1. Criminal Law: Substance and Procedure
Chapter 4
Criminal Law: Substance and Procedure

2. Substantive and Procedural Law
Substantive Criminal Law:
A body of specific rules that declares what conduct is criminal and prescribes the punishment to be imposed for such conduct
Procedural Law:
The rules that define the operation of criminal proceedings, from obtaining a warrant or making an arrest through trial, sentencing and appeal

3. Historical Development of the Criminal Law
Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (2000 B.C.)
Mosaic Code of the Israelites (1200 B.C.)
Roman Twelve Tables (451 B.C.)
Corpus Juris Civilis (6th Century)
French Civil Code
Early Anglo-Saxon societies
wergild (monetary compensation) for criminal violations
guilt was determined by two methods:
compurgation
trial by ordeal

4. The Common Law Legal Tradition
After the Norman conquest of England, the common law tradition develops
Judges have the power to “interpret” acts according to customs, traditions and previous legal decisions
Stare Decisis:
To stand by decided cases; the legal principle by which the decision or holding in an earlier case becomes the standard by which subsequent similar cases are judged

5. Civil vs. Criminal Law
Civil Law:
All law that is not criminal, including tort, contract, personal property, maritime and commercial law
Tort Law:
The law of personal wrongs and damage; includes negligence, libel, slander, assault, and trespass

6. Exhibit 4.1 Common Law Crimes

7. Exhibit 4.2 A Comparison of Criminal and Tort Law

8. Sources of the Criminal Law
Common law, statutes and case decisions
Administrative rules and regulations
Constitutional laws

9. Classifying Crime – Two Primary Groups
Group I
Felony - A more serious crime that carries a penalty of incarceration in a state or federal prison usually for one year or more
Misdemeanor - A less serious crime usually punishable by a fine or incarceration in a local jail for less than one year
Violations
Group II – other statutory classifications such as:
Juvenile delinquency
Sex-offender categories
Multiple or first offender classifications

10. Legal Definition of Crime
A legal wrong
Prohibited by the criminal law
Prosecuted by the state in a formal court proceeding in which a criminal sanction or sentence may be imposed

11. Exhibit 4.3 Armed Burglary in Massachusetts

12. Guilty Mind and Guilty Act
Mens Rea: A guilty mind; the intent to commit a criminal act
The intent to do an act
Knowledge of circumstances that make the act a criminal offense
Actus Reus: An illegal act, or failure to act, when legally required

13. CNN Video – Assisted Suicide

14. Strict Liability Crime
A criminal violation (usually one that endangers the public welfare) that is defined by the act itself, irrespective of intent
Examples include things like speeding and serving alcohol to a minor because he/she looked older

15. Exhibit 4.4 New York State Law: § 270.10 Creating a Hazard

16. Criminal Defenses
Individuals defend themselves against criminal charges by refuting one or more elements of the case. For example, they can refute the:
Actus reus – claiming not to have committed the behavior
Mens rea – claiming not to have the necessary mental intent for the act
Justification – a defense that admits the criminal act but maintains that the act was justified because of necessity, duress, self-defense or entrapment
Ignorance or Mistake – as a general rule ignorance is not an excuse; however, in limited cases the court has recognized it as a defense
Insanity – a defense to a criminal prosecution in which the defendant’s state of mind negates his or her criminal responsibility

17. Exhibit 4.5 Various Insanity Defense Standards

18. Criticisms of the Insanity Defense
Spurs crime
Releases criminal offenders
Requires extensive use of expert testimony
Commits more criminals to mental institutions than prisons

19. Other Defenses
Intoxication – Voluntary intoxication as a general rule is not considered a defense. However, involuntary intoxication caused by mistake or duress may be accepted as a defense.
Age – Common law established minimum age limits for a reliable presumption of culpability. Today, state statutes have specified age limits. The general trend is to lower the minimum age at which criminal responsibility is presumed capable.

20. Entrapment
A legal defense that maintains the police originated the criminal idea or initiated the criminal action

21. Substantive Criminal Law Reform
An effort has been made by the federal and state governments to update legal codes so that they may accurately reflect:
Public opinion
Social change
Technological innovation
Other important social issues

22. Procedural Law and the Bill of Rights
Procedural law consists of the rules and procedures that govern the pretrial processing of criminal suspects and the conduct of criminal trials.
First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Purpose is to prevent government from usurping the personal freedom of citizens
Applied to state actions through the use of the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment

23. CNN Video Gun Giveaway

24. Key Constitutional Protections: The Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized

25. Key Constitutional Protections: The Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless of a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; not shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; not shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation

26. Key Constitutional Protections: The Sixth Amendment
In all criminal proceedings, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense
(The above excerpts from amendments modernize spelling/capitalization, but retain outdated punctuation.)

27. Key Constitutional Protections: The Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted

28. Incorporation Theory
A view that all the provisions of the Bill of Rights are included in the 14th Amendment and are therefore applicable in state proceedings
Selective incorporation holds that provisions of the Bill of Rights must be applied to states on a case-by-case basis

29. The Meaning of Due Process
Justice Felix Frankfurter emphasized the definition of due process in Rochin v. California (1952):
“Due process of law requires an evaluation based on a disinterested inquiry pursued in the spirit of science on a balanced order of facts, exactly and clearly stated, on the detached consideration of conflicting claims on a judgment not ad hoc and episodic but duly mindful of reconciling the needs both of continuity and of change in a progressive society.”