Criminal LawPutting the Pieces

Together

Elements of & Parties to Crime

Crimes

• Mala in se – “Evil in themselves” –Intent is deemed inherent in

the offense

–Origin in common law

–Murder, Rape, Robbery, Larceny

Crimes

• Mala Prohibita – “Prohibited evil” –Deemed wrong by statue

–Intent must usually be established by facts of case

Mala Prohibita

–Tend to address social ills• Started with Industrial Rev.

–Sale of alcohol

• Today – Traffic code, GCSA, cigarette laws

–Not necessarily moral wrongs

Elements of a Crime

• Actus Reus – “Wrongful Act”• Mens Rea – “Wrongful

Thought”• Causation – Act resulted in

harm• Harm – Result or consequence

of act• Concurrence – Time issue

Actus Reus

• “Outward manifestation of voluntary conduct”

• Indirect link acceptable –Drinking then driving

• Act of Omission - Failure to act may be a crime

Act of Omission• Must have legal duty to act

1.Relationship• Parent/Child

2.Statutory Duty – by law• Teacher/Student

3.Contract• Doctor/Patient

Act of Omission• Moral duty does not always

equal legal duty– Drowning at public park

Actus ReusPossession

• Actual Possession – Clear Actus Reus

• Constructive Possession – more difficult, based on legal speculation – Drugs in car glove box

Mens Rea• Concept from common law

doctrine that crime must have criminal intent

• Different from motive (reason for crime)

Mens Rea - Intent• General Intent – did the

act but may not have anticipated the result – Felony Murder

• Specific Intent – purpose of act was to accomplish result– Murder, Arson

Harm• Consequence of action

resulting in loss or damage• “Victimless” crime usually

has argument of societal or moral harm– Gambling

• Could argue default harm to children, etc

Causation• Proximate Cause – a

cause that in a natural, continuous sequence, unbroken by any intervening cause, produces the results that occur

Causation• “But for” test is used for

establishing proximate cause– But for the defendant pulling

the trigger the death would not have occurred

– Must clear other influences• Arrestee struggles, cop has

heart attack

Concurrence • Links Causation to Harm

• Requires action to be followed by harm in a rational time frame– State law provides a year

and a day for death in murder case

Parties to a Crime • Common law classified

participant• Principal – directly

involved with committing crime

• Accessory – not a direct participant but provided “aid and comfort”

Parties to a Crime • Principal party classified

as:– Principal in the first degree

direct participant

– Principal in the second degree participated in assisting in crime• Lookout

Parties to a Crime Principal in the second degree

(con’t)• Aiding and abetting

– agreeing to act or lending approval

– either by active participation in crime or encouraging in some manner

• Usually requires presence at time of act

Parties to a Crime • Accessory is usually

classified by participation before or after the fact– Helped in planning

– Helped hide suspect

Parties to a Crime • Modern law has gone away

from classification of principals and accessories– All actors held culpable

• Delineations may be made in sentencing

Think About It: Las Vegas – two 21 year olds

drinking/gambling. One (perp) takes 8 YOA girl into bathroom. Other walks in,

peeks over stall, & sees perp raping girl. Walks

away. Perp strangles girl and leaves in bathroom. Is

2nd man a party to a crime?

Las Vegas – two 21 year olds drinking/gambling. One

(perp) takes 8 YOA girl into bathroom. Other walks in,

peeks over stall, & sees perp raping girl. Walks

away. Perp strangles girl and leaves in bathroom. Is

2nd man a party to a crime?

Criminal LawPutting the Pieces

Together

Inchoate Offenses

Inchoate Offenses

• Inchoate – Unripened

• Activity or steps directed toward the completion of a crime

• Hard to clarify when activity becomes criminal

Inchoate Offenses

Three major: 1. Attempt

2. Solicitation

3. Conspiracy

Attempt

• Effort to accomplish a particular purpose

• Criminal Attempt (Federal)1. Intent to engage in criminal

conduct2. Performance of a

Substantial Step toward crime

Attempt

• Usually a specific law for murder in most state statues and a general attempt for others

Criminal Attempt 16-4-1

A person commits the offense of criminal attempt when, with intent to commit a specific crime, he performs any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime.

Criminal Attempt 16-4-1

Punishment(a) A person convicted of the offense of criminal

attempt to commit a crime punishable by death or by life imprisonment shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years.

(b) A person convicted of the offense of criminal attempt to commit a felony shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than one-half the maximum period of time for which he could have been sentenced if he had been convicted of the crime attempted

(c) A person convicted of the offense of criminal attempt to commit a misdemeanor shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.

Solicitation

• Counseling, inciting, or asking someone to commit a crime

• Criminal intent is usually required

Solicitation 16-4-7

A person commits the offense of criminal solicitation when, with intent that another person engage in conduct constituting a felony, he solicits, requests, commands, importunes, or otherwise attempts to cause the other person to engage in such conduct.

Solicitation 16-4-7

Punishment: (a) person convicted of the offense of criminal

solicitation to commit a felony shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than three years.

(b) person convicted of the offense of criminal solicitation to commit a crime punishable by death or by life imprisonment shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years.

Conspiracy

• Involves 2 or more people• Used increasingly in drug

distribution investigations• Most statutes require a

participant in the group to make an overt act

• Criminal agreement need not be explicit

Conspiracy

• Pinkerton Rule – conspirators are agents of each other and are bound to the acts of co-conspirators

• Used in organized crime prosecution

Conspiracy 16-4-8

A person commits the offense of conspiracy to commit a crime when he together with one or more persons conspires to commit any crime and any one or more of such persons does any overt act to effect the object of the conspiracy.

Conspiracy 16-4-8

Punishment:Not less than one year nor more than one-half the

maximum period of time for which he could have been sentenced if he had been convicted of the crime conspired to have been committed

A person convicted of the offense of criminal conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.

A person convicted of the offense of criminal conspiracy to commit a crime punishable by death or by life imprisonment shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years.

Conspiracy 16-4-9

A co-conspirator may be relieved from the effects of Code Section 16-4-8 if he can show that before the overt act occurred he withdrew his agreement to commit a crime

Criminal Law

Criminal Law

Criminal Responsibility

& Defense

Responsibility & Defense Responsibility & Defense

Five General Categories

1. Asserting lack of capacity - infancy, insanity

2. Asserting excuse/justification - duress, necessity

3. Justified use of force - self-defense, defense of others

4. Constitutional rights – double jeopardy

5. Assailing government conduct - entrapment

Responsibility & Defense Responsibility & Defense

• Infancy – in common law under 7, 13 in GA• Insanity plea – more later• Automatism – rare plea, few states

recognize. I was sleepwalking and hurt someone.

• Duress – common law did not allow homicide defense with duress, but allowed that people might be forced to do other crimes

– Battered Women Syndrome

Responsibility & Defense Responsibility & Defense

• Necessity – lesser of two evils– Done to prevent significant evil– No adequate alternative– Harm not disproportionate to harm

avoided

• Immunity– Diplomatic– Negotiated

Responsibility & Defense Responsibility & Defense

• Statutes of limitation – issue of valid justice (loss of evidence, memory of witnesses)

– Federal: murder – none, felony – 6 yrs, misdemeanors – 2 yrs

– Georgia 17-3-1

• Various others – Religious beliefs, PMS, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, “Junk Food” defense, and numerous others

Legal Defenses of GeorgiaLegal Defenses of Georgia

• Self-defense• Involuntary intoxication• Insanity• Delusional compulsion• Entrapment• Alibi• Coercion• Mistake of fact

Self-DefenseSelf-Defense

• Can be defense of self, others, and / or home.

• Must show justification and must be reasonable

• Example: killing someone for trying to kidnap a pet dog would not be justified.

Involuntary IntoxicationInvoluntary Intoxication

• Intoxication must be involuntary.

• Excusable neglect: drank punch at a party and didn’t know there was alcohol in it.

Insanity:Insanity:

• Must prove mental incapacitation (not capable of knowing right from wrong) at the time of the act

Delusional CompulsionDelusional Compulsion

• Must be due to a mental disease, injury, or birth defect.

• Example: a woman suffering from delusions believes that the person she killed was a larger, ferocious animal that was going to eat her family.

Entrapment:Entrapment:

• The crime would not have been committed except that the defendant was tricked into it by police.

• Officer must have generated the idea for the criminal activity without the help of the defendant.

Alibi:Alibi:

• Defendant must prove that he or she was someplace other than the scene of the crime when the crime took place

Coercion:Coercion:

• Basically duress: Defendant claims that the crime was committed to avoid threats of immediate death or great bodily harm.

• Must be reasonable. • Does not apply to murder. Applies

only when the defendant is threatened.

• Example: holding a family member to get another to deliver drugs

Mistake of Fact:Mistake of Fact:

• Claim is that the crime was committed because of mistaken view of the situation.

• Example: Man marries woman believing she is divorced and later finds she is still married may not be responsible for bigamy

Justification:Justification:

• (1) When the person's conduct is justified under Code Section 16-3-21 through-16-3-26 (self defense, assisting an officer)

• (2) When the person's conduct is in reasonable fulfillment of his duties as a government officer or employee;

• (3) When the person's conduct is the reasonable discipline of a minor by his parent or a person in loco parentis;

• (4) When the person's conduct is reasonable and is performed in the course of making a lawful arrest;

• (5) When the person's conduct is justified for any other reason under the laws of this state

Law Firms Assignment:Law Firms Assignment:

• Research:

– History of insanity

– Insanity defense in Georgia,

– Federal insanity defense

– Current cases regarding insanity

• Best research (quality) wins prizes

• Assignment due Tuesday

Criminal Law

Criminal Law

Criminal Responsibility

& Defense