CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND THE RULE OF LAW

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND THE RULE OF LAW • Substantive Law • Procedural Law

Criminal Law and Tort (Civil) Law - Differences • Criminal Law • Crime is a public offense. • Sanction is incarceration or death. • Right of enforcement belongs to the state. • Tort Law • Tort law is a civil or private wrong. • Sanction is monetary damages. • The individual brings the action.

Criminal Law and Tort (Civil) Law - Similarities • Both seek to control behavior. • Both impose sanctions. • Similar areas of legal action exist

Sources of Criminal Law Common Law Constitutional Law Statutory Law Administrative Law

Common Law Origins Formal law in the colonies was adopted from existing English law, which today is known as common law.

Principles of Common Law Actus Reus Legality Causation Mens Rea Harm Concurrence Punishment

Elements of a Crime • Actus Rea • Mens Rea • Attendant circumstances • Burglary example

Elements of a Crime - Burglary “A person is guilty of burglary if he enters a building or occupied structure, or separate secured or occupied portion thereof [actus rea], with intent to commit a crime therein [mens rea], unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to enter [attendant circumstances].”

Statutory Definitions of Crimes • Statutory definition of crimes vary from state to state • Statutory interpretation – NYPC example

Statutory Interpretation A person is guilty of murder when: “Under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, he or she recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby causes the death of that person.” New York Penal Code

Fact Scenario for Statutory Interpretation • The defendant, Smith, was drinking on a winter evening with the victim, Jones. The bartender says that Jones was in an intoxicated condition and was flashing $100 bills when he left the bar with Smith at about 9 pm. • Smith admits that he drove Jones out of town; robbed him; took his clothes and glasses; and left him on a rural dirt road. The temperature was near zero, and visibility was obscured by blowing snow. • At about 10 pm Davis was traveling in his pickup truck at approximately 50 mph. As he drove over a rise in the road, he spotted a naked man standing in the middle of the road, but “didn’t have time to react” before his truck struck Jones. The coroner ruled that Jones died of a massive head injury and that his blood alcohol level was proof of a high degree of intoxication.

Entrapment Self-Defense Necessity Duress (Coercion) Immaturity Mistake Intoxication Insanity Responsibility for Criminal Acts – Affirmative Defenses

Insanity Defense • Controversial • Rarely used • Varying rules

Insanity Defense Rules • M’Naghten (1843) – Didn’t know what he was doing or didn’t know it was wrong • Irresistible Impulse (1897) – Could not control his conduct • Durham (1954) – The criminal act was caused by his mental illness • Model Penal Code (1972) – Lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to control it • Present Federal law – Lacks capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct

State Standards for Insanity Defense

Quick Quiz – Criminal Law • 1) ___ may be used with reasonable force to protect against criminal attacks. • Self – Defense • 2) ___ is the body of rules that regulate conduct between individuals in their relationships. • Civil law • 3) ___ is the intent element of a crime • Mens Rea • 4) ___ is a defense when someone physically forces someone else to commit a crime. • Duress (coercion) • 5) ___ permits the assignment of criminal responsibility without a showing of criminal intent • Strict liability • 6) ___ is the necessary relationship in criminal law between an action and a harm • Causation

Criminal Procedural Law • Origins • Bill of Rights • 14th Amendment Due Process • Incorporation • 4th , 5th, 6th, and 8th amendment rights

Magna Carta – 13th Century England I’m being oppressed!! You’re oppressing me!!

Constitution (1787) didn’t originally contain a statement of rights • Bill of Rights(1st ten amendments) added later (1791) • Criminal Justice primarily impacted by 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments

William Rehnquist 1986-present Earl Warren 1953-1969 Warren Burger 1969-1986

Fourth Amendment: Unreasonable Search & Seizure • What is unreasonable? • Exclusionary rule • Weeks (1914) • Mapp (1961) • Leon (1984)

Fifth Amendment: Self-Incrimination and Double Jeopardy • Self-Incrimination • Miranda (1966) • Double Jeopardy • Separate sovereignty doctrine • Also, right to grand jury and general due process I should have paid attention in Yates’ class

Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel and Fair Trial • Right to Counsel • Right to Trial by Jury • Right to Confront Witnesses Against You • Jury issues

Eighth Amendment • No excessive bail or fines • Preventive detention is OK • Forfeiture must be reasonable • No cruel or unusual punishment: Death Penalty • 1972 Furman says it’s unconstitutional as applied • 1976 Gregg says OK • 1987 McCleskey says specific proof of racial bias required • 2002 Atkins says execution of mentally retarded unconstitutional

Quick Quiz – Criminal Procedure • 1) ___ is the portion of the Constitution used by the Supreme Court to apply rights against infringement by states • Fourteenth Amendment • 2) ___ is the process by which the Supreme Court applied provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states • Incorporation (doctrine) • 3) ___ prevents the use of torture and mutilation as punishment • Eighth Amendment (prohibiting cruel & unusual punishment) • 4) ___ provides a right against double jeopardy • Fifth Amendment • 5) ___ is the constitutional provision that seeks to make people feel secure against unwarranted intrusions into their homes and property • Fourth Amendment • 6) ___ affects the evidence when police violate defendants’ Constitutional rights • Exclusionary rule

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND THE RULE OF LAW