Rummel v. Estelle
Disproportionate sentencing
Man sentenced to life due to recidivist statute
Court: does not constitute as cruel & unusual punishment (judgement of Court of Appeals is Affirmed)
Hart-Devlin Debates
Debate over morality (Devlin) vs. legality (Hart)
Lawrence v. Texas
Homosexual sodomy
Texas crimes for homosexuals to engage in sodomy but NOT applied to straight couples
Court: judgement of Court of Appeals is reversed & remanded
Keeler v. Superior Court
Feticide
Is an unborn but viable fetus a "human being" in regards to murder
Court: NO, writ of prohibition was granted
Gonzales v. Raich
Commerce Clause (marijuana legalization)
Does the Commerce Clause include power to prohibit local cultivation and use of marijuana in accordance with California law?
Court: YES, Congress has authority to prohibit it despite state law saying otherwise
State vs. Miranda
Legal duty to act/perform
Does a non-biological "parent" have a legal obligation to protect the child from abuse
Court: YES, but reversed & remanded to lower court for consideration of defendant's other claims
What are the 3 "voluntary acts" discussed in class?
1. Actor does not remember
2. Actor cannot control impulses
3. Act was unintentional or consequences unforeseen
Substantive Law
Statutory rules that declare what conduct is criminal & what punishment may be imposed for violations
Procedural Law
Usually Court-based interpretations of how law will be enforced & administered
Focus on fairness & due process
Ex: search warrants & jury trials
What are the 7 subject matters for crime against something/someone & examples?
1. Crimes against the state
-treason, espionage
2. Crimes against the person
-homicide, rape, assault & battery, robbery, kidnapping
3. Crimes against habitation
-burglary, arson, trespassing
4. Crimes against property
-larceny, embezzlement, robbery, rec
What are the 5 limitations on criminal law?
1. Supremacy Clause
2. No bills of attainder
3. No ex post facto laws
4. Clarity/Void for vagueness
5. Overbreadth
precursors to american law
code of hamarabi
draconian law
justion
How is crime defined
defined as forbidden acts committed against the state
criminal laws is usually
physical damage that is processed through police and has laws against it (North Carolina vs Coffey)
Crimes are the result of legal decision made by judges, legislative body, ect
Civil law is usually
usually against another individual and is more personal (Williams vs Coffey)
executive branch
can issue executive orders, not really a lot of power regarding criminal law
judicial branch and judicial branch
Are the branches that have power when it comes to criminal law
legal guilt
how you are adjudicated
factual guilt
how you actually did it
criminal law emphases what?
adjudication through strict adversarial procedures for the accused
Punishment
punishment (focus on this)
...
state vs accused
deals with violations of criminal law
standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt 95%
many due process protections
Criminal law has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt these four things
1) is it a crime?
2)which crime/ prove that crime occurred
3)elemnts of crime (premeditated and ????)
4) correct? often push for plea agreement
Civil law
emphasizes the rights and responsibilities of private parties (you can do criminal + civil but you have to pay for your lawyer)
Greatly out number criminal cases
gets compensation for the exact amount
punitive damages, pain and suffering, money to make up
Private vs Private
Deals with violations of civil principles.
If you cant pay theres nothing they can really do.
The standard of proof for civil law/ private vs private
Preponderance of the evidence (51%).
Fewer due process protections.
The reasons its less is because you're only being deprived of property, not life.
American legal history comes from
english settlers, native americans/ tribal laws,
Indians abide by what law
Federal Law
Common law -
law known through the judicial decisions that were transmitted throughout the land.
Felonies and misdemeanors, but victims had to bring the offenders to justice
Most early crimes were based on
Religion
Punishment including shaming, mutiliation, branding, etc.
Laws and lIberties of Massachusetts
Highly religious/ authoritarian - strict
needed to have laws in place to prevent chaos and anarchy
Need to have cultivated respect for the law
Surrender basic instincts for the good of society
Based on old testament w/ church leaders
Laws made with repsec
Capital punishment in early Massachusetts
Worship anyone but god
witch, blasphemy, murder premeditated & w/o self-defense, kill someone in anger/cruelty (2nd degree murder)
Cursing at parents
Fornication
Marriage, Fine, Corporal Punishment
Lying
Fined 1st, Fined 2x, Fined 2x original
History of American Criminal Law
Not really black and white more monetarily based.
(Bail, court costs, court clothes, education)
Things began to change in modern time for three reasons
1) Creation of police forces, esp. in large cities
2) Rise of a secular government (Law, executive, legislative, town council).
3)Rise in economically motivated crime
Today crimes are created through legally authorized bodies
Legislature
Executive branch
Judiciary
Legislature
Creates and Enacts laws
Executive Branch
Administers and enacts laws
Judiciary
Interprets laws
3 Characteristics of modern criminal law
1) Legality
2)Actus Reus
3)Mens Rea
Society must know laws and punishments are in place
Legality (Nulla Poena Sine Lege)
No punishment without law.
Mens Rea
Intent or Guilty Mind
Actus Reus
Includes act of omission. Some action required for criminality
Causation
Act and intent must cause harm to a protected person, place, or thing.
Proportionality
Punishment must be proporational to crime
(Rummel VS Estelle
Excpetions to expost facto
Megans law imposed restrictions of those committed of a sex offense
Clarity/Void for vagueness
Laws must provide clear guidance, prevent confusion.
Over breadth
Cannot criminalize otherwise legal behavior.
i.e. certain clusters of behavior like wiping babies butt and pedophiles
Substantive Law
Stating rules that declare what conduct is criminal and what punishment may be imposed for violations.
Defined by local, state, and federal governement.
We are most affected by state actions
We are most affected by state actions. Examples of Substantive laws include:
Local - Zoning restrictions, noise ordinances, etc.
State - Homicide, burglary
Federal - treason, drug trafficking
procedural law
Usually court based interpretations of how law will be enforced and administered.
Federal Courts typically responsible for ensuring other entities abide by procedural law
Ex.: Search warrants, Jury trials
Focus on fairness and due process (Ideally)
Felonies
Punishable by more than 1 year incarceration
(NC is unique bevause you can go to prison for 90-180 days)
In NC some felonies only carry
3-12 month sentences incarceration (Could be felony with less than one year in prison)
NC felonies are classified as
Most serious - Class A1
Least Serious - Class I1
Lawrence versus Texas Banning sodomy
is unconstitutional/violate privacy.
Brummel versus Estel 1980 US Supreme Court issued a ruling on
three strikes law is constitutional and not a violation of cruel and unusual punishmen
Source of criminal law
Common law 1066 - William the Conqueror established practice of common law among judges
- 1300 decisions being to be written down
Starry deceases /Precedent where the other cases hold
1600- common-law crimes developed- murder, rape, etc.
Other crime creat
Municipal ordinances
Entry of state government
local:
Generally minor nature
Example zoning noise ordinances etc.
Federal criminal codes
Passed by Congress
not as extensive as state codes
Criminalizes many behaviors that states do not, example tax evasion's treason, however some federal and state laws overlap
Double jeopardy doesn't apply to state and federal because of duel sovereignty
Mu
Federal and state constitutions
Limited in defining laws
treason defined in article 3
Feature criminal procedure rights
However all laws and constitutions must abide by US constitution example of cruel and unusual punishment
substantive =
what is x and how it distinctly is different from y
Procedural =
rules for handling violations for law
Model penal code
Adversary code for American law institution ALI
Hopes to limit inconsistencies among state codes
Most states follow, but don't have to
Limitations on criminal law
Supremacy clause
No bills of attainder
Bills of attainder
Supremacy clause
States cannot regulate behavior already regulated by the federal government - Gonzales versus raich
No bills of attainder -
no punishment without trial
Bills of attainder -
legislator punishes a group by creating laws
we need fact finding/Oversight
No ex post facto laws
no retroactive laws
Basic concepts of criminal law
Crimes against the state -treason/espionage
Crimes against the person - homicide, rape, battery, robbery, kidnapping
Crimes against habitation - burglary, arson, trespassing
crimes against property - larceny, receiving stolen property, robbery
Crimes agai
Actus reus
Some physical act or conduct that is either voluntary or qualifying omission
Voluntary act - bodily movement performed consciously and as a result of effort and determination
In voluntary act - bodily movement not the result of effort and determination do
Qualifying omission -
failure to act in some circumstances
The mission is expressly made sufficient by law example failure to pay taxes
The Omission when there is a legal duty to preform example lifeguard must save a drowning person