E.)

• Mosaic Code (1200 B.C.E.)

• Code of Justinian (590 A.D.)

The Development of American Law

English Common Law:

• Henry II (1154-1189), circuit judges establish a common law in England.

• Circuit judges interpret the law based on precedent. This practice is basis of stare decisis, which means “to stand on decided cases”

Written Sources of American Criminal Law

– The U.S. Constitution and the various state constitutions

– Statutes (or laws) and ordinances passed by Congress and state legislatures

– Regulations, created by agencies such as the federal Food and Drug Administration

– Case law (court decisions)

The Purposes of Criminal Law

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

Maintain and Teach: the social function of the law

• Expressing public morality• Teaching social boundaries

The Elements of a Crime

Criminal law normally requires that the corpus delicti (the body of the crime) be proved before a person can be convicted of wrongdoing

The Elements of a Crime

Corpus delicti consists of:

– Criminal Act - Actus reusCrimes may be acts of commission, or acts of omission, or even attempted acts.

– Mental State - Mens rea Intent is required to establish guilt of a crime. Intent includes

elements of purpose, knowledge, negligence, and recklessness.

– Concurrence - The guilty act and the guilty intent must occur together.

The Elements of a Crime

Mens Rea plays a crucial role in differentiating

between varying degrees of criminal

responsibility or criminal liability.

– Strict Liability – offenses hold the defendant guilty even if intent to commit the offense is lacking

– Accomplice Liability – Suspects can be charged for crimes they did not actually commit if it can be proven they acted as an accomplice

The Elements of a Crime

Corpus delicti also consists of:

– Causation - The criminal act caused the harm suffered.

– Attendant Circumstances – In certain crimes, accompanying circumstances are relevant to corpus delicti.

– Harm – Damages resultant from the criminal act. Inchoate offenses are conduct deemed criminal without actual harm being done.

Defenses Under Criminal Law

Excuse Defenses:

These defenses apply

when the actor lacks

the requisite mental

condition to form intent.

There are four excuse

defenses.

Justification Defenses:

These defenses apply

when the defendant

admits to the criminal

act, but argues that the

act was justified.

There are four

justification defenses.

Defenses Under Criminal Law

Excuse Defenses:

– Infancy

– Insanity• M’Naughten Rule• Irresistible Impulse Test• Durham Rule• Substantial Capacity Test

Defenses Under Criminal LawInsanity is determined by:

• M’Naughten Rule– A person is insane if they can’t distinguish right from wrong

• Irresistible Impulse Test– A person is insane if some “irresistible impulse” resulting from a

mental deficiency drove him or her to commit the crime

• Durham Rule– A person is insane if his unlawful act was the product of mental

disease or mental defect

• Substantial Capacity Test– A person is insane if, due to mental illness, (s) he lacks

substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law

Defenses Under Criminal Law

Excuse Defenses:

– Intoxication• Voluntary and Involuntary

– Mistake• Mistake of Fact• Mistake of Law

Defenses Under Criminal Law

Justification Defenses:

– Duress• The defendant is threatened with serious bodily

harm, which induces him/her to commit the crime.

– Self-Defense• The defendant must protect him/herself from injury

by another.• Duty to retreat.• Battered Woman Syndrome

Defenses Under Criminal Law

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.

Procedural Safeguards

Substantive Criminal Law:

Law that defines 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.

Procedural Safeguards

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 1791. 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.

Procedural Safeguards

Procedural safeguards in the U.S. Constitution include:

– 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

Procedural Safeguards

– 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

Procedural Safeguards

• Procedural due process is a provision in the Constitution that states that the law must be carried out in a fair and orderly manner

– Substantive due process is a Constitutional requirement that laws used in accusing and convicting persons of crimes must be fair