Process Essay: The Four Theories Of Legality
Legality
The offensive behavior is not considered illegal unless it was prohibited by law before it was committed. The act must adhere to the statutes of a particular jurisdiction. Legality assures that the defendant can not be penalized or charged with a crime, unless the act has been announced publicly as a criminal act before the occurrence. Furthermore, “the same applies if the law is passed retroactively to criminalize an action that was not criminal at the time that it occurred.” (http://www.lectlaw.com/mjl/cl015.htm)
Actus reus
An action or conduct that is a constituent element of a crime, as opposed to the mental state of the accused. There must be an act of either commission or omission by the accused for a crime to occur. Omission defined as the failure to act, and commission being the guilty act. In order to establish criminal liability, there is required proof of both actus reus and mens rea, meaning the defendant must have had the intention or knowledge of the wrongdoing, and acted upon said intention. For example, if one is in possession of an illegal narcotic, one is not acting or failing to act but merely in possession. This is a state of being (Justice Education Society, 2016).
Harm …show more content…
Harm principle refers to a theory of crime that an action can only be banned if it causes harm to someone.
To be a crime, an act must cause harm to some legally protected value. This principle sets a standard for what type of actions can be justifiably
prohibited.
Causation
For a crime to have been committed, the act would have had to directly cause harm. There must be a causal relationship between and act and the harm suffered. In Rex vs. White, 1910, the defendant put cyanide into his mother's drink, but she died of heart failure before the poison could kill her. The defendant was found not guilty as the cyanide was not the cause of her death; it was determined she died of heart failure. The court ruled she would have died anyway. Both factual causation as well as legal causation are required for a conviction.
Mens Rea (State of Mind; "guilty mind")
The intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused. Mens rea is the defendant’s state of mind when he engages in prohibited conduct. Guilt can be attributed when the defendant acts recklessly, knowingly, negligently, or purposely. “When someone acts consciously to cause a particular result, he acts “purposely”. An act is done “knowingly” when the actor is aware that his conduct has a high probability of a specific result” (Shestokas, 2012). Exceptions are strict liability offenses involving health and safety, in which it is not necessary to show intent.
Concurrence
Concurrence refers to state of mind and human contact. In order a crime to have been committed, the action and the intent must take place at the same time, or essentially at the same time. For criminal liability to occur, there must be either completed and voluntary action or a failure to act when physically able as required by statute or law.
Punishment
Must be a provision in the law calling for punishment of those found guilty of violating the law. The purpose of the punishment can be in the form of Retribution – equal harm to offender in society’s name Rehabilitation (treat offenders, help them re-enter society, Deterrence (everyone must see consequences of crime), Specific Deterrence (criminal must see consequences of crime), and Public Education (let society know what our shared values are) (Robbins, 2008).
The offensive behavior is not considered illegal unless it was prohibited by law before it was committed. The act must adhere to the statutes of a particular jurisdiction. Legality assures that the defendant can not be penalized or charged with a crime, unless the act has been announced publicly as a criminal act before the occurrence. Furthermore, “the same applies if the law is passed retroactively to criminalize an action that was not criminal at the time that it occurred.” (http://www.lectlaw.com/mjl/cl015.htm)
Actus reus
An action or conduct that is a constituent element of a crime, as opposed to the mental state of the accused. There must be an act of either commission or omission by the accused for a crime to occur. Omission defined as the failure to act, and commission being the guilty act. In order to establish criminal liability, there is required proof of both actus reus and mens rea, meaning the defendant must have had the intention or knowledge of the wrongdoing, and acted upon said intention. For example, if one is in possession of an illegal narcotic, one is not acting or failing to act but merely in possession. This is a state of being (Justice Education Society, 2016).
Harm …show more content…
Harm principle refers to a theory of crime that an action can only be banned if it causes harm to someone.
To be a crime, an act must cause harm to some legally protected value. This principle sets a standard for what type of actions can be justifiably
prohibited.
Causation
For a crime to have been committed, the act would have had to directly cause harm. There must be a causal relationship between and act and the harm suffered. In Rex vs. White, 1910, the defendant put cyanide into his mother's drink, but she died of heart failure before the poison could kill her. The defendant was found not guilty as the cyanide was not the cause of her death; it was determined she died of heart failure. The court ruled she would have died anyway. Both factual causation as well as legal causation are required for a conviction.
Mens Rea (State of Mind; "guilty mind")
The intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused. Mens rea is the defendant’s state of mind when he engages in prohibited conduct. Guilt can be attributed when the defendant acts recklessly, knowingly, negligently, or purposely. “When someone acts consciously to cause a particular result, he acts “purposely”. An act is done “knowingly” when the actor is aware that his conduct has a high probability of a specific result” (Shestokas, 2012). Exceptions are strict liability offenses involving health and safety, in which it is not necessary to show intent.
Concurrence
Concurrence refers to state of mind and human contact. In order a crime to have been committed, the action and the intent must take place at the same time, or essentially at the same time. For criminal liability to occur, there must be either completed and voluntary action or a failure to act when physically able as required by statute or law.
Punishment
Must be a provision in the law calling for punishment of those found guilty of violating the law. The purpose of the punishment can be in the form of Retribution – equal harm to offender in society’s name Rehabilitation (treat offenders, help them re-enter society, Deterrence (everyone must see consequences of crime), Specific Deterrence (criminal must see consequences of crime), and Public Education (let society know what our shared values are) (Robbins, 2008).