Download Criminal Law

Criminal Law
Chapter 1
The Nature and Limits of Criminal Law
Joel Samaha, 9th Ed.
Conduct that Unjustifiably
Inflicts Harm

Crime

Noncriminal wrong

Regulation

License

Lawful
Conduct that Unjustifiably
Inflicts Harm

Crime

The degree of severity should reflect the
amount of stigma that a criminal should suffer
and the severity of punishment a person
deserves
Conduct that Unjustifiably
Inflicts Harm

Non-criminal wrongs (torts)


“Victims” should sue the actors (a word for parties in
legal cases) who injured them, but the stigma of
“criminal” should not be attached to the offender.
License

Taxes, Licensing, Permits, etc. and pursuing those who
violate the laws. Neither encourages nor discourages
the behavior.
Conduct that Unjustifiably
Inflicts Harm

Lawful


There are no legal consequences for the act but it can
still be deemed deviant behavior by peers and the
community.
Regulation

Government places this burden on behaviors to
discourage them, i.e., alcohol tax creates a higher user
price, but drinking is not a criminal act.
Principles of Criminal Liability

“conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or
threatens substantial harm to individual or public interest,”
Model Penal Code, 1985.

A conduct that was committed

Unjustifiably and inexcusably

Inflicts or threatens substantial harm

To individual or public interests
Criminal Law versus Civil Law
Criminal Law

Public Wrongs

Prosecuted by the State

Proof beyond a reasonable
doubt

Right to counsel

Defendant has right to silence

Penalties or sanctions are
based on seriousness of the
offense, i.e., misdemeanors
and felonies
Civil Law (torts)

Private Matters

Private parties file suit




Preponderance of the
evidence
Must hire own attorney
Defendant may be forced to
testify
Penalties based on
compensation or remedies
Question
What is the most important difference
between torts and crimes?
Explain how this relates to punishment.
Criminal Punishment
“Every criminal law has to define the crime
and prescribe a punishment.”

Criteria for criminal punishment

Inflict pain or other consequences
Prescribed within the law defining the crime
Administered intentionally
Administered by the state as punishment

Limitation: 8th amendment



Criminal Punishment
(Continued)

Prevention (forward looking)





General deterrence
Special deterrence (specific)
Inapacitation
Rehabilitation
Retribution (backward looking)

An “eye for an eye” captures the idea of
retribution
Trends in Punishment




Historically, societies have justified punishment on the
grounds of retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation.
Retribution dominated penal policy until the 18th
century, when it was replaced with deterrence and
incapacitation.
Rehabilitation replaced deterrence in the late 20th
century and was the major form of punishment until the
early 1960s.
By the mid-1980’s retribution and incapacitation were
the primary forms of criminal punishment.
General and Specific Parts
of Criminal Law

General part of criminal law


Covers principles that apply to all crimes: constitutional
principles found in the U.S. and state constitutions
Special part of criminal law

The special part defines specific crimes and arranges
them into groups according to the subject matter and
seriousness
Crime Classification

Felonies


Crimes punishable by death or imprisonment in
a state facility for life or a period of time.
Misdemeanors

Crimes punishable by a fine or a jail term of up
to a year in a local facility.
Grading Crimes




Malum in se
Societal Controversy…
Inherently evil conduct
that has injurious
consequences, e.g.,
murder, rape, robbery

Malum prohibitum

Conduct prohibited by
law because they are
not evil in nature, e.g.,
dui, tax evasion,
speeding, carrying a
concealed weapon
Every society may disagree on
what is “evil” behavior and
what behavior “should” be
criminalized by society.
Examples:
1) Viewing sex offenders
differently county by county
2) Different states having
different ages at which a child
can be treated as an adult for
a crime
Definition of Crimes

Crimes against the state:


Crimes against persons:


Murder & rape
Crimes against property:


Domestic & foreign terror
Stealing & trespass
Crimes against public order and morals:

Aggressive panhandling & prostitution
Principle of Legality

Also known as the rule of law

This principle purports that law controls the
power of government.

It consists of four values that has existed from
Aristotle in 350 B.C to the Magna Carta in 1215,
they include:




Fairness
Liberty
Democracy
Equality
“No Crime Without Law:
No Punishment Without Law”
l
Explain this proposition.
The case of Treva Hughes
(Hughes v. State, 1994)
is an excellent example.
Legislative and Judicial
Retroactive Criminal Law Making


Legislative retroactive law making has a ban imposed on it. One
reason for the ban is to allow the rule of law not the rule of
officials.
Judicial retroactive criminal law making allows judges to exercise
their judgment (discretionary decision making) in cases.
Limits to law making include:





Judges are bound by the U.S and state Constitutions
Judges have to follow the rule of lenity and stick
Precedent
Stare decisis
Rule of lenity: implies that when judges apply a criminal
statutes to a defendant, they must stick “clearly within the
letter of the statute.”
Sources of Criminal Law

U.S. Constitution

State constitutions

Common law of England & U.S.

U.S. criminal code

State criminal codes

Municipal ordinances

Judicial decisions interpreting codes
and the common law
Common-Law Origins


Criminal codes didn’t spring full-grown from state legislatures.
They evolved from a long history of ancient offenses called
common-law crimes.
These crimes were created before legislatures existed and when
social order depended on obedience to unwritten rules:
lex non scripta

State common law crimes


Following the American revolution, the 13 original states
adopted the common law.
Federal common law crimes

U.S v. Hudson and Goodwin (1812): There are no federal
common law crimes, however, there are exceptions, e.g., the
Sherman Act, civil rights legislation, and mail fraud statutes.
Constitutional Limits

Due process of law


Equal protection of the law


Legislatures have to write criminal laws that are clear
enough for individuals and government officials to know in
advance exactly what the law bans.
Legislatures cannot define crimes and punishments that
apply differently based on inherited characteristics (race,
ethnicity, gender, and age).
Individual rights and liberties

Legislatures cannot make crimes that violate the rights to
free speech, religion, and privacy.
Model Penal Code (MPC)



Focuses on the analysis of criminal liability
meaning “who is responsible for what.”
After the adoption of MPC in 1962, more than
forty states changed their criminal codes.
None of the states adopted the MPC completely,
but it influenced all of them to an extent, in
essence, the MPC is the common denominator in
U.S. criminal law.
Administrative Agency Crimes


These are rules or laws written by administrative
agencies, who have been granted authority from both
federal and state legislatures to create laws.
They are a rapidly growing source of criminal law, but
they often raise constitutional questions. Two such
questions are:


Can legislatures authorize administrative agencies to create
regulations, when there is a criminal penalty for violating such
regulation?
Can legislatures allow agencies to set up their own courts to
decide cases involving violations of the regulations they have
created?
Criminal Law in the Federal System


There are 52 criminal codes: one for each of the
fifty states, one for the District of Columbia, and
the U.S. Criminal Code.
Definitions, defenses, and punishment of crimes
vary across state lines.
Reading Case Law

Facts of the case

Action of the court

Intention of the court

Question - Legal issue(s) involved

Decision




Affirm
Reverse
Reverse and remand – sent back to lower court
Opinion

Majority



Concurring
Plurality
Dissenting
Finding Cases


Example: (State v. Metzger [Chapter 2]), just
after the title of the case, State v. Metzger, you
read “319 N.W. 2d 459 (Neb. 1982).”
Here’s how to interpret this citation:

319 = First number is always the “Volume number”

N.W.2d = Northwestern Reporter, Second Series

459 = page number

(Neb. 1982) = Nebraska Supreme Court in the year 1982