1. Description of the six categories of criminal law violations, ranked in terms of seriousness.
2. List and describe the eight general feature of crime.
3. Describe the “three conjoined elements” that make up the legal essence of the concept of crime.
Six general categories of criminal law, eight general features of crime, and conjoined elements to comprise the legal essence of the concept of a crime.
Description of the six general categories of criminal law violations, listed in terms of seriousness
1. Treason – any act on the part of a U.S. citizen that helps a foreign country, attack, make war, overthrow, or injure the United States. Can also include an attempt …show more content…
Mens Rea – refers to criminal intent. In other words, what was a defendant was thinking and what was their intent when the crime was committed. It helps the criminal justice system determine between someone who did not mean to commit an act to those who set out to commit a crime.
3. Concurrence - the coexistence between the Actus Reus and the Mens Rea. Concurrence is used to show that a defendant’s mental state and their actions coincided to prove the criminal action.
4. Causation - term used to refer to the relationship between a person’s criminal actions and criminal intent. Resulting in the act causing harm.
5. Harm – “occurs in any crime, although not all harms are crimes.” (Schmalleger) Murder is an obvious example of a crime involving harm but there is debate regarding victimless crimes such as, prostitution, or gambling which may only harm the actor.
6. Legality – fact that an act cannot be criminal if there is no law stating that it is illegal.
7. Punishment – for a criminal act to have occurred a specified punishment must be written in the law.
8. Necessary Attendant Circumstances - statutes may specify that additional elements, called attendant circumstances have to be present for a conviction. It refers to the facts surrounding a