Law & Justice

Chapters 8-10Criminal Laws & Defenses

Requirements

Criminal Law State of Mind – means a person did

something knowingly, willfully, intentionally

INTENT!!!! Bob leaves a stove on when he goes to work,

accidentally, and the house burns down Bob committed the act – burning down the house Bob did not have the intent

State of mind is different from motive Motive – reason someone performs the

act Murder motives – money, revenge, anger,

etc..)

Requirements

Some crimes are Strict Liability – which means it requires no intent

Selling alcohol to a minor – even though you don’t know it’s a minor, its still a crime

Categories

Crimes are broken into two categories Felonies

Murder, manslaughter, rape, sodomy, mayhem, robbery, burglary, larceny

Potential penalty is imprisonment for more than one year

Misdemeanors Contain all other crimes Potential penalty is imprisonment for less than

one year

Terms

Criminals – There are 4 terms used for people involved with crime Principal – person who commits a crime Accomplice – person who assists the

perpetrator in committing the crime Accessory before the fact – orders the

commission of a crime or helps plan the crime but is not present for it

Accessory after the fact – person who knows a crime has been committed but still helps the perpetrator or accomplice escape or avoid capture

Crimes against the person

Crimes against the Person – criminals use either force or threaten force against the victim Domestic Violence

Includes intimate partner violence (spousal abuse), abuse by ex-spouses, ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, family violence, child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse by members of the same household

Robbery Unlawful taking of property from a person’s

immediate possession by force or intimidation victims offer suffer injury and sometimes even

death

Crimes against the person

Rape Sexual intercourse without consent

Statutory Rape involves intercourse between an adult

and a minor Suicide

Courts only see attempted suicide (obviously)

treated as a cry for help, they will order evaluations of the person

Crimes against the person

Assault – Battery Assault is any attempt or threat to carry out a

physical attack upon another person Battery is unlawful physical contact inflicted by

one person on another without consent Homicide

The killing of one human being by another Homicides can be either criminal or non-criminal

Justifiable homicide Soldier in war, executioner for a state, police officer,

self defense Criminal Homicides

Usually done with malice Having the intent to kill or seriously harm another

person or acting in an extremely reckless manner, which shows a lack of regard for human life.

Homicides

Homicides are divided into 6 types First Degree Murder

Killing that is premeditated, deliberate, and done with malice

deliberate – done with a cool mind, capable of reflection

premeditated – the person reflected on the murder before doing it

malice – the person intended to kill

Felony Murder Any killing that takes place while a

person is committing a felony

Homicides

Second Degree Murder Killing that is done with malice, but

without premeditation and deliberation intentional but spontaneous killings

Voluntary Manslaughter Killing which is done without malice

be seriously provoked by the victim not have had an opportunity to cool off act in the heat of anger

crime of passion

Homicide

Involuntary Manslaughter Killing in which there is no intent at all

resulting from reckless conduct playing with a loaded gun and it goes off

Negligent Homicide Death caused by failure to exercise a

reasonable amount of care in a situation drunk driving

Crimes against Property

Arson willful and malicious burning of a persons

property Vandalism

willful destruction of or damage to the property of another

breaking windows, ripping down fences, writing graffiti, scratching cars

depending on the amount of damage it can be either a felony or a misdemeanor

Crimes against Property

Larceny unlawful and intentional taking of

another’s property without his or her consent and with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property

Grand Larceny – Felony, for stealing over a certain amount (usually $500)

Petty Theft – Misdemeanor, for stealing less than the grand larceny amount

Shoplifting – taking items from a store without paying (can be either a felony or a misdemeanor)

Crimes against Property

Embezzlement unlawful taking of property by someone

to whom it was entrusted you give a friend $200 to hold for you

while swimming and they keep it Extortion

making a threat with the intent of getting property from another person

sometimes called blackmail give me $1,000 by Friday or I will kill you

If I am holding a gun at that moment--- robbery

Crimes against Property

Burglary unlawful entry into any building with the

intent to commit a crime Forgery

falsely makes or alters a document with intent to defraud

signing the name of another person to a check

Fraud knowingly misrepresenting a fact to get

property from another person I say a worthless coin is gold – and I sell it to

you for $100

Crimes against Property

Receiving Stolen Property receiving or buying property that you

know or have reason to believe is stolen buying stereo parts out of the trunk of a car for

very cheap…

Defenses

For a conviction to occur in a criminal case, the prosecutor must establish defendant committed the act in question defendant had the required intent must be proven Beyond a Reasonable

Doubt Claims for Defense

No crime was committed No criminal intent was involved Alibi

Evidence that the defendant was somewhere else when the crime was committed

Defenses

Lack of Criminal Responsibility Infancy

Legal defense of a person considered not yet legally responsible for their actions

children are then turned over to juvenile courts

Defenses

Intoxication Defendant claims at the time of the

offense, they were so drunk or high that they did not know what they were doing

Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a crime, however it may be a valid defense if the crime requires proof of a specific mental state

Randy is charged with assault with intent to kill – he claims he was drunk – if he can prove that he was so drunk that he could not have formed the intent to kill, his intoxication would be a valid defense

Randy can still be convicted of assault, since no specific intent for that is required

Defenses

Entrapment Defense that applies when the defendant

admits to committing the act, but claims they were induced or persuaded to commit the crime by a law enforcement official.

difficult to prove cannot be used as a defense to serious physical

injury crimes like rape or murder

Defenses

Duress When someone does something as a

result of coercion or threat of immediate danger to life or safety

under duress a person lacks the ability to exercise free will

Someone kidnaps your child, and threatens to kill them unless you rob a bank

Duress cannot be used as a defense for homicide

Defenses

Necessity When someone is compelled to react to a

situation that is unavoidable to protect life

You are left adrift on a lifeboat that is so heavy with cargo that it is in danger of sinking, so you throw the cargo overboard. In this case, necessity would be a good defense to the charge of destruction of property.

necessity is not a defense to homicide (you cant throw other people over)

Defenses

Insanity Defense stating that because of mental

disease or defect the defendant should not be held responsible for the crime committed.

There are several tests to determine insanity

The M’Naghten Rule Defendants mush show that because of

their mental illness they did not know what they were doing or they did not know it was wrong.

About 50% of states and federal courts use this rule

Defenses

The Irresistible Impulse Rule Defendant must prove that the crime was

committed because of an insane impulse that controlled their will.

This test of insanity often supplements the M’Naghten Rule

The Durham Rule Defendant must prove that the crime was

the product of mental disease or mental defect of some sort.

because of its vagueness, no state follows it today

Defenses

Model Penal Code Test (Substantial Capacity Test)

Under this rule, defendants are insane IF: they lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the

criminality of their conduct OR they lacked substantial capacity to conform their

conduct to the requirement of law Much stricter than Durham, used in about 50%

of states and federal courts.

Defenses

What happens to these defendants Committed to mental hospitals

Will not be released into the public until they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt they are sane or that they no longer pose any threat to society.

Force

Self Defense Possible argument that can be used as a

defense against crimes against person Three things must be established

you reasonably believed that the force was required for your own protection, even if that belief turns out to be mistaken

the threatened harm was about to happen and the attacker was willing and able to injure you

the force used in self-defense was reasonable – that is no more than was necessary to prevent the victim from inflicting harm

Defenses

Deadly Force may be used when you believe two things: the attacker was about to kill you or inflict great

bodily harm the deadly force was the only way of preventing

the harm In general, defending others is the same as

defending yourself Rules about deadly force change when

people are defending their home Deadly force may be used IF:

the intruder is about to unlawfully enter the home the intruder intends to commit a felony or injure an

occupant of a home deadly force is necessary to stop the intruder