Criminal Law Outline

CRIMINAL LAW DOV FOX FALL 2015

I. PUNISHMENT

THEORIES OF PUNISHMENT

UTILITARIAN

1. Incapacitation: While imprisoned, a criminal has fewer opportunities to commit acts causing harm to society

2. Deterrence:

a. Special Deterrence: Punishment may deter the criminal from committing future crimes

b. General Deterrence: Punishment may deter the persons other than the criminal from committing similar crimes for fear of incurring the same punishment

3. Rehabilitation: Imprisonment provides the opportunity to mold or reform the criminal into a person who, upon return to society, will conform her behavior to societal norms

a. Two different ideals of rehabilitation:

i. Make criminals safe to return to the streets (better for society)

ii. Seeks for criminals to lead flourishing and successful lives

RETRIBUTIVISM: Punishment is imposed to vent society’s sense of outrage and need for revenge

SENTENCING

United States v. Bernard L. Madoff

· Retributivist view: message must be sent that Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil

· Utilitarian view: general deterrence; strong message must be sent to others who might engage in the same behavior

United States v. Jackson

· Should a non-violent crime every receive a life sentence?

· Δ Jackson robbed a bank the same day he was released from prison; he was sentenced to life in prison

· Judge Posner thought that retributively, Jackson did not deserve the punishment

· Furthermore, by a utilitarian view, bank robbery is a young man’s game and at some point Jackson would age out of it

LEGALITY OF PUNISHMENT

· Retributivist and Utilitarian views give ides not just about how much should be punished but also how little should be punished

· Greatest good for the greatest number of people might not be punishing

· 8th Amendment says that punishments cannot be cruel or unusual and bails cannot be excessive

Graham v. Florida

· Δ Graham, a 17 year old, was sentenced to life in prison without parole (LWOP) because he violated his probation by committing an home-invasion robbery

· The Supreme Court found LWOP to be a disproportionate sentence for juveniles who do not commit homicide

· Retributive: rejected because juveniles have lesser culpability

· Utilitarian: rejected on deterrence grounds because juveniles make impetuous decision and are less likely to take a potential punishment into account

II. ESSENTAL ELEMENTS OF CRIME

1. ACTUS REUS (guilty act): A physical act (or unlawful omission) by the defendant;

2. MENS REA (guilty mind): The state of mind or intent of the defendant at the time of his act;

3. CONCURRENCE: The physical act and the mental state existed at the same time

4. CAUSATION: A harmful result caused by the defendant’s act

ACTUS REUS

VOLUNTARINESS

· The defendant’s act must be voluntary in the sense that it must be a conscious exercise of the will

· Movement v. Behavior

o Movement is external

o Behavior is internal

MPC §2.01. Requirement of a Voluntary Act

(1) A person is not guilty of an offense unless his liability is based on conduct which includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform an act which he is physically capable.

(2) The following are not voluntary acts within the meaning of this Section:

(a) a reflex or convulsion;

(b) a bodily movement during unconsciousness or sleep;

(c) conduct during hypnosis or resulting from hypnotic suggestion;

(d) a bodily movement that otherwise is not a product of the effort or determination of the actor, either conscious or habitual

Martin v. State

· Δ Martin was convicted of being drunk on a public highway because officers arrested him at his home and took him onto the highway

· Δ’s appearance in public was not voluntary and therefore, his conviction was improper

People v. Decina

· Δ Decina was aware that he suffered from seizures but decided to drive anyways

· Decina’s actions were voluntary when he decided to get into his car, even if his seizure that caused his accident was involuntary

· Δ knew that seizures while driving could lead to reckless driving

King v. Cogden

· Δ Cogden killed her daughter while sleepwalking

· Her actions were involuntary and does not deserve punishment because she did not “do” the act (R)

· Punishing her would not serve as deterrence because the act was involuntary (U)

· Sleepwalking is not a voluntary act under the MPC

People v. Newton

· Δ Newton shot a police officer while he was “unconscious”

· His actions were involuntary because being shot in the stomach caused him to become unconscious or semi-unconscious