CRIMINAL LAW
I. CRIMES
A. HOW GUILT IS ESTABLISHED (**Look at State Statute**)
1. Structure of the criminal justice system
a. Right to trial by jury for all non-petty offenses in state & federal systems
b. Prosecutor has burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt
c. POLICY: Action taken against lawbreakers to:
i. Remove dangerous people from community (incapacitation);
ii. Deter others from criminal behavior (deterrence); and
iii. Give society an opportunity to transfer lawbreakers into law abiding citizens (rehabilitation & retribution).
d. 3 separately organized parts:
i. police
ii. courts (prosecutors & judges)
iii. corrections
e. Procedure
i. Arrest
ii. Appearance before magistrate to determine if person will be held in jail or let out on bail (1/2 or more of D’s before magistrate released od convicted w/in 24 hours of arrest)
iii. Case turned over to prosecutor (1/2 of arrested dismissed before charge)
iv. Prosecutor charges D w/specific statutory crime(s)
v. Charge(s) reviewed by judge or grand jury to be dismissed or passed to judge as indictment
vi. D pleads not guilty or guilty (guilty pleas are often a result of negotiation)
vii. Case goes to trial if plea is not guilty (small fraction of cases actually go to trial. Cases that go to trial set standard of conduct for all cases)
viii. Formal Trial Procedure
1. Selection of jury
2. Prosecution calls witnesses (Defense may move for directed verdict or acquittal)
3. Defense offers its evidence
4. Prosecution may have rebuttal
5. Both sides rest
6. Closing arguments (P, D, P rebuttal)
7. Judge instructs jury
8. Jury deliberates
9. Verdict
ix. Sentencing if D found guilty at trial is less formal than trial
f. 4 significant characteristics of the criminal justice system:
1. It is required to deal w/large and never-ending flow of cases. Process of mass production.
2. System pervaded by exercise of loosely controlled discretion. Dynamic relationship of formal legal controls and also unsupervised discretion.
idual choice
C. Frequently used mens rea terms
1. Intent
a. Actor’s purpose, desire, or conscious objective to case the result or to engage in specified conduct.
2. Motive
a. even if a crime is intentional, the motive may not be evil
b. specific intent crimes require proof of specified motive
c. motive relevant to claims of defense
d. relevant at sentencing
3. Transferred Intent
a. ex: intent follows bullet
b. cannot be applied to statutory offense which requires D’s intent be directed toward actual victim
c. Can only transfer w/in 1 type of social harm (cannot follow bullet from animal to human)
4. Knowingly
a. willful blindness or deliberate ignorance
5. Willfully
a. Many meanings
– Intentional
– Act done w/bad purpose
– Act w/evil motive
– Intentional violation of a known legal duty
– Purpose to disobey the law
6. Negligence & Recklessness
a. 4 categories of risk-taking:
1. desirable or, at least, neutral risk-taking
2. justifies civil liability “civil negligence”
