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Chapter 3 Inside Criminal Law © 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Outcomes LO1: List the four written sources of American criminal law. LO2: Explain the differences between crimes mala in se and mala prohibita. LO3: List and briefly define the most important excuse defenses for crimes. © 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Outcomes LO4: Describe the four most important justification criminal defenses. LO5: Distinguish between substantive and procedural criminal law. © 2015 Cengage Learning LO1 List the four written sources of American criminal law. © 2015 Cengage Learning Written Sources of Criminal Law • Constitutional Law The U.S. Constitution and the various state constitutions. • Administrative Law – Rules, orders, and decisions of regulatory agencies. • Statutory Law - Laws and ordinances passed by Congress and state legislatures. • Case Law – Rules of law announced in court decisions (precedents). © 2015 Cengage Learning Written Sources of Criminal Law © Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. © 2015 Cengage Learning Written Sources of Criminal Law • Supremacy Clause: – Federal law is the supreme law of the land and shall prevail in conflict with state constitutions or statutes. • Ballot initiative: – Citizens of a state, by collecting enough signatures, can force a public vote to change state law. © 2015 Cengage Learning Written Sources of Criminal Law © Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. © 2015 Cengage Learning Categories of Crime • Capital offenses, maximum penalty death • 1st degree felony, maximum penalty life imprisonment • 2nd degree felonies, maximum of 10 years imprisonment • 3rd degree felony, maximum of 5 years imprisonment © 2015 Cengage Learning LO2 Explain the differences between crimes mala in se and mala prohibita. © 2015 Cengage Learning Elements of a Crime • Mala in se: – Criminal act if it is considered wrong even if there were no law prohibiting it. • Mala prohibita: – Acts considered crimes only because they have been codified as a statute, it is prohibited and therefore wrong. © 2015 Cengage Learning Elements of a Crime • What are the Elements of a Crime? – Corpus delicti • Criminal Act - Actus reus – A legal duty – A plan or attempt • Mental State - Mens rea – – – – Negligence Recklessness Purpose Knowledge AP Photo/Brennan Linsley © 2015 Cengage Learning Elements of a Crime • What are the Elements of a Crime? – Corpus delicti • Criminal Liability – Strict Liability – Accomplice Liability – Felony-Murder – Concurrence – Causation – Attendant Circumstances © 2015 Cengage Learning Elements of a Crime © Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. © 2015 Cengage Learning Elements of a Crime • Hate Crime Laws – Make the suspect’s motive an important attendant circumstance. • Harm – Some crimes are categorized by the harm done to the victim regardless of intent. – Inchoate offense–acts that are deemed criminal if they could do harm that laws try to prevent. © 2015 Cengage Learning CAREERPREP Criminal Court Judge Job Description: • Preside over trials and hearings in federal, state, and local courts. Ensure that all proceedings are fair and protect the legal rights of everyone involved. • Rule on admissibility of evidence, monitor the testimony of witnesses, and settle disputes between prosecutors and defense attorneys. What kind of training is required? • A law degree and several years of legal experience. • Depending on the jurisdiction, judges are either appointed or elected. Annual salary range? $93,000–$162,000 © 2015 Cengage Learning LO3 List and briefly define the most important excuse defenses for crimes. © 2015 Cengage Learning Excuse Defenses • Which Defenses are Available Under the Law? – Criminal responsibility and the law • • • • Infancy Insanity Intoxication Mistake © 2015 Cengage Learning Excuse Defenses • The M’Naghten Rule: – A person is legally insane and not criminally responsible if at the time of the offense he/she could not distinguish between right and wrong. • The ASI/MPC test: – The defendant must lack substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct. © 2015 Cengage Learning Excuse Defenses • Irresistible-impulse test: – Person may not be found insane if he/she was aware that a criminal act was wrong provided that some irresistible impulse resulting from a mental deficiency drove him/her to commit a crime. © 2015 Cengage Learning © Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Figure 3.4 Insanity Defense © 2015 Cengage Learning Excuse Defenses • Which Defenses are Available Under the Law? – Criminal responsibility and the law • Intoxication – – Voluntary Involuntary – Mistake • • Mistake of Law Mistake of Fact © 2015 Cengage Learning LO4 Describe the four most important justification defenses. © 2015 Cengage Learning Defenses • Justification Criminal Defenses and the Law • Four conditions – Duress – Self-Defense – Necessity – Entrapment Stephen M. Dowell-Pool/Getty Images © 2015 Cengage Learning LO5 Distinguish between substantive and procedural criminal law. © 2015 Cengage Learning Criminal Law Substantive Criminal Law: Procedural Criminal Law: Laws that define the acts that the government will punish. Procedures, drawn from the Bill of Rights, that are designed to protect the constitutional rights of individuals. © 2015 Cengage Learning Criminal Law • How Do Criminal Procedures Protect Our Constitutional Rights? – The Bill of Rights • Amending the Constitution • Expanding the Constitution © 2015 Cengage Learning Criminal Law • How Do Criminal Procedures Protect Our Constitutional Rights? – Fourth Amendment – Fifth Amendment – Sixth Amendment – Eighth Amendment – Fourteenth Amendment © 2015 Cengage Learning Criminal Law • How Do Criminal Procedures Protect Our Constitutional Rights? – Due process clause • Procedural due process • Substantive due process John Moore/Getty Images © 2015 Cengage Learning