Canadian Criminal Law: Chapter 10 Study Notes

Chapter 10: Canadian Criminal Law Study Notes

• The chapter examines institutional elements of the criminal justice system, differentiating between criminal offense types and concepts that define a criminal act legally.
• It observes situations when justice ideals are not upheld, leading to miscarriages of justice.
• The role of policing, its challenges, and injustices are also scrutinized.
• The study includes knowledge of prisons, sentencing, and surrounding issues in Canada.

Introduction to Criminal Law

• Criminal law forms the basis of the criminal justice system and consists of set principles and procedures.
• In most of Canada, criminal law operates under a common law system.
• Elements of civil law also form the basis of Canadian law.
• Legal actors must uphold the letter of the law to maintain legal fairness which maintains a civil society.
• Legal pluralism includes Indigenous legal customs, mainly when deciding sentences and restorative justice.
• State law protects individuals, supports human rights, maintains public security, and prevents miscarriages of justice which results in wrongful convictions.
• Creating and enforcing law requires constant revision and raises questions about addressing social issues, corruption and discrimination in law.
• Understanding criminal law, policing, and corrections, is essential for criminology students to understand what criminal law is.

The Legal Definition of Crime

• Canadian criminal law has developed in a piecemeal manner because the Criminal Code came originally from a draft developed in England which was never used.
• The prohibition of an act or behavior as defined by the criminal law constitutes a legal crime.
• A crime today is considered a "public wrong" because it is against society.
• Criminal law is the most invasive form of law because individual freedom is at stake.
• Criminal law is unlike civil law, where money is exchanged to resolve disputes; instead, criminal law punishes with imprisonment.
• Crime is defined broadly by the distinction between mala in se (evil in itself) and mala prohibita (evil because the law says so).
• Mala in se crimes are inherently immoral (murder, arson, sexual assault), while mala prohibita crimes are prohibited by law (unlawful assembly, drug use).
• In criminal law, opposing sides are the state (represented by the Crown Attorney) and the accused (represented by a defense lawyer).
• The Crown has the burden of proving the individual committed the crime.
• Due process emphasizes procedural fairness, thus, how guilt is established is as important as establishing the truth.

Requisite Elements of a Crime: Actus Reus and Mens Rea

• A crime requires actus reus (physical action) and mens rea (guilty mind).
• The act of doing something, as well as the will or intent to commit the crime must exist.
• An external act must occur to engage the justice system to prove anything more than a mental state.
• The mens rea for forcible entry is the intent to enter someone else's property forcibly, while the actus reus is the physical act of forcible entry according to section 72 of the Criminal Code,.
• The Crown Attorney attempts to prove the actus reus occurred beyond a reasonable doubt.
• To constitute a crime, a guilty mind (mens rea) must accompany it, however, a single type of fault is not applicable in all cases.
• The first step to analyze any offence's mens rea is to find the very specific mens rea requirements for that crime in the Criminal Code.
• To obtain a conviction, people are assumed to intend the natural consequences of actions; one cannot always claim they did not anticipate the events which occurred.
• The criminal law aims to make sure only the morally blameworthy are convicted of true crimes.
• The actus reus and the mens rea must occur simultaneously.

Canadian Criminal Law and Fundamental Principles of Justice

• Canadian criminal law is rooted in British common law and the Canadian constitution.
• The constitution establishes a framework for government and is the supreme law.
• The Constitution Act, 1867, united Canadian provinces under the British parliamentary model
• The addition of the Charter of Rights in 1982 limited the power of government.
• Constitutional law and Charter values override all other laws.
• Understanding criminal law needs discussion of human rights including section 2 outlining freedoms, section 7 providing rights to life, liberty, and security, and section 8 for unreasonable search or seizure.
• The history of injustice for the most vulnerable, settler laws affecting Indigenous peoples, and Indigenous legal systems must be acknowledged when deciding Canadian criminal law.
• Treaties between Indigenous nations and the British Crown need to considered to provide respect and harmony and not force and polarization.
• The state must use its power to determine who deserves punishment or what is referred to as a just desert.

The Rule of Law

• The concept of rule of law is the fundamental principle that establishes fairness and legitimacy,.
• The law must seem fair/equal to the public and apply to everyone regardless of identity/status.
• Rule of law emphasizes measured government, freedom, and equality.
• Rule of law refers to judges making impartial decisions following jurisdiction dictates, not arbitrary power.
• It refers to the monarchy not interfering with justice and the the government using its powers conferred by law.
• The law should not be governed by human decision-making whims.
• Laws should not be retroactive and punishment needs to be in accordance with a non-retroactive law.
• The difficult promise in law demands fulfilling everyone being equal under the law which includes letting an offender go free.

Crime Control and Due Process Models of Justice

• Herbert Packer distinguished the crime control model and a due process model of justice.
• The crime control model represses crime and maximizes social freedom through screening suspects to determine and punish guilt quickly which relies on the presumption of guilt.
• The due process model recognizes possible human error and is an "obstacle course" with stages of investigation recognizing human error while stressing competitive process which means a legal contest where parties compete for victory by an impartial tribunal to answer the case against them.
• The adversarial tradition means parties argue guilt or lack of guilt and modernly recognizes witnesses are inaccurate, police may induce confessions, and witnesses may have biases.
• The due process model rejects police fact-finding and relies on formally adjudicated evidence.
• Victim's rights were included in the Packer model which includes a punitive model of victim’s rights (the 'roller coaster') and a non-punitive model (the 'circle').

Factual Guilt and Legal Guilt

• Factual guilt and legal guilt differentiate in the criminal law sphere.
• A person can commit a crime fully yet be not guilty if their rights were violated
• Without evidence, the accused must be not guilty, even if factually so.
• Until proven legally guilty, courts presume people innocent according to the Charter.
• We may have committed illegal acts but not been caught so we are factually guilty, but not legally guilty because we were not apprehended

The Criminal Code of Canada

• The federal government is the purview of the Criminal Code which applies whether an offender is in any province territory.
• Parliament and statue law was above all law in Canada before the Charter, but since the court now plays a more important role in putting individual and group rights beyond the power of federal or provisional governments.
• The courts can declare that if a federal or provisional government acted outside of its power, the law is unenforceable.
• A variety of rights are in the Charter, but courts are careful not to go against anything what Parliament intended.
• Constant tension between the courts and legislature makes constitutional law interesting.

Sources of Criminal Law: Statute and Case Law

• The CJS gets its power to prosecute through the division of powers in the Constitution Act (federal is lawmaking and provisional powers are delegated.
• All provisions in the Criminal Code are versed by Canadian citizens, but only crimes at the time of the act get prosecuted.
• Retroactive crimes and not permitted and no one is above the law.
• If a law is too vague, it can be declared void and the accused is accorded with the benefit of the doubt.
• Provisions such as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act function in conjunction with the criminal law and our system is based on legislation and judge-made case law, and is based on criminal law.

Substantive and Procedural Law

• Substantive and procedural criminal law aid in the administration of justice.
• Section 91(27) of the Constitution Act, 1867 dictates that the federal government is the supreme authority over procedure on criminal matters.
• A person can be only found liable by a comprised judge or jury under The Criminal Code.
• Rules and principles of criminal justice have been bolstered since the Canadian Charter.

Types of Criminal Convictions

• Crimes were originally divided historically into treason, felonies, misdemeanors, and Canadian criminal offenses are now divided into summary, indictable, and hybrid offences.
• Summary offences crimes considered serious tried before a provincial/territorial judge (fine <$5,000 or term of imprisonment of >2 years less a day.
• Indictable offences have up to a life prison where for first-degree murder, means an individual must serve 25 years.
• The serving location whether the individual goes to a federal or provincial penitentiary depends on the prison sentence.
• Choices of court include Provincial Court of Justice or the Superior one and choosing whether to be tried by Judge alone.
• Criminal Code has hybrid offenses which can be tried as an indictable or summary offense choice of the crown and they may depend on plea negotiations and reasonable future prospects.
• A hybrid offence proceeds ad indictable until the Crown elects it.

Administrative Law and Regulatory Offences

• There are wrongs called regulatory offenses apart from the traditional criminal law system regulatory offense describes wrongs established by statute to regulate health, convenience, and the general welfare of the public.
• A regulatory Offense is non-criminal which means you have to go to an administrative tribunal and in a regulatory offence the full Crown is not required to prove the element of mens rae and the courts look like regulatory offences.
• Such tribunals dont operate like the judicial branch, even though there's decisions a binding . Each have governing legislature that governs powers delegated to them by the .
• They have significant authority: to levy fines,de-certif de licenses and impose punishments.

Elements of the Criminal Justice System

• The criminal justice system has a unique structure where a case is heard by a provincially/federally appointed judge (with/without a jury, and is called " Regina v Smith where Regeina is refers to who is a queen.
• The style of cause indicates the "State had a the against it .
• And although there’s a period of separation from the offender the victim does not really have much compensation and must the case is prepared not guilt

Structure of the Courts

• There are four general court levels that hear all types of criminal hearings: inferior, superior, courts of appeal, and The Supreme one
• Provinical/territorial courts comonly referred to as lower courts are established by government, with the structure exception of Nunavut as its trial is a single level.
• They preside with a justice of the peace, follows the act and receives the hearing where they can issue warrant.
• It and they're set to protect any youth court and their privacy.
• All traffic bylaw violations are dealt with at the youth court so that youth is provided with more justice.

Superior Courts and Courts of Appeal

• Supeior are provinces/territorial ones established under the constitution.
• Deal with matters such immigration and Intellectual (as well as appeals) with inherent jurisdiction which allows cases with an authority.
• In many provinces it includes queen Bench and is operated by the courts (the government pays and appoints people as opposed territories) for the provinces.
• Each has an appeal court like The court of Newfoundland that has the Canada which has been the final court 1949.
• Appeal can happen if you have an event happening as the lower courts make a descion (a judge is to be a member) like Saskatchewan.
• All courts come from the federal laws that are imposed and can be the result of no witnessing depending and if judges defer too much, however the trial they hear of three the witness is for the judges not what an appettlee said.
• The Supreme Court of Canada hears by Supreme Act and in panels of all members.

The Courts and Procedural Justice

• Due process means that procedures are of utmost importance with all the power so that people are equal. The law cant be vague and is up to a certain extent can apply with a lot of citizens who cannot do it so there's lawyers to provide help.
• In canada all the crown today is by counsel or by a attorney which has legislation control but agent to the attorney with guidance . But they're in different cases by Attorney generall agents with civil servants and these individual have judgement.

Rights, innocence and the law

• Individuals has many rights, which one of it is innocent until proven legally guilty to section of any people for charged from the state,
• All individuals have the liberty for a fair hearing trial and for everyone that applies there must be presumed equal by with a fair hearing. And of the liberty for not getting discriminated. The power balance has all these. A case study found that they were going through the appeal.
• A case study about the Wrongduly convicted due complicitness

Sentencing

• Sentencing is when the that courts do a after an guilty punishment for order they do is is what's needed. The section cruel punishment the has the right appropriate the community (if you say it ). The of and and has with order the court can have or they are.
• To show what the sentencing and the it may you hear opportunity to explain the the victims. May rule the time if they're not on

Plea Barganing

• Plea Barganing is a where get (or sentence) in plea from the the parties. (plea is by the and power. . the exchange which charge with to among others

Youth Criminal Justice act

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Policing

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Policing and History

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Policing and Conclusion

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Study notes on Chapter 10, Canadian Criminal Law. Focuses on criminal justice system elements, offense types, and legal definitions. Explores miscarriages of justice, policing challenges and issues surrounding prisons and sentencing standards in Canada.