Criminal Law
Rich
Spring 2015
I. Introduction
A. Procedures and Source of Criminal Law
1. crime is a formal pronouncement of a community’s moral condemnation
2. Constitutional issues
a) legislative branch makes decisions for majority
b) judicial branch ensures the rights of the minority
B. Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
1. trial by jury – innocent until proven guilty
2. justice game
a) most people are guilty
b) presumption of innocence
3. Owens v. State – drunk in running car, beyond a reasonable doubt
a) D is in a running car, lights on, keys in ignition, but parked in a driveway. He is passed out with beer between his legs and drunk
b) circumstantial evidence that he drove there or whether he was about to drive away, didn’t have evidence of whether the house was his address — inference based on criminal reports.
c) “More than a flip of a coin between guilt and innocence” is enough to find guilt, rational factfinder decides
C. Jury Nullification
1. “conscience of the community”
a) cost benefit analysis
2. State v. Ragland –
a) D’s trial for armed robbery and possession of a weapon, jury instruction said “must acquit but may convict”
b) statutory interpretation
II. Statutory Principles
A. Principle of Legality
1. legality
a) cannot be held liable after the fact
b) no retroactive lawmaking
2. vagueness
a) any criminal law needs to be comprehensible to the average person upon enactment
b) criminal laws need to be understood by average person, not up to judges, but legislature to ensure law is not vague
3. lenity
a) ambiguous statutes are interpreted in favor of accused
b) imposes consequences on the fewest number of people
c) tiebreaker goes to the accused
B. Previously-Defined Conduct
1. Commonwealth v. Mochan
a) Mochan called married woman on shared phone line, suggested sodomy (openly outrageous indecency)
b) crime – injurious to public morals is a misdemeanor at common law
(1) offends vagueness because what do people consider “injurious to public morals”
(2) offends legality because legislature needs to be precise about what offends public mores
(3) offends lenity because the stt is ambiguous – no idea what scandalous is or what affect on community
(4) Legislature v. Judge
(a) legislature tells people what the law is
(b) Judge tells people how law is applied
C. Clarity, Vagueness and Statutory Interpretation
1. Keeler v. Superior Ct.
a) man stomps on stomach of prego ex-wife, causing injuries to mother and cerebral hemorrhaging to baby (died)
(1) quickening fetus v. viable fetus
b) “Murder is the unlawful killing of another [human being] with malice aforethought”
(1) jurisdictional problem – job of judicial branch is to interpret the law, not make the law (judges can narrow but not broaden interpretation)
(2) constitutional law – ex post facto, not due process of law
2. In re Banks
a) peeping tom statute
b) phraseology
(1) ”to peep” is to look cautiously or slyly
(2) “secretly” – intention to invade
(3) stt: Any person who shall “peep secretly” into any room occupied by a female person
(a) includes conduct that shouldn’t be… checking on daughter sleeping?
(b) judges narrow
(4) Judges interpretation: peeping tom – wrongful spying into a room upon a female with the intent of violating the female’s legitimate expectation of privacy
III. Elements of a Criminal Offense
A. Intro
1. actus reus – act or omission caused legal harm
a) conduct
b) harm
B. Criminal Act (Actus Reus)
1. Voluntary Act
a) voluntary con
example
(a) victim’s age in rape case
(b) it is an offense to drive an automobile in an intoxicated condition
(i) automobile
(ii) intoxicated condition
4. Mens Rea
a) “guilty mind” – state of mind at crime
(1) broad interpretation – recklessly
(2) narrow interpretation – intent
b) must attach to crime targeted by the offense
c) Regina v. Cunningham
(1) Cunningham stole the gas meter from the basement, exposes mother-in-law to Mrs. Wade
(2) Malice definitions
(a) wickedness OR
(b) actual intent to do particular harm
(c) recklessness – substantial knowledge of risk
(3) conduct v. result
(a) conduct – unlawfully and maliciously administering or causing to be administered or taken by any conduct
(b) result – endangering life of a person
d) People v. Conley
(1) highschool party, Conley asks Marty for a beer, swings wine bottle at him, Marty ducks and Conley hits Sean, breaking his face
(2) Mens Rea
(a) intent = conscious objective
(b) knowingly = consciously aware
(3) Take-away: Jury can infer intent
e) Specific intent v. general intent
(1) General Intent – no specific mens rea
(a) mens rea is attached to actus reus