King v. Cogdon
Mrs. Codgon was dreaming weird things and kept going into her daughter's room at night trying to protect her form her dream
one night she dreampt that the Korean war was around her house and there were soldiers attacking Pat.
she woke up from her dream an
Apprendi v. New Jersey
apprendi fired openly into a black family's home because they were black and he was not happy that they had entered a white neighborhood.
got charged with possessing illegal firearms with unlawful purpose but the state also wanted to charge him with "purp
State v. Jentzi
Jentzi was helping out his lady friend mess up her boyfriends car (slashing tires) when the boyfriend saw he chased Jenzi and jenzi jumped in bushed, the boyfriend jumped in and in the end of it all the boyfriend was stabbed in the stomach
trial said he a
Robinson v. California
Robinson was tried merely because he was addicted to heroin
the court ruled that a 90 day sentence for drug addiction was disproportionate because addiction is an illness and it is cruel and unusual to punish persons for being sick
The court upholds the p
Chaney v. State
-explores the idea that the trial court's "light treatment" of sentencing U.S. Army soldier Donald Scott Chaney to one year in prison with early parole would send the message that the suffering he caused the woman he raped twice and then robbed was worthl
Atkins v. Virginia
Atkins was proved mentally retarded but robbed a guy at a store took him to a field and shot him 3 times
the supreme court ruled that executing anyone who proved the 3 elements of of AAMR definition applied to them violated the ban on cruel and unusual pu
AAMR elements of mental retardation
*the persons has substantial intellectual impairment
*that impairment impacts the everyday life of the mentally retarded individual
*retardation is present at birth or during childhood
US. v. Arthur Andersen
The case that deals with ENRON corporation Andersen was the accounting firm and consulting firm for Enron that had done some aggressive accounting
Andersen employees were said to knowingly, intentionally, and corruptly persuade Andersen employees to withh
Roper v. Arthur Simmons
executing minors 17 year old
Using the reasoning from the Atkins case, the Missouri court decided, 6-to-3, that the U.S. Supreme Court's 1989 decision in Stanford v. Kentucky, which held that executing minors was not unconstitutional, was no longer valid.
US. v. Hinckley
Hinckley tried to assassinate the president he was not seen as guilty because of insanity but the problem here came when the court was in conflict with the clinic trying to give hickely the opportunity to integrate into society
he is not expected to recov
Mcnaughtan rule
right and wrong test (first prong of insanity test)
the defendant suffered a defect of reason caused by a disease of the mind
consequently at the time of the act she did not know nature and quality of the act
that the act was wrong
test of insanity
*right and wrong
*irresistible impulse test: just because you know something is wrong doesnt mean you can stop yourself from doing it
*product test (Durham rule): acts that are the product of mental disease
*substantial capacity test (the MPC test): not l
1st
Freedom of Religion, Press, Speech, Assembly, Petition
not included
obscenity
profanity
libel and slander
fighting words
2nd
Right to Bear Arms
does not include
carrying conceled weapons
felons
mentally ill
firearms in sensitive place
laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms
3rd
Right to not have to quarter Soldiers and seizures
4th
Right to be free from un-reasonable searches and seizures
8th
Freedom from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment
9th
Guarantee of rights not listed in Constitution
14th
Right to be free from discrimination in states to have due process of law, to have equal protection of the law
elements of liability
criminal act (actus reus)
criminal intent (mens rea)
concurrence
attendant circumstances
bad results (causing criminal crime)
actus reus
the requirement that all crimes have to include a voluntary criminal act which is the physical element and the first principle of criminal liability
person can not be punished for thinking criminal thoughts; words can however can be considered acts in cri
mens rea
criminal intent, the mental element in crime
the relationship between mental attitude and motive
defendants state of mind at the time of the offense must be proved
Mala prohibita
crimes only because a specific statute or ordinance prohibits them
do not require criminal intent only a voluntary act
ex: parking tickets, drinking in public
Mala In Se
crimes that require some level of criminal intent
don't need a law to tell us that rape robbery and stealing are crimes because they are inherently evil
MPC 4 mental states Pineal code
*purposefully: person acts knowing consequences and knowing what he is doing with then intent of ends
**** most blameworthy
*knowingly: knows what he is doing and that that can cause a result (almost certain it will happen)
*recklessly: knows effects but
recklessness test
was the defendant aware of how substantial and unjustifiable the risks that they disregarded were? (subjective)
does the defendant's disregard of risk amount to so gross a deviation from the standards that a law abiding person would observe in that situat
concurrence
the criminal intent has to trigger the criminal act
criminal acts
voluntary bodily movements
Children are divided into categories
Under 7: children had no criminal capacity
Ages 7-14: children were presumed to have no criminal capacity, but the presumption could be overcome
over 14: children had the same capacity as adults
Pg: 211
burden of proof
the government has the burden of proof of criminal conduct beyond a reasonable doubt
(not beyond all doubt)
the defendants proof
*affirmative defense: have to give reasons why ok
*burden of production: you give them the burden by assuming they were sane, sober consicous and acting freely
*burden of presuasuassion: have to give evidence that means over 50%
Bench trials
cases where the accused give up their right to a jury by trial and are tried by judges who decided whether prosecutors have proved their guilt (pg 31)
responsibility
...
torts
private wrongs for which you can sue the party who wronged you and recover money
Torts are similar to crimes in that they are a set of rules which apply to everyone in the community, and the power of law backs them up
-also similar in that they often have
Felonies
crimes punishable by death or confinement in the states prison for one year or life without parole
-prior felony convictions may enhance sentence
-legal consequences of felonies (for example, voting rights) that are not there for misdemeanors
misdemeanors
offenses punishable by fine or confinement in the local jail for up to one year
where is most criminal law found?
-State Criminal Codes
-Most criminal law is found in state criminal codes created by elected representatives in state legislatures and municipal codes created by city and town councils elected by the people
or local governing bodies
complicity
crimes that make one person criminally liable for someone else's action
appellant
-the title given to a party who appeals the decision of a lower court case
-helps to distinguish the person bringing the appeal from their title at the first trial level which is a clamant, plaintiff, or defendant
defendant
the title of a party at the first trial level whom are defending themselves against a plaintiff or prosecutor
self defense elements
*Unprovoked attack: defender didnt start or provoke the attack
*necessity: defenders can use deadly force only if there is reasonable belief that it is necessary to repel an imminent deadly attack
*proportionality: can use deadly force only when the use o
retreat rule
you can stand your ground anywhere but you must retreat if you reasonably believe that you're in danger or of death or serious bodily harm and that backing off wont unreasonably put you in danger of death or serious bodily harm
castle exception
when you're attacked in your home you can stand your ground and use deadly force to fend off an unprovoked attack but only if you reasonably believe the attack threatens death or serious bodily injury
serious bodily injury
Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that involves (1) a substantial risk of death; (2) extreme physical pain; (3) protracted and obvious disfigurement; or (4) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a body part, organ, or mental faculty.
property crimes
-Burglary
-Larceny-theft
-motor vehicle theft
-arson
-Property Crimes= are crimes that are categorized as offenses against property; this includes theft, robbery, burglary, arson, embezzlement, forgery, false pretenses, and receipt of stolen goods;
theft-
criminal liability
- conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens substantial harm to individual or public interests
criminal conduct
voluntary criminal acts triggered by criminal intent
must be without justification or excuse
criminal conduct elements
was there criminal conduct?
was the conduct justified?
was the unjustified conduct excused?
-Mens Rea= crimes mental elements; the defendants state of mind at the time of the offense must be proved
-Actues Reus= all crimes require this; the actual physica
criminal omission
the failure to act when there's a legal duty to act
*failure to report: child abuse, an accident, HIV to partners, income tax
*failure to intervene: not interrupting injuries and death to a person or damage and destruction to property
legal duties: a duty
when Failure to act is a crime
failure to report: child abuse, an accident
failure to intervene: not interrupting injuries and death to a person or damage and destruction to property
American bystander rule: there is no legal duty to rescue or summon help for someone who's in danger ev
Police discretion
the invisible day-to-day process, in which law enforcement professionals make judgements based on unwritten rules, their training, and their experience.
- The Police can investigate suspects, or not, and arrest them, or not --initiating the formal crimina
common law
-judge made law, the original source of law, in which judge's court opinions formed the law
common law crimes
-crimes originating in the English common law, based on community customs and traditions that became incorporated into court decisions
-State common-law crimes= many states have common law in their history, but most have now abolished it to some extent
-F
vicarious liability
establisehd when a party can be criminally liable because of a relationship: transefers the criminal conduct of one party to another because of their friendship
how
agency theory: we are autonomous agents with the freedom to choose our actions. we become
participants to vicarious liability
*participants in 1st degree: persons who actually commit crime
*participants in the 2nd degree: persons present when the crime is committed and who help commit it
*accessories before the fact: persons not present when the crimes are committed but who help
conspiracy
is an agreement to commit some other crime
this is charged with a lesser punishment than offense itself
Pinkerton rule: the crime of conspiracy and the crime crime the conspirators agree to commit are separate offenses
subjective test of entrapment
*did the intent to commit the crime originate from the defendant.
*would they have committed crime without pressure?
*where did the criminal intent originate?
prove disposition with
*defendants prior convictions of similar offenses
*defendants willingness