2. Four Broad Categories of Law
a. Criminal law
Body of rules that define crimes, sets out their
punishments, and mandates the procedures for
carrying out the criminal justice process
a. Substantive Criminal Law
Body of specific rules that declare what conduct is
criminal and prescribes the punishment to be
imposed for such conduct
a. Procedural Criminal Law
Sets out the basic rules of practice in the criminal
justice system
a. Civil law
All law that is not criminal
3. The History of Criminal Law
The underlying goal of the
substantive criminal law is:
To enforce social control
Distribute retribution
Express public opinion and morality
Deter criminal behavior
Punish wrongdoing
Maintain social order
Restoration
4. The History of Criminal Law
The roots of the criminal codes used in the
United States can be traced back to such
early legal charters as:
The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (2000 BCE)
The Mosaic Code of the Israelites (1200 BCE) and
the Roman Twelve Tables (451 BCE).
Emerging Germanic societies developed
legal systems featuring monetary
compensation, called “wergild”
Our legal code is directly tied to England
5. Sources of the Criminal Law
Mala in se
Mala prohibitum
Constitutional Limits
6. Sources of the Criminal Law
After the Norman Conquest, royal judges would
decide what to do in each case, using local custom
and rules of conduct as their guide in a system
Stare decisis
Latin for “to stand by decided cases”
Eventually this system evolved into a common law of
the country that incorporated local custom and
practice into a national code
Mala in se
Crimes that are inherently evil and depraved (such as murder,
burglary, and arson)
Mala prohibitum
Crimes which reflected existing social and economic
conditions
7. Sources of the Criminal Law
The contemporary American legal
system was codified by state and
federal legislatures
The content of the law may also be
influenced by judicial decision making
Regardless of its source, all criminal law in
the United States must conform to the rules
and dictates of the U.S. Constitution
8. Constitutional Limits
Criminal laws have been interpreted as
violating constitutional principles if they
are too vague or overbroad to give clear
meaning of their intent
Each state and the federal government has
developed its own body of criminal law that
defines and grades offenses, sets levels of
punishment, and classifies crimes into
categories
Prohibits laws that make a person’s status a crime
Cruel and/or capricious
Bills of attainder
Ex post facto laws
10. Classifying Crimes
Felonies
Misdemeanors
Infractions and Violations
Each jurisdiction in the U.S. determines by
statute what types of conduct constitute
felonies or misdemeanors
11. The Legal Definition of a
Crime
Almost all common-law crime
contains both mental and physical
elements
Actus reus
An illegal act, or failure to act when legally
required… the guilty act
Mens rea
A guilty mind; the intent to commit a
criminal act
14. What cops hear…
My friend let me borrow his/her car
It’s not my pants
It’s not my bag/purse
15. The Legal Definition of a Crime
To constitute a crime, the law requires
a connection be made between the
mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus
(guilty act) thereby showing that the
offender’s conduct was the proximate
cause of the criminal act
16. The Legal Definition of a Crime
Certain statutory offenses exist in which mens rea
(guilty mind) is not essential
These offenses fall within a category known as a public
safety or strict liability crime
Traffic crimes, public safety, and business crimes are
typically strict liability crimes
The third element needed to prove that a crime was
committed is the immediate relationship to or
concurrence of the act with the criminal intent or
result
For an act to be considered a crime, the actor’s willingness
to cause harm must be proved (we call this “intent”)
18. Discussion Questions
Compstat (shor t for COMPlaint
STATistics)
Using statistics to fight crime
It uses Geographic Information
Systems to map crime and identify
problem areas.
Lets you send resources to the
right areas at the right time
Holds Supervisors accountable for
crime in their assigned areas
21. Criminal Defenses
When people defend themselves against
criminal charges, they must refute one or
more of the elements of the crime of which
they have been accused
Defendants may deny the actus reus (guilty act) by
arguments that they were falsely accused and the
real culprit has yet to be identified
Defendants may also claim that while they did
engage in the criminal act they are accused of, they
should be excused because they lacked mens rea
(guilty mind)
22. Criminal Defenses
Another type of defense is justification
Such as self-defense, which involves
maintaining that the act was justified under
the circumstances
“Given the circumstances, anyone would
have done what I did.”
23. Excuse Defenses
Ignorance or Mistake
Can be an excuse if it negates an element of
the crime
Insanity
If the defendant’s state of mind negates
his/her criminal responsibility
Intoxication
Not a defense unless the defendant became
involuntarily intoxicated under duress or by
mistake
24. Excuse Defenses
Age
Generally a conclusive presumption of incapacity
for a child under the age of 7
Not the same as adult vs. juvenile
Children under 18 can be charged with a crime.
Entrapment
If law enforcement agents used traps, decoys, and
deception to induce criminal action
Recent discussions on entrapment with fbi stings on
terrorists and with cpd arresting nato demonstrators
25. Justification Defenses
Consent
The type of crime involved generally
determines the validity of consent as an
appropriate legal defense
Self-defense
Must prove she/he acted with a reasonable
belief that she/he was in imminent danger of
death or harm, and had no reasonable means of
escape from the assailant
26. Justification Defenses
Stand your ground
The “castle exception”
Florida’s Stand Your Ground law authorizes
citizens to use deadly force when they
reasonably believe that their homes or vehicles
have been illegally invaded.
Duress
When the defendant claims he was forced to
commit a crime as the only means of preventing
death or serious harm to himself or others
27. Justification Defenses
Necessity
When a crime was committed under extreme
circumstances and could not be avoided
Example: A pregnant woman in labor stole a car
because she feared she was imminently going to
give birth and had no other means of transportation
In the Line of Duty
Crime committed in the line of a first responder
occupation
29. Reforming the Criminal Law
Laws, in part, reflect
public opinion… morality
Stalking
Prohibiting assisted
suicide
Registering sex offenders
Clarifying rape
Controlling technology
Protecting the environment
Legalizing marijuana
Responding to terrorism
30. Law of Criminal Procedure
Judicial Interpretation
4th Amendment
5th Amendment
8th Amendment
14th Amendment
Due Process of Law
31. The Law of Criminal Procedure
The law of criminal procedure consists of
the rules and procedure that govern the
pretrial processing of criminal suspects
and the conduct of criminal trials
The main source of the procedural law is the
body of the Constitution and the first 10
amendments added to the U.S. Constitution on
December 15, 1791
These are collectively known as the Bill of Rights
32. Judicial Interpretation
Of primary concern are the Fourth,
Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments:
Limit and control the manner in which the
federal government operates the justice
system
The Fourteenth Amendment applies these
rights to the state and local governments
33. 4th Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no
Warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation,
and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be
seized
Stopping, questioning, or searching an individual
without legal justification represents a serious
violation of the Fourth Amendment.
34. 5th Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in
the militia, when in actual service in time of war or
public danger; nor shall any person be subject for
the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life
or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.
I plead the 5th (Losi Lerner in the IRS Scandle)
36. 6th Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the state and district wherein
the crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained
by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with
the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and
to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense.
Right to attorney - Change of Venue
38. 8th Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishments inflicted.
Death Penalty?
39. 14th Amendment
Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the state wherein they reside. No state shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Equal protection (gay marriage)
40. Due Process of Law
The concept of due process is found
in both the Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendments
Due process has been used to evaluate
the constitutionality of legal statutes and
to set standards and
guidelines for fair
procedures in the
criminal justice
system
41. Due Process of Law
Due process can be divided into two
distinct categories:
a. Substantive
b. Procedural
Substantive due process
Refers to the citizen’s right to be protected
from criminal laws that may be biased,
discriminatory, or otherwise unfair
Procedural due process
Seeks to ensure that no person will be
deprived of life, liberty, or property without
proper and legal criminal process
Dick Heller, a licensed special police officer for the District of Columbia, carried a gun in federal office buildings, but was not allowed to have one in his home. Here, he signs an autograph outside the Supreme Court on June 26, 2008, after the Court ruled in the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller that Americans have a constitutional right to keep guns in their homes for self-defense.
Amy Bishop is led away after her plea hearing in Huntsville, Alabama, on September 22, 2011. Bishop pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings that killed three colleagues and wounded three others during a February 2010 faculty meeting. Before the murders, Bishop exhibited a long history of strange and bizarre behavior, including the fatal shooting of her brother and an attack on a woman in a local restaurant. Is it possible that extremely violent people like Bishop and Colorado shooter James Holmes are normal or are their actions clear evidence of mental illness?
BP Mobile Incident Commander Keith Seilhan talks with oil cleanup workers in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on July 2, 2010. Seilhan is informing the workers that they have BP’s permission to speak to members of the media if they wish. The Deepwater Horizon incident was a harrowing reminder that environmental laws are needed to protect the biosystem both from those who pollute on purpose and from those who are negligent in their handling of dangerous chemicals.
BP Mobile Incident Commander Keith Seilhan talks with oil cleanup workers in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on July 2, 2010. Seilhan is informing the workers that they have BP’s permission to speak to members of the media if they wish. The Deepwater Horizon incident was a harrowing reminder that environmental laws are needed to protect the biosystem both from those who pollute on purpose and from those who are negligent in their handling of dangerous chemicals.