Criminal Law Outline

KRAUSE

CRIM LAW

FALL 2015

BACKGROUND

-criminal disputes settled publicly b/c:

society has an interest in preventing/remedying social harm;
basis of wrong/punishment isn’t just harm to the victim but whole society
goal isn’t to make victim whole but to:

deter future violations AND
restore/repair society (via punishment/condemnation)

-level of proof required for convictionàbeyond a reasonable doubt

-CRIM = statute based: only conduct previously prohibited by statute can be a crime, must be pre-defined to provide fair notice)

-all 50 states have their own criminal codes, seldom define everything; some offenses are defined by the legislature, others are via C/L

MPC: developed in 1960s by ALI to solve incoherent mess of unmatching state codes; Goal = consistency/uniformity

-no state has adopted in full, but many have been influenced by specific provisions

NC: mostly follows C/L

NC Courts (see hand-out):

District Cts: handle misdemeanors, traffic infractions, preliminary criminal hearings to determine probable cause (no jury trial here)
Superior Cts: criminal trials
Ct of Appeals: 3-judge panels handle appeals from district/superior cts
NC Supreme Ct: can hear cases by right (constitutional questions, all death-penalty cases, any case where there’s a dissent at Ct of App) or by certification

Criminal Procedure

Charging documents:

grand jury indictments: not required for arrest in most jurisdictions

-resource intensive, takes forever

information: prosecutors can basically issue complaints

àmust allege the violation specifically, list the statute & elements, including exactly what act and mental state; must provide all the facts required to prove at trial

-f(x): provides notice to D of the charges

burden of proof

Prosecution must prove ALL elements of the crime “beyond a reasonable doubt”
Defense: only has to cast reasonable doubt on one material element for acquittal on charges; re: affirmative defenses (duress, insanity, self-defense) admit what happened but claim an excuse from liability/punishment; burden shifts to D to prove his defense; standard depends on jurisdiction, usually must be proven “by preponderance of the evidence”

jury instructions

Issued by judge: explains the statute violated, the elements required, the meaning of key terms like “intention”
Often impossible to tell how much attn. jurors pay to these instructions

Jury nullification: when the jury refuses to convict

àgeneral trend is AWAY from trials…most cases never get there; investigations get abandoned, go unsolved; prosecutors choose not to charge

plea-bargaining: even when there is an indictment, parties usually make a deal; spares prosecution resources & risk of loss, if D is guilty its often a good deal…can get problematic when there’s coercion or risk-avers poorly-informed D who pleads guilty despite no crime

Legal Bases for D’s appeals

Ineffective assistance of counsel ()
Incorrect jury instructions ()
Insufficient evidence for conviction ()
Insufficient indictment, failure to allege all elements ()
Improper admission/exclusion of evidence (usually gives right to new trial, unless “harmless error”)
Charge D was convicted upon is not actually a crime (no statutory basis, doesn’t apply to D, wasn’t a crime at the time D allegedly committed it, is unconstitutional, etcoverturns conviction, no retrial)

àusually Ds raise multiple bases for appeals, some emphasized over others depending on chances of success/benefit

The Brothel Boy

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I. Theories of punishment

How much should we punish criminals and why?

-punishment doesn’t necessarily affect crime ratesàUS has high level of violent crime AND highest rate of incarceration among developed countries

-US system has roots in both retributivist and utilitarian approaches

A. Utilitarian

Punishment justified based on whether the penalty is USEFUL to society
Focuses forward on the FUTURE
Punishment should be in proportion to the message you’re sending to general public
Key goal = DETERRENCE (preventing future crimes)

Incapacitation (remove likely criminals from society)
Rehabilitation (reform the offenders)
Social message (inform public that this crime isn’t allowed)

-rational calculations used to determine exactly how much punishment is necessary, not b/c we want to penalize the actor but instead to send message to society and prevent future harm

-focus on society: we don’t care very much about criminal as an individual, concern is to prevent him (and those like him) from repeating the offense

-problematic aspects:

(1) Deterrence: assumes criminals act rationally with future in mind, weighing costs/benefits of their deeds;

problematic b/c most crimes aren’t the result of rational calculations, most Ds don’t, you’re a