Law Outlines Criminal Law Outlines
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Theories of Punishment
Retributive
Morality
Goal to achieve moral equilibrium
Backwards thinking
Individual deterrence
Utilitarian
Public safety
Greater good
Maximizing utility
Limit punishment
Costs of enforcement
Forward thinking, benefits that will come in the future
General Deterrence
Proponents of repeat offender statutes
Queen v Dudley
Cannibalism life boat, punished for killing of another—retributive view
If you had looked from utilitarian standpoint—one life for the life of three, greater good
Principle of Legality
Requirement of previously defined conduct
No crime without law, no punishment without law
Keeler-fetus kicker since fetus was not defined as human being under statute, no murder
If common-law was previously established, adopt the terms of common law
Commonwealth v Mochan, no phones at common law
Statutory Clarity
City of Chicago v Morales loitering gangsters, unclear what conduct was prohibited, too much discretion to police officers
Vagueness may invalidate a law for two reasons
Fails to provide notice of what conduct is prohibited
Authorize and encourage discriminatory enforcement
Statutory Interpretation
Muscarello v United States carries was a term of art, not the common meaning of the word
Legislative intent
What crime was the statute meant to prevent
Rule of lenity
When there is ambiguity in a criminal statute, doubts are resolved in favor of defendant
Actus Reus—deed of the crime, physical or external part of the crime
Voluntary act
Martin v State—drunk and dragged, did not appear voluntarily and therefore not guilty of the crime
A person is not guilty of an offense unless his conduct includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform an act of which he is physically capable of
Automatism
State v Utter—drunk and discharged dad
Can be a defense to a crime, must be able to prove
Existence in any person a behavior of which he is unaware or has no conscious control
State of unconsciousness voluntarily induced through alcohol or drugs, no longer a complete defense
Decina—epileptic operating a car, aware of a condition that causes you to automatize, responsible for the consequences, not a valid defense
Sleepwalking and sexominiac
Even when an offense does not contain a mens rea component, a voluntary act may still be required for conviction
Omissions (Negative Acts)
If the person who sustains to another a legal relation (husband to wife, parent to child, master to seamen) there is a legal duty to act as long as it does not jeopardizing his or her life
If there is a domestic relationship, public duty, voluntary choice then you have to execute proper diligence
When failure to act may constitute a breach of legal duty
A statute imposes a duty
One stands in a certain status relationship to another
One has assumed a contractual duty to care for another
Where one has voluntarily assumed the care of another and secluded the helpless person to prevent others from coming to his aid
When a person creates a risk of harm to another
No duty
Beardsley-morphine mistress, no duty to act because no spousal relationship, moral duty does not equal legal duty
Bystanders
Bystanders no duty
Kitty Genovese, 38 neighbors hear and nobody comes to her rescue, bystander defect, diffusion of responsibility
David Cash, friend of Las Vegas child rapist, no duty to act
No punishment because
Harder to determine motives and culpability
Difficult line drawing problems arise
Make worse by intervening
Except under special circumstances, no legal duty to inform police of another person’s plans to commit a crime
But cannot actively conceal plans to a crime
Social Harm
Conduct crime
Endangerment to socially valuable interest
Not punishing the harm, but punishing because of the potential harm to society
Mens Rea—guilty mind, a guilty or wrongful purpose, a criminal intent
General Issues in Proving Culpability
Intent
Results that are the conscious object of the actor
Purposefully
What he wants to occur
Knowingly
Those that are virtually certain to occur from his conduct
Proving Intent
Intent can be inferred from the surrounding circumstances
People v Conley-wine bottle beat up, use of the bottle, force of the blow, intent to cause permanent disability
A person intends the natural and probable consequences of his actions
People v Conley
Transferred Intent
Harm is done to unintended bystander instead of intended victim
People v Conley—meant to hurt Marty, actually hurt Sean, defendant guilty of same crime
General Intent
No specific mental state stated in the statute
Battery and rape statues without a specific mens rea
Specific Intent
A crime in which the intent is stated in the statute
Possession of marijuana with the intent to sell
Mens rea separate from the actus reus
Proof of special motive
Proof of attendant circumstances
Model Penal Code, kinds of culpability
Purposely
Engage in an act to cause a specific result
Want to occur, believes or hopes they exist
Knowingly
Actor is aware that the result is virtually certain to occur
Recklessly
Consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct
Gross deviation from the reasonable person
Negligently
Should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct
Willful Blindness
Deliberate effort to avoid unpleasant knowledge
Conscious disregard for available information
Two ways to decide if there was knowledge
Missouri Criminal Code, State v Nations slutty 17 year old, not guilty did not have actual knowledge
Model Penal Code-aware of a high probability of a material element’s existence
United States v Jewell, marijuana mom, permitted willful blindness to constitute knowledge
Problems in Statutory Interpretation
Flores—Figueroa, fake social security guy
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