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A crime involves an act or failure to act. You cannot be punished for bad
thoughts. A criminal act is called actus reus. |
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A crime requires a criminal intent or mens rea. Criminal punishment
is ordinarily directed at individuals who intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently
harm other individuals or property. |
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The criminal act and criminal intent must coexist or accompany one
another. |
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The defendant’s act must cause the harm required for criminal guilt, death in
the case of homicide, and the burning of a home in the case of arson. |
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Individuals must receive reasonable notice of the acts that are criminal so
as to make a decision to obey or to violate the law. In other words, the required criminal
act and criminal intent must be clearly stated in a statute. This concept is captured by
the Latin phrase nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sin lege (no crime without law, no
punishment without law). |
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Criminal guilt is not imposed on an individual who is able to demonstrate that
his or her criminal act is justified (benefits society) or excused (the individual suffered
from a disability that prevented him or her from forming a criminal intent). |
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Protects the intrest of the individual,punishment by 51% certaincy,rusults in loss of wages,and respect of peers at most.
Infractions |
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Protects the intrest of society,punishment on unresonable doubt, resulting in imprisonment
known as Misdomenors and felonies |
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A crime punishable by death or by imprisonment for
more than one year is a felony. |
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are crimes punishable by less than a year in
prison. |
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are crimes
subject to the death penalty or life in prison in states that do not have the death penalty |
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crimes are considered
“inherently evil” and would be evil even if not prohibited by law. This includes murder,
rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, and arson. |
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offenses are not “inherently evil” and
are only considered wrong because they are prohibited by a statute. This includes offenses ranging
from tax evasion to carrying a concealed weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, and being
drunk and disorderly in public. |
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| Crimes Against the State. |
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| Treason, sedition, espionage |
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| Crimes Against the Person |
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| Homicide. Homicide: murder, manslaughter |
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| Crimes Against the Person, |
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Sexual Offenses, and Other Crimes. Rape, assault and battery,
false imprisonment, kidnapping |
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| Crimes Against Habitation. |
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| Burglary, arson, trespassing |
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Larceny, embezzlement, false pretenses, receiving stolen property,
robbery |
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| Crimes Against Public Order |
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| Crimes Against the Administration of Justice. |
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| Obstruction of justice, perjury, bribery |
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| Crimes Against Public Morals. |
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| English and American Common Law. |
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English and American judge-made laws and English
acts of Parliament. |
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Every state has a comprehensive written set of laws on crime and
punishment. |
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Cities, towns, and counties are typically authorized to enact local
criminal laws, generally of a minor nature. These laws regulate the city streets, sidewalks, and
buildings and concern areas such as traffic, littering, disorderly conduct, and domestic animals. |
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The U.S. government has jurisdiction to enact criminal laws
that are based on the federal government’s constitutional powers, such as the regulation of
interstate commerce. |
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| State and Federal Constitutions. |
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The U.S. Constitution defines treason and together with
state constitutions establishes limits on the power of government to enact criminal laws.
A criminal statute, for instance, may not interfere with freedom of expression or religion |
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International treaties signed by the United States establish crimes
such as genocide, torture, and war crimes. These treaties, in turn, form the basis of federal
criminal laws punishing acts such as genocide and war crimes when Americans are involved.
These cases are prosecuted in U.S. courts. |
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Judges write decisions explaining the meaning of criminal laws and
determining whether criminal laws meet the requirements of state and federal constitutions |
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| Extermanation of members or a group |
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Acts committed
as part of a widespread or systematic attack
against civilians |
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| interstate commerce clause |
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The common law rule of legality
provides that an individual may only be
criminally punished for an act that was
condemned in a statute at the time it was
committed. |
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Bills of Attainder and
Ex Post Facto Laws |
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Definition
Article I, Sections 9 and 10 of the U.S.
Constitution prohibit bills of attainder and
ex post facto laws. A bill of attainder is a
legislative act that punishes an identifiable
individual or group of individuals without
the benefit of trial. An ex post facto law is
legislation that punishes an act that was not
subject to a criminal penalty at the time it
was committed. |
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The Due Process Clause of the U.S.
Constitution requires that statutes clearly
inform individuals of the acts that are
prohibited and establish clear, definite, and
certain standards that limit the discretion of
law enforcement officials. A statute that fails
to provide sufficient clarity is “void for
vagueness.” |
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The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to
the U.S. Constitution provide for the equal
protection of the law. This requires that
legislation that singles out a group of
individuals for legal regulation must be
reasonably related to the advancement
of a constitutionally permissible
objective. Racial, religious, and ethnic
classifications, however, must satisfy
a demanding strict scrutiny test.
Classifications on gender must meet an
“intermediate scrutiny test.”
2 Constitutional Limitations
Was the defendant discriminated against based on gender?
Wright, 6 feet tall and weighing 216 pounds, beat and kicked his wife Wendy on the evening of
February 16, 1999. Her injuries were so severe that two of her ribs were fractured and her spleen
had to be removed. Wright was indicted for criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated
nature. The aggravating factors alleged in the indictment were “a difference in the sexes of
the victim and the defendant” and/or that “the defendant did inflict serious bodily harm upon
the victim by kicking her in the mid-section requiring her to seek medical attention.” . . . Wright
contends the judge’s charge on the aggravating circumstance of a “difference in the sexes”
violated his right to “equal protection.”
Core Concepts and Summary Statements |
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The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
guarantees the right to freedom of expression.
Speech, however, may be limited on the grounds
that it constitutes an incitement to riot, threat,
fighting words, or obscenity. |
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The U.S. Constitution and various state
constitutions provide for a right to privacy that
protects intimate personal activities from criminal
punishment. |
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