Understanding Criminal Law: Written Sources, Elements, Defenses, and Procedural Safeguards, Slides of Criminal Justice

Download Understanding Criminal Law: Written Sources, Elements, Defenses, and Procedural Safeguards and more Slides Criminal Justice in PDF only on Docsity! Inside Criminal Law Docsity.com Written Sources of American Criminal Law  American criminal law is codified, or written down and accessible to all.  This allows citizens to know which acts are illegal, and to understand the procedures used to determine an individual’s innocence or guilt.  Written sources of law are known as substantive law. Docsity.com 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 Docsity.com 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 Docsity.com The Elements of a Crime Corpus delicti consists of:  Criminal Act - Actus reus Crimes 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.  Concurrance - The guilty act and the guilty intent must occur together. Docsity.com 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. Docsity.com Defenses Under Criminal Law Excuse Defenses:  Infancy - Youthful offenders cannot understand the consequences of their actions.  Insanity- A person cannot have the state of mind (intent) to commit the crime if s/he didn’t know the act was wrong, or didn’t understand the quality of the act. Docsity.com Defenses Under Criminal Law 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 Docsity.com Defenses Under Criminal Law Justification Defenses:  Duress  The defendant is threatened with seriously 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? “Castle Doctrine” no duty to retreat if in your home. Docsity.com 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. (Predisposed to commit the crime?) Docsity.com 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. Docsity.com 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 Docsity.com 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. Docsity.com