CRIM LAW EXAM 1 STUDYGUIDE (CHS. 1-4)

Elements of Criminal Liability:

1. criminal act (actus reus) 2. criminal intent (mens rea) 3. concurrence + 4. attendant circumstances 5. bad result (causing a criminal harm)

Model Penal Code (MPC):

A Proposed criminal code drafted by the American Law Institute (ALI) and used to reform criminal codes.

General Deterrence:

Aims by the the threat of punishment to prevent the general population, who haven't committed crimes, from doing so (make an example of the offender to deter others). Jeremy Bentham - Deterrence Theory: Rational humans won't commit crimes if pain of punishment outweighs pleasure of committing the crime.

Rehabilitation:

Aims to prevent future crimes by changing individual offenders so that they'll want to play by the rules and won't commit any more crimes in the future. Justified indeterminate sentencing laws of the 1960s.

Special (or Specific) Deterrence:

Aims, by punishing already convicted offenders, to prevent them from committing any more crimes in the future.

Misdemeanor:

An offense punishable by fine and/ or confinement in the local jail for up to one year; less serious than a felony (generally relatively minor).

Concurring Opinion:

An opinion that agrees with the conclusions of either the majority or the dissenting opinion but provides different reasons for reaching the conclusions.

Plurality Opinion:

An opinion that represents the reasoning of the greatest number (but less than a majority) of the justices.

MPC's Analysis of Criminal Liability:

Analysis of statutes and cases to determine what behavior deserves criminal punishment and its definition of criminal liability.

Inchoate Offenses:

Anticipating a further criminal act (attempt, conspiracy, solicitation).

Crimes Without Moral Turpitude:

Behavior that is criminal only because there is a statute or ordinance that says it is (malum prohibitum).Ex: Public intoxication or speeding Mala in se versus mala prohibita as to nature? Mala in se is wrong from its very nature, while mala prohibita is wrong because it is prohibited by law

Crimes of Moral Turpitude:

Behavior that is inherently wrong or evil (malum in se).Ex: Murder or rape

Culpability:

Blameworthiness; the idea that it's fair and just to punish only people we can blame; only someone who intends to harm their victim deserves punishment (accidents don't qualify).

Bench Trials:

Cases where the accused give up their right to a jury trial and are tried by judges who decide whether prosecutors have proved their guilt.

Groups of The Definitions of Crimes:

Crimes against persons (murder), crimes against property (stealing), crimes against public order and morals (prostitution), and crimes against the state (terrorism).

Common Law Crimes:

Crimes created before legislatures existed and when social order depended on the obedience of unwritten rules (the lex non scripta) based on community customs and traditions the over the centuries became incorporated into court decisions.

Mala In Se (inherently evil) Crimes:

Crimes only because a specific statute or ordinance prohibits them. offenses that require some level of criminal intent

Complicity:

Crimes that make one person criminally liable for someone else's conduct (accomplice or accessory to any crime).

Criminal Law Varies Among Jurisdictions:

Criminal codes, definitions of criminal behavior, defenses to criminal behavior, and punishments differ among jurisdictions.

Burden of Persuasion:

Defendants have to prove their justification or excuse defenses by a preponderance of the evidence.

Special Part of Criminal Law:

Defines specific crimes and arranges them into groups according to subject matter (crimes against persons, crimes against property, order and morals, crimes against the state).

Justice:

Depends on culpability; only those who deserve punishment can justly receive it.

Criticisms of Retribution:

Difficult to translate abstract justice into concrete penalties (rape a rapist), retaliation is not a part of human nature in civilized society (barbaric), forces beyond human control can determine individual behavior, the vast majority of crimes do not require culpability to qualify for criminal punishment (unintentional homicides).

"Not Guilty" Verdicts:

Do not imply innocence; they mean that the government did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

"Guilty" Verdicts:

Do not imply innocence; they mean that the government proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Guilty defendants are found to be blameworthy and worthy of societal condemnation.

U.S. v. Hudson and Goodwin:

During the War of 1812, Hudson and Goodwin published the lie that President Madison and Congress had secretly voted to give $2 million to Napoleon. They were indicted for criminal libel. But there was a catch; there was no federal criminal libel statute. The Court ruled that without a statute, libel can't be a federal crime.

Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt:

Evidence that removes an actual and substantial doubt about the defendant's guilt; the highest standard of proof known to law.

P. 7 Table 1.1:

How much violent crime was there in 2007? 552,077 arrests (2010) How much property crime? 1,643,862 arrests How much minor crime (misdemeanors)? 3,720,402 arrests

Appellate Courts:

In most states and the federal government, there are 2 levels of appeals courts: an intermediate court of appeals and a supreme court.

Punishment:

Intentionally inflicting pain or other unpleasant consequences on another person.

Indeterminate Sentencing Laws:

Laws stating that an inmates prison release depends on the rehabilitation of the individual prisoner.

Corpus Delicti:

Means 'body of the crime' and refers to the body of the victim in homicides and to the elements of the crime in other offenses.

Rates of Imprisonment (or Incarceration):

Measured by the number of prisoners per 100,000 people in the general population. The "quantity" of punishment doesn't tell much about the three aspects of punishment (definition, purposes, and limits).

Preponderance of Evidence:

More than 50% of the evidence proves justification or excuse.

Common Law Murder-

Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought • Legislatures right to write the law, so should've redefined what it was to be a human being

Dissenting Opinions:

Opinions that present a plausible alternative to the majority opinion and sometimes become the law in future decisions.

Criminal Punishment:

Penalties that meet 4 criteria: (1) inflict pain or other unpleasant consequences, (2) prescribe a punishment in the same law that defines the crime, (3) administered intentionally, (4) administered by the state.

The Principle of Utility:

Permits only the minimum amount of pain necessary to prevent the crime.

Incapacitation:

Prevents convicted criminals from committing future crimes by locking them up, or more rarely, by altering them surgically or executing them.

General Part of Criminal Law:

Principles that apply to more than one crime (all crimes involve a voluntary act, all felonies involve criminal intent); includes principles of justification (self-defense) and excuse (insanity).

Tort:

Private wrongs (actions against a private citizen, a corporation, or another private citizen) for which you can sue the party who wronged you and recover money for the damages.

Prevention:

Punishment that is only a means to a greater good, usually the prevention or at least the reduction of future crime. (4 parts: general and specific deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation).

Reasonable Doubt:

Real and substantial uncertainty about guilt, an uncertainty that would cause a reasonable person to hesitate before acting on an important manner.

The 2 Goals of Punishment:

Retribution and prevention.

Keeler v. Superior Court CA (1970):

Robert Keeler's wife Teresa was pregnant with another man's child. Robert kicked the pregnant Teresa in the stomach, causing her to abort the fetus. The California court had to decide whether fetuses were included in the murder statute. To do this, the court turned to the sixteenth-century common law, which defined a human being as "born alive." This excluded Teresa's fetus from the reach of the murder statute.

Fixed (Determinate) Sentences:

Sentences are dependent upon the criminal harm suffered by the victim, not by the rehabilitation of the offender.

Who does the prosecutor represent in a criminal action?

Society as a whole. Owes victim a moral duty of care to seek justice, but also owes judiciary duty to society not to overreach • Prosecutors do NOT represent victims in criminal actions

Codes:

State: 51 total (state legislative assemblies and the District of Colombia) Federal: U.S. Congress Local: Ordinances (municipal legislative bodies).

Chicago v. Roman (1998):

The Illinois Supreme Court overruled the trial court's decision. According to the court, the Illinois legislature can restrict Chicago's power to create crimes, but it has to pass a law specifically spelling out the limit. Because the legislature hadn't passed a law preempting the penalty for assaulting the elderly, Chicago's mandatory minimum had to stand. The power of municipalities goes further than creating crimes; it includes the power to determine the punishment, too.

Determinism:

The assumption that forces beyond offender's control cause them to commit crimes. Implies that no choice was made by the offender and therefore they cannot be blamed.

Judgement:

The court's decision is how the court disposes of the case (guilty or not guilty, affirmed or reversed); the most important legal action of the court because it decides what happens to the defendant.

2 Essential Parts of the Court's Opinion:

The court's holding and the court's reasoning.

Principle of Legality:

The first principle of criminal law; no one can be convicted of, or punished for, a crime unless the law defined the crime and prescribed the punishment before the person engaged in the behavior that was defined as a crime; no crime or punishment without law. Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution: Articulates the principle of legality.

Rule of Law:

The idea that government power should be defined and limited by laws; no individual is above the law.

Informal Discretionary Decision Making:

The invisible day-to-day process, in which law enforcement professionals make judgments based on unwritten rules, their training, and their experience. Every stage of the criminal justice system is a decision making point.

Majority Opinion:

The law of the case; the opinion of the majority of the justices on the court who participated in the case.

Court's Holding:

The legal rule the court has decided to apply to the facts of the case.

Constitutional Democracy:

The majority can't make a crime out of conduct protected by the fundamental rights in the U.S. Constitution; not pure democracy; places limits on the government's power to create crimes and punish offenders.

Hedonism:

The natural law that human beings seek pleasure and avoid pain (if prospective criminals fear future punishment more than they derive pleasure, they won't commit crime).

Rationalism:

The natural law that individuals can act to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, permitting human beings to apply natural laws mechanistically (according to rules) instead of having to rely on the discretionary judgement of individual decision makers.

Case Citation:

The numbers, letters, and punctuation that tell you where to locate a full case report.

Burden of Proof:

The obligation to provide sufficient evidence in support of an assertion; the government's responsibility to prove beyond a reasonable doubt "every fact necessary to constitute the crime charged."

Presumption of Innocence:

The prosecution has the burden of proof when it comes to proving the criminal act and intent; every defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

Court's Reasoning:

The reasons that the court gives to support its holding. In some cases, the justices write majority and dissenting opinions.

Born-Alive Rule:

The rule that to be a person, and therefore a homicide victim, a baby had to be "born alive" and capable of breathing and maintaining a heartbeat on its own.

The Constitution:

The supreme law of the land and all other conflicting laws must fail.

Deterrence Theory (Classical):

Theory that rational human beings will not commit crimes if they know that the pain of punishment outweighs the pleasure gained from committing the crimes.

"Innocent" Verdicts:

There is no such term used in criminal law. Jury is only to decide legal guilt or no legal guilt. It is not making a pronouncement of factual innocence.

Burden of Production:

To make defendants responsible for presenting evidence in their own justification or excuse defense.

Administrative Crimes:

Violations of federal and state agency rules that make up a controversial but rapidly growing source of criminal law. Agency made law (ex: IRS, EPA, and DEA).

Criminal Conduct:

Voluntary criminal acts triggered by criminal intent; necessary to impose criminal liability and punishment.

Affirmative Defenses:

defendants have to "start matters off by putting in some evidence in support" of their defenses of justification and excuse Defenses in which the defendant has the burden of production and the burden of persuasion (putting evidence in their own support).

Every definition of a specific crime:

is an application of one or more general principles.

• What are the 4 major justifications for punishment?

• 1. Retribution- looks back at crime. Views punishment as righteous & just • 2. Deterrence- looks forward to prevent future crime - views ppl as bad • 3. Incapacitation- looks forward to prevent crime, seeks to eliminate access to criminal targets or prevent behaviors with some impediment • 4. Rehabilitation- sees crime as symptomatic of a prob that can be fixed

• What does the "federal system" mean?

• 2 or more gov'ts share jurisdiction in a given geographical area • A centralized gov't coexists with several state/local gov'ts. Each body has control over the activities that occur w/in its sphere of influence • That means fed. & state criminal laws overlap. Fed > state, but possible for both to pursue criminal charges • Can be charged w a crime in AR & potentially charged w a federal crime & a state crime

• Criminal Law in America:

• 52 Criminal Codes • Each state • Washington D.C. • Federal gov't • Definitions vary across state lines • Penalties vary across state lines

• Burden of Proof:

• Beyond a reasonable doubt- belief that the alleged facts are true to a moral certainty. Not 100%, but close. (It does not mean the elimination of all possible doubt, but rather the elimination of doubt based on reason or common sense) • By a preponderance of the evidence- the standard used in civil trials. Simply put, one party must prove their version of the use is more likely true than not. Just more than 50%. • Clear and convincing- falls btwn reasonable doubt and preponderance. Used in insanity defenses

Punishments contain 2 components:

• Convictions in criminal trials lead to punishment condemnation & harsh treatment

• Crime: defs. of crime

• Definitions of crimes contain the specific elements that prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt to convict someone. • Burglary: breaking and entering the dwelling of another, during the nighttime, with the purpose to commit a felony therein. —- Elements: (breaking) and (entering) the (dwelling house) of (another), (during the nighttime), with the (purpose to commit a felony) (therein).— can occur for a number of reasons, assumption of theft but could be for assault, battery, arsen etc.

• Crime Classification: Felony, Misdemeanors, & Violations

• Felonies are punishable by death, life imprisonment, or a potential sentence of 1 year or more in a state/federal prison, and a fine. • Misdemeanors are punishable by a fine and/or up to 1 yr incarceration in a local jail • Violations are typically punishable by fine only

• Municipal Ordinances:

• In AR, municipalities are given authority from the AR Legislature to enact ordinances that create crime and prescribe punishment • Municipalities are limited in what laws/punishments they can create • No felonies / no punishment over a yr in jail • State laws trump city ordinances when they overlap

Opinion:

"The point of the story"; the court backs up its judgment by explaining how and why it applied the law to the facts of the case.

Retribution:

(Assumes freewill) Inflicting on offenders physical and psychological pain ("hard treatment") so that they can pay for their crimes. Punishment justifies itself. Only just if the offender chose between committing and not committing the crime. Justified fixed, mandatory sentences since the 1980s.

Common Law (lex non scripta):

(State or federal) Judge-made law, the original source of law, in which the judge's court opinions formed the law.

Social Control:

A group's formal and informal means of enforcing its norms.

Medical Model of Criminal Law:

A model that states that crime is a disease and criminals are sick and in need of treatment, rehabilitation, and cures.

Felony:

A serious crime punishable by death or confinement in the state's prison for one year to life without parole.

Chaney v. State (1970):

Facts: Chaney and a companion picked up the victim in their car, drove around, and then beat her and forcibly raped her 4 times and took money from her purse. The victim was then released and threatened. Issue: Chaney was only sentenced to concurrent one-year terms with provision for parole by the trial court because he was a member of the Armed Forces. The Supreme Court thought that the sentence was too lenient and therefor did not meet the goals of an imposed criminal sentence and suggested a harsher sentence for the defendant. Holding: The state was not authorized to increase the sentence but expressed its disapproval of the trial court's sentence.

Criminal law is a form of social control, what are some other forms of social control in our society? How do these forms control our behavior?:

Family and peers as a form of social control: we often have a desire to fit in and be accepted by those around us; praise or condemnation of our actions by our families and peers can strongly impact how we behave in the future in order to increase their approval or acceptance.

Federal System:

Fifty-two criminal codes, one for each of the fifty states, one for the District of Colombia, and one for the U.S. criminal code.

State of Washington vs. Jones (2005):

What are the facts of this case? Jones called police to report mail theft, when they did a background check they found that he had a warrant out for his arrest. Police arrested Jones and he was held for an hour. What was Jones arrested for? For not returning a library book and not appearing at his court hearing. What are your thoughts about this case? I think that the library did everything they could to get the book back but an arrest warrant was not necessary. I think that if they had continued to contact him and frozen his library account that he would have returned it eventually.

Acquittal:

When a person is found "not guilty" in a criminal case. Opposite of a conviction.

Criminal Liability:

When an individual commits an act that is considered to be an offense against society as a whole. Conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens substantial harm to individual or public interests (the harshest, most extreme, and most expensive form of social control); should be imposed only if the wrongdoing was a crime.

Trial Courts:

Where the cases for the state and the defense are presented; their witnesses and the physical evidence are introduced; and the fact finders (juries in jury trials and judges in non-jury bench trials) decide what the 'true' story is and whether the evidence all adds up to proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Also the first court to hear a criminal case. A not guilty verdict is always final in this court.

Codified:

Written definitions of crimes and punishments enacted by legislatures and published.

• Criminal Law:

• Keeler v. The Superior Court (1970). Was the fetus a human being under the law? The court issued the writ and held that an unborn but viable fetus was not a human being within meaning of Cal. Penal Code § 187. It is the policy of the state to construe a penal statute as favorably to the defendant as its language and the circumstances of its application may reasonably permit. The court's extensive survey of the legislature's intent and purpose in adopting § 187 revealed that it did not intend to bring an unborn fetus within reaches of the statute. The court declared that it would exceed its judicial and constitutional limits if it were it to declare an unborn fetus to be within the murder statute. Furthermore, assuming the court could adopt such a rule, it could only apply it prospectively. Applying the new rule to petitioner would have violated petitioner's right to due process.

• Crime vs. Non-criminal Wrongs

• Non-criminal: or torts, are acts that're addressed in civil lawsuits. The parties to the suit are the plaintiff (victim) and the defendant (the party causing the harm). The plaintiff typically seeks money damages. —- this is a legal wrong that justifies suing someone and getting money, usually for some personal injury. In other words, name a price that the wrongdoer has to pay for another indiv., but don't stamp it as "criminal". (ex. Backing into someones car). Looking for money to make the victim whole from damage they endured— punitive damages. • Crime: acts that're addressed in criminal trials. The party bringing the action is the State, and the defendant is the party who caused the harm. The states typically seeks punishment—- either very serious, serious, or minor. Stamp it with both the amount of disgrace (stigma) you believe a convicted "criminal" should suffer and roughly the kind/amount of punishment you believe the person deserves.— suing on behalf of society, not necessarily the victim. Looking for punishment. Someone could be ordered to pay restitution— fixed dollar amount— ex. Running over a statute (valued to a certain amount in $).

• Presumption of Innocence/Guilt:

• Presumption of Innocence- defendants are presumed innocent and the burden of proving otherwise is placed on the state • Presumption of Guilt- once a defendant is convicted or pleads, the defendant is presumed guilty and the burden of proof shifts to him to prove that there was an error at trial. Very difficult to overcome

• Sources of Criminal Law:

• The Model Penal Code (MPC) was written by judges and legal scholars to replace the old common law system— most important • MPC is not binding law • 40 states have adopted some part of the MPC— AR 1976 • MPC is very influential, has been used to interpret criminal statutes in many states when there is little legislative history available • MPC also contains provisions for sentencing/treatment (rehab) that've been ignored

• What is punishment?

• To qualify as punishment, penalties have to meet 4 criteria: • Inflict pain/unpleasant consequences • The punishment has to be prescribed in the statute • Penalty has to be administered intentionally • The state has to administer the penalty