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LAW I: CRIMES UNIT

LAW I: CRIMES UNIT. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE. FELONIES. FELONY: A major crime for which the penalty may be imprisonment for a year or longer and possibly even death. A person convicted of a felony may be barred from certain types of work, such as the practice of law or police work.

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LAW I: CRIMES UNIT

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  1. LAW I: CRIMES UNIT CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  2. FELONIES • FELONY: A major crime for which the penalty may be imprisonment for a year or longer and possibly even death. • A person convicted of a felony may be barred from certain types of work, such as the practice of law or police work. • Also, some states will not permit anyone convicted of a felony to hold public office. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  3. FELONIES • Examples of felonies include murder, manslaughter, burglary, robbery, arson, etc. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  4. MISDEMEANORS • MISDEMEANOR: Any crime for which the maximum penalty is a year in jail or less. • Examples of misdemeanors include driving without a license, prostitution, resisting arrest, public intoxication, petty theft, etc. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  5. PETTY OFFENSES • Some states also classify lesser crimes as petty offenses, also known as infractions, into a sub-group of misdemeanors. • PETTY OFFENSE: A minor misdemeanor that never warrants any time in jail. • Examples of petty offenses include traffic offenses, parking violations, littering, etc. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  6. WOBBLERS • Many criminal offenses, however, fall into the category known as “wobblers.” • WOBBLER: A crime that is not statutorily defined as either a felony or misdemeanor. • Whether a wobbler will be considered a felony or misdemeanor in a particular case depends upon the prosecutor’s charging decision and the actual punishment imposed by the trial court. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  7. WOBBLERS • Examples of wobblers include assault, battery, vandalism, larceny, etc. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  8. ELEMENTS OF A CRIME • By default, there can be no crime without law. • If an act is to be prohibited, a legally authoritative body (such as Congress or a state legislature) must spell out in advance what behavior is banned. • The U.S. Constitution requires that criminal laws be written in precise terms so that a citizen can determine what conduct is illegal. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  9. ELEMENTS OF A CRIME • With a few exceptions, a person can be convicted of a crime only if they do something that violates a criminal law and do it intentionally. • These two requirements are called criminal act (physical element) and criminal intent (mental element). CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  10. ELEMENTS OF A CRIME • CRIMINAL ACT: The forbidden act outlined in criminal statutes which describe what must take place for a crime to occur. • CRIMINAL INTENT:The guilty state of mind required to commit a criminal act. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  11. ELEMENTS OF A CRIME • For an act to be a crime, both the criminal act and criminal intent must occur at the same time—in other words, the criminal intent must precede or coexist with the criminal act. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  12. MOTIVE • MOTIVE: The reason for committing a crime. • Motive technically plays no part in proving criminal liability. • Uncovering a motive may establish a list of suspects. • However, the lack of a motive does not remove criminal liability. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  13. MOTIVE • If a person has committed a forbidden act with the required state of mind, they are criminally liable regardless if the motive has been uncovered. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  14. PRELIMINARY CRIMES • The crimes of solicitation, conspiracy, and attempt are known as preliminary crimes, since they occur before the intended crime. • Preliminary crimes are punishable because they go far beyond merely thinking about committing an illegal act. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  15. SOLICITATION • SOLICITATION: When someone asks another to commit a crime for them, when someone asks another for assistance in committing a crime, and/or when someone advises another on how to commit a crime. • The offense is committed at the time the solicitation is made. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  16. SOLICITATION • It does not require that the solicited person actually commits the crime. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  17. CONSPIRACY • CONSPIRACY: An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. • But in order for conspiracy to be committed, more is required than a mere agreement. • One of the conspirators must do an overt act that furthers the conspiracy. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  18. CONSPIRACY • Conspiracy is a crime separate from the crime the parties planned to commit. • The intended crime does not actually have to be achieved. • The designation of conspiracy as a crime allows police to arrest conspirators before they come dangerously close to completing the crime. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  19. ATTEMPT • ATTEMPT: When someone intends on committing a crime and comes dangerously close to completing it. • This occurs when the criminal enters the “zone of perpetration”—the vicinity where the criminal is close enough to the victim that the crime could actually committed. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  20. HOMICIDE • HOMICIDE: The killing of one person by another. • Homicide is divided into categories based on the circumstances of the killing and intent. • The punishment for an act of homicide depends on the category it falls into. • Justifiable homicide, excusable homicide, negligent homicide, murder, and manslaughter are all forms of homicide. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  21. HOMICIDE • JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE: When a police officer kills a criminal in the line of duty or in self-defense. • EXCUSABLE HOMICIDE:When someone is killed by accident and no one is at fault. • Justifiable and excusable homicides are not subject to criminal charges, whereas murder and manslaughter are criminal offenses. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  22. MURDER • MURDER: The unlawful killing of another human being with malice. • MALICE: The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another. • Most states break murder down into two degrees: 1st and 2nd. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  23. MURDER • Malice is a common denominator in both 1st and 2nd degree murder, but premeditation only occurs in 1st; that is the main difference between the two. • PREMEDITATION: The contemplation of a crime in advance which shows deliberate intent; also referred to as deliberation and malice aforethought. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  24. MURDER • The time needed for deliberate premeditation may vary from weeks, days, hours, minutes, or even seconds but there must be convincing evidence that a plan to murder was formed. • In most states, 1st degree murder usually carries the death penalty, 2nd degree murder does not. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  25. 1st DEGREE MURDER • 1st DEGREE MURDER: The premeditated, willful, and deliberate killing of another. • 1st degree murder is also referred to as murder one or capital murder. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  26. 2nd DEGREE MURDER • 2nd DEGREE MURDER:A murder in which the suspect intended to kill or even seriously harm the victim, but the killing was not premeditated—a spontaneous or “spur-of-the-moment” killing. • The intent to kill did not exist until the moment of the murder. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  27. FELONY MURDER • FELONY MURDER: Any death that results during the commission of a felony. • Even if the killing was accidental, it is not necessary to prove intent. • Malice is presumed because the homicide occurred during the felony. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  28. FELONY MURDER • Many jurisdictions make distinctions as to whether felony murder will be 1st degree or 2nd degree depending on the type of felony that was committed. • The crimes of arson, burglary, robbery, and rape generally make felony murder a 1st degree offense. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  29. MANSLAUGHTER • MANSLAUGHTER: The unlawful killing of another human being without premeditation. • VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER: A killing, which otherwise would be murder, that occurs after the accused was provoked to a temporary mental state lacking self-control or reason. • Courts refer to this temporary state of mind as the “heat of passion.” CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  30. MANSLAUGHTER • Voluntary manslaughter is punished somewhat less severely than murder as a concession to the imperfection of human character. • This is because the law recognizes that people sometimes do things they normally wouldn’t do when they are very angry or upset and haven’t had time to cool off. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  31. MANSLAUGHTER • Therefore, the only real difference between 2nd degree murder and voluntary manslaughter is circumstance and sentencing. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  32. MANSLAUGHTER • INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER: An unintentional killing caused by an unlawful, reckless, and/or negligent act. • The death results from the suspect’s criminal negligence, rather than any intent to kill the victim. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  33. MANSLAUGHTER • NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE: A lesser-included offense of manslaughter committed while carelessly or recklessly operating a vehicle. • In Michigan, negligent homicide is a high misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a fine up to $2,000. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  34. BATTERY • BATTERY: Any unlawful physical contact inflicted by one person upon another without consent. • Battery requires criminal intent or at least reckless behavior. • Actual injury is not necessary for a battery to occur. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  35. BATTERY • Other examples of battery include giving poison or drugs to an unsuspecting victim, spitting in someone’s face, and siccing a dog on someone. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  36. ASSAULT • ASSAULT: Any attempt or threat to carry out a physical attack upon another person. • Simple assault and battery are misdemeanor offenses, whereas • Aggravated assault and battery are felony offenses. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  37. ASSAULT • To qualify as an aggravated offense, the assault or battery would have to be: • Committed with a deadly weapon, or • With the intent to commit murder, rape, or robbery. • Today, there is often not much difference between the uses of the words assault and battery. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  38. STALKING • STALKING: Occurs when a person repeatedly follows or harasses another person and makes threats, causing the victim to fear death or bodily injury. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  39. KIDNAPPING • KIDNAPPING: The unlawful removal of a person against their will. • Kidnapping usually includes unlawful imprisonment for motives of ransom, terrorism, torture, rape, or to commit a felony. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  40. FALSE IMPRISONMENT • FALSE IMPRISONMENT: The deliberate confinement of a person without their consent orwithout legal justification (for example, a lawful arrest). • The confinement can be physical or psychological. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  41. MAYHEM • MAYHEM: The deliberate act of maiming (to cripple/mutilate) a person or causing permanent disfigurement. • Mayhem includes acts that cause someone to lose a limb, finger, eye, or any other part of the body. • Mayhem also includes acts that result in significant scarring. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  42. RAPE • RAPE: Sexual intercourse without consent. • There is no consent if the victim is unconscious or mentally incompetent. • The rapist does not necessarily have to use physical force; • Threats of harm are sufficient. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  43. STATUTORY RAPE • STATUTORY RAPE: Sexual Intercourse between an adult and a minor. • Statutory rape differs from rape in a very important way: consent is not an element of the crime. • According to the law, a minor is incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  44. STATUTORY RAPE • The definition of age varies from state to state. • The age of majority in Michigan is 16. • Adults can be prosecuted for statutory rape even if the minor lied about their age. • Conversely, minors can also be prosecuted for having sex with other minors. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  45. SEX CRIMES • The perpetrator and victim of both rape and statutory rape can be of either sex; therefore, women as well as men can be prosecuted. • Generally speaking, the younger the victim, the more serious the offense andmore severe the penalty. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  46. SEX CRIMES • In Michigan, all rape laws fall within a category entitled Criminal Sexual Conduct (C.S.C.). CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  47. SEX CRIMES • PROSTITUTION: Engaging in sexual activities in exchange for money or property. • PANDERING: Recruiting prostitutes, soliciting on their behalf, or deriving support from their earnings. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  48. PROPERTY CRIMES • When a crime involves property, the value of the property can determine whether the crime is misdemeanor or a felony—over $1,000 is generally a felony in Michigan. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  49. LARCENY • LARCENY: The unlawful taking and carrying away of personal property of another with the intent to deprive the owner of it. • Larceny offenses are classified as pettyor grand, depending on the value of the property taken. • Petty larceny is a misdemeanor whereas grand larceny is a felony. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

  50. LARCENY • The crime of larceny includes keeping lost property when a reasonable method exists for finding the owner. • It is also considered larceny to keep property delivered by mistake. • Retail fraud, burglary, embezzlement, robbery, and carjacking are all forms of larceny. CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE

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