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Administration Of Justice
Chapter 3
CHAPTER
<DIR>
Criminal Law </DIR>
What Do Laws Do?
<DIR>
Laws maintain order in society.
Laws regulate human interaction.
Laws enforce moral beliefs.
Laws enhance predictability.
Laws support the powerful. </DIR>
What Do Laws Do?
<DIR>
Laws promote orderly social change.
Laws sustain individual rights.
Laws redress wrongs.
Laws identify wrongdoers.
Laws mandate punishment and retribution. </DIR>
What Do Laws Do?
<DIR>
Laws channel human behavior while they simultaneously constrain it, and they empower individuals while contributing to public order. </DIR>
The Rule of Law
<DIR>
The rule of law holds that an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members.
Sources of Law </DIR>
Development of Law
<DIR>
Modern Sources of American Law </DIR>
English Common Law:
English Common Law:
U.S. Constitution
Types of Law
Criminal Law
<DIR>
Crimes injure not just individuals, but society as a whole. </DIR>
Criminal Law:
Civil Law:
Administrative Law
Case Law:
Case Law: Stare Decisis
Procedural Law:
<DIR>
Elements of a Crime </DIR>
Categories of Crimes
Felony:
Misdemeanor:
Misdemeanor
Treason:
Inchoate Offenses:
Features of all Crime
Actus Reus:
Mens Rea:
Concurrence:
Strict Liability
Other Features of a Crime
Elements of a Specific Crime
<DIR>
The elements of a specific crime are different than the general features shared by all crimes. </DIR>
Elements of a Specific Crime
<DIR>
These are the essential features of a given crime, as specified by law or statute.
Example: First-degree murder requires
an unlawful killing
of a human being
intentionally
by another person
with malice </DIR>
Legal Defenses
Alibi:
Justification:
Types of Justifications
Justification:
Self Defense
<DIR>
retreat rule - If the opportunity to escape exists, then the courts require that the victim take that opportunity and flee.</DIR>
Justification:
Self Defense
<DIR>
If the opportunity to flee
does not exist, then the victim can
use proportionate force to defend
herself. </DIR>
Justification:
Defense of Others
<DIR>
You have the option of defending
another if the person you are
defending is a victim and is
free from fault. </DIR>
Justification:
Defense of Others
<DIR>
Defense of others does NOT include
entering an illegal fight to help a
family member or friend. </DIR>
Justification: Defense of Home & Property
<DIR>
Most jurisdictions allow for the defense of property.
The use of deadly force is not allowed when it comes to the defense of property. </DIR>
Justification: Necessity
<DIR>
One can sometimes violate the law when the purpose of the action is to prevent even greater harm. </DIR>
Justification: Necessity
<DIR>
Courts have a difficult time with this defense, especially when it results in a person’s death. </DIR>
Justification: Consent
<DIR>
If harm comes to an individual after he agreed to participate in the activity, then the question that is raised is this:
Was a crime committed if the victim gave his consent? </DIR>
Justification: Resisting Unlawful Arrest
<DIR>
A person has the right to resist arrest if the arrest is unlawful.
Legal Excuses </DIR>
Excuse
<DIR>
Some particular personal condition was occurring at the time, such that the defendant should not be held responsible.
Judges and jurors must decide if harm committed outweighed the coercive influence. </DIR>
Excuse: Duress
<DIR>
Sometimes called "coercion."
Duress is an unlawful threat that induces a person to act in a way they normally would not act.
Often not a useful defense when serious physical harm ensues. </DIR>
Excuse: Age
Generally, children under age 7 are not able to reason or form intent.
Hence, children under 7 cannot be charged with a criminal offense.
Persons above age 7 but below 18 are typically charged as juveniles.
Persons over 18 are charged as adults.
Excuse: Mistake
mistake of law: Ignorance of the law is usually no excuse.
mistake of fact: Understanding of facts is incorrect. (May be an excuse)
Excuse: Involuntary Intoxication
Drugs or alcohol may produce intoxication.
People can be "tricked" into consuming alcohol or drugs.
Can be used as a defense.
Excuse: Unconsciousness
A person cannot be held responsible for anything he does while unconscious.
Examples:
<DIR>
Sleepwalking
Epileptic seizures
Neurological dysfunction </DIR>
Excuse: Provocation
It’s more acceptable in minor offenses.
It’s sometimes used in cases where a wife kills her husband or a child kills her father after claiming years of abuse.
Excuse: Insanity
<DIR>
M’Naghten rule
irresistible impulse
Durham rule
substantial capacity test
Brawner rule
guilty, but insane
temporary insanity
diminished capacity </DIR>
Excuse: M’Naughten Rule
Excuse: Irresistible Impulse
Excuse: Durham Rule
created 1871 by New Hampshire Court
adopted by Washington D.C. judge who made rule famous (1952)
Excuse: Durham Rule
Excuse: Brawner Rule
The rule was created in 1972 by same Washington, D.C., judge who created the Durham Rule.
It places responsibility for deciding insanity squarely on the shoulders of the jury.
The jury decides if a defendant can be justly held responsible for a criminal act.
Excuse: Guilty
but Insane
This excuse is possible in 11 states.
The jury must return a finding of "guilty but mentally unfit if:
Procedural Defenses
Procedural Defenses
Innovative Defenses
Sacramento City College
3835 Freeport Blvd * Sacramento * CA * 95822
This page was last updated: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 9:02:19 AM
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