July 19, 2014
P157
Week Two Study Guide
A body of rules that defines crime and punishes people convicted of committing crimes is how criminal law is defined. Classification of crimes is based on the extent or type of punishment that can be given.
Felony- Imprisonment of greater than a year.
Misdemeanor- Fine or imprisonment for not more than a year.
Petty offenses or infraction- Traffic or building code violations.
A prosecutor must prove the elements of criminal liability in order to convict a person of a crime. The criminal act and the state of mind are the elements of criminal liability.
Actus Reus- A criminal act is called actus reus or guilty act. To be guilty of a crime a person must actually do something that …show more content…
False pretenses is when a defendant makes a misrepresentation that a victim relies on to their detriment.
Forgery is the making of a false writing that has apparent legal significance with the intent to defraud.
Larceny is the trespassory taking and carrying away of another’s personal property with the specific intent to deprive them of it permanently. This is considered theft or stealing. (Unit Seven Lecture Material).
The worst types of crimes are the crimes against the person. They have the potential to receive the severest punishments. Some physical harm or force applied to another person that results in injury are included in these types of crime. The types of crime involving people are:
Assault has two different legal definitions. Attempted battery rule is when the defendant attempted battery but did not succeed. Intentional inducement of fear rule is when the defendant’s intent is to make the victim believe they are in danger of a battery.
Battery is the intentional or criminally negligent application of unlawful force to another …show more content…
From this one common law crime descend all various types of murder and manslaughter. Under common law, the felony murder rule is murder committed during another crime. There are six enumerated crimes under common law that activates the felony murder rule. Burglary, Arson, Rape, Robbery, Kidnapping and Sodomy. The first letter of each crime are put together and called the BARRAKS felonies. First degree murder is the intentional criminal homicide with malice aforethought, premeditation, and deliberation. Express malice murder is considered first degree murder and requires the specific intent of a defendant to kill a victim. Only first degree murder is eligible for the death penalty. Second degree murder is the intentional criminal homicide with malice aforethought, without premeditation and deliberation. Voluntary manslaughter is the intentional homicide with some mitigating circumstance, such as voluntary intoxication, reasonable provocation or imperfect self-defense. Heat of passion refers to the combination of reasonable provocation and an inadequate cooling off time. The resultant killing is the voluntary manslaughter. Involuntary manslaughter is unintentional homicide meaning it was an accident. Misdemeanor manslaughter rule is the unintended killing. Vehicular manslaughter is committed by a vehicle that is an involuntary manslaughter. (Unit Nine Lecture