Criminal Law PDF

CRIMINAL In the legal sense, a criminal is any person who has been found to have committed a wrongful act in the course of the standard judicial process; there must be a final verdict of his guilt. In the criminological sense, a person is already considered a criminal the moment he...

CRIMINAL In the legal sense, a criminal is any person who has been found to have committed a wrongful act in the course of the standard judicial process; there must be a final verdict of his guilt. In the criminological sense, a person is already considered a criminal the moment he committed a crime. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMINALS 1) On the basis of etiology: a. Acute criminal – is a person who committed crime as a result of reacting to a situation or during a moment of anger or burst of feeling. b. Chronic criminal – is one who committed a crime with intent or deliberated thinking such as: 1. Neurotic criminal – is one who has mental disorder. 2. Normal criminal – a person who commits crimes because he looks up to, idolizes people who are criminals 3. Criminaloids – caused by an organic pathological process - are individuals whose criminal behavior is influenced by an organic pathological process, meaning that their actions stem from a biological or medical condition. 2) According to the type of offender: a) ordinary criminals –a criminal who engages in crimes which do not require specialized or technical skill. It said to be the lowest form of criminal career. b) organized criminals –these criminals have a high degree of organization that enables them to commit crimes without being detected and committed to specialized activities which can be operated in large scale of businesses. It involved in certain criminal activities that require planning and strategizing. c) professional criminals – these are highly skilled and able to obtain considerable amount of money without being detected because of organization and contact with other professional criminals. 3) According to criminal activities A. professional criminals – those who earn their living through criminal activities B. Situational criminal – a person who got involved in criminal act because the situation presented itself. C. Habitual criminal – one who repeatedly commits criminal act for different reasons. D. Accidental criminal – a person who accidentally violated the law due to some circumstances beyond his control. 4. Based on Mental Attitude 1. Active Aggressive Criminals – those who commit crime in an impulsive manner usually due to the aggressive behavior of the offender, such attitude is clearly shown in crime of passion, revenge or resentment. 2. Passive-inadequate Criminals –are individuals who commit crimes not out of their own initiative, but because they are push to it by inducement, reward or promise without considering its consequence. 3. Socialized delinquents – those who are normal in their behavior but merely defective in their socialization processes. These individuals are often educated and respected members of society but may commit crimes due to particular circumstances or pressures they face. CODE OF HAMMURABI 1. Hammurabi, the king of Babylon during the eighteenth century BC, is recognized as the first codifier of laws. It is believed that it was during his reign that the code was created, thus, it was named after him. This code, which was carved in stone, provided the first comprehensive view of the laws during his time. The provisions of the code was premised on the law of talion,”An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Under the principle of the law of talion, the punishment should be same as the harm inflicted on the victim. 2. THE HITTITES The Hittites existed about two centuries after the reign of Hammurabi and they eventually conquered Babylon. The laws of the Hittites may also be characterized as brutal, just like the code of Hammurabi, because they used death as punishment for many offense. 3) CODE OF DRAKON - This was codified by Drakon, the Athenian lawgiver in Athens, Greece in the seventh century BC. This is known as the ultimate in severity because they used death as punishment for many offenses. 4) LAWS OF SOLON  - Solon, also ana Athenia, was appointed archon and was given legislative powers. During his time, he repealed almost all the laws of the code of Drakon and created laws that provided just punishments. He was one of the first to see that a lawgiver had to make laws that applied equally to all citizens and also saw that the law of punishment had to maintain proportionality to the crimes committed. - Solon had a great impact in the history of law-making that now the term “solon” is used to refer to any member of the Senate or House of Representatives. 5) ROME’S TWELVE TABLES Roman law began with the Twelve Tables which were written in the middle of the sixth century BC. The Twelve Tables were the foundation of all laws in Rome and written in tablets of bronze. The Twelve Tables were drafted by the Decemvirs, a body of men composed of patricians. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL Or PENAL LAW is that branch of public law which defines crimes treats of their nature and provides for their punishment Note: Revised Penal Code or Act No. 3815 Book that contains the Philippine Criminal Law and different special laws and decrees which are penal in nature. It is called as RPC because the old penal code which took effect in the country on July 14,1887 and was in force until Dec. 31, 1931 was revised by the Committee created by Administrative Order No.94 of the Department of Justice, dated Oct. 18, 1927, composed of Anacleto Diaz as Chairman, Alex Reyes and Mariano de Joya as members. The RPC was approved on Dec. 8, 1930 and took effect on January 1,1932. CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIMINAL LAW 1) GENERALITY The provisions of the criminal or penal law must be applied equally to all persons within the territory regardless of sex, race, nationality and other personal circumstances, with the following exceptions: heads of state or country foreign diplomats and ambassadors 2) TERRITORIALITY  As part of the right of a state to self-preservation, each independent country has the right to promulgate laws enforceable within its territorial jurisdiction, subject only to the limitations imposed by treaties of preferential applications and by the operation of international law of nations. The Revised Penal Code and the other special laws are applicable only to the areas within the Philippine territorial jurisdiction, such as: a) Philippine archipelago – all the islands that comprise the Philippines b) atmosphere water – all bodies of water that connect all the islands such as bays, rivers and streams c) maritime zone – the three (3) mile limit beyond our shore measured at low tide 3) PROSPECTIVITY No person may be punished for his act when at the time he committed the act, it is still not yet punishable by law. However, penal laws may be given retroactive effect when it is favorable to the accused who is not delinquent.(Art.22RPC). 4) It is specific and definite. Criminal law must give a strict definition of a specific act which constitutes an offense. Where there is doubt as to whether a definition embodied in the Revised Penal Code applies to the accused or not, the judge is obligated to decide the case in favor of the accused. Criminal law must be construed liberally in favor of the accused and strictly against the state. 5) It is uniform in application. An act described as a crime is a crime no matter who committed it, wherever committed in the Philippines and whenever committed. No exceptions must be made as to the criminal liability. The definition of crimes together with the corresponding punishment must be uniformly construed, although there may be a difference in the enforcement of a given specific provision of the penal law. 6) There must be a penal sanction or punishment. Penal sanction is the most essential part of the definition of the crime. If there is no penalty to a prohibited act, its enforcement will almost be impossible.  The penalty is acting as a deterrence and as a measure of self-defense of the state to protect society from the threat and wrong inflicted by the criminal. School of Thoughts in Criminology School of Thought- The phrase “school of thought” refers to a specific way of thinking or a group of people who share a common opinion. It is devised for organizing fundamentally differing views of human nature and relation them to issues surrounding crime and its control. Theory = comes from the Greek word Theoria, which means “viewing”, thinking or reflecting. - is a set of statements devised to explain behaviors, events or phenomenon, especially one that has been repeatedly tested and widely accepted. Demonology Theory - It states that people commit crime because they are possessed by evil spirits, According to this explanation individuals were thought to be possessed by good or evil spirits, which cause good or evil behavior. The theory maintains that criminal behavior was believed to be the result of evil spirits and demons something of natural force that controls his/her behavior. This theory has long been REJECTED obviously because such belief is not supported by any concrete proof and can not be studied and verified using a scientific method. 1. CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY(Focused of crimes) This school of thought is based on the assumption that individuals choose to commit crimes after weighing the consequences of their actions. According to classical criminologists, individuals have free will. They can choose legal or illegal means to get what they want, fear of punishment can deter them from committing crime and society can control behavior by making the pain of punishment greater than the pleasure of the criminal gains. This theory, however, does not give any distinction between an adult and a minor or a mentally-handicapped in as far as free will is concerned. Founders of classical school of criminology are Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. 1. Cesare Beccaria (Cesare Bonesana Marchese di Beccaria) (1738- 1794) -Father of Classical criminology  -an Italian Philosopher and politician best known for his essay, “On Crimes and Punishment” which presented key ideas on the abolition of torture as legitimate means of extracting confession. -He believed that the action is based on Hedonism human beings choose those actions that give pleasure and avoid those that brings pain. 2. Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham’s contribution to Classical school of criminology is the concept of Utilitarianism and the felicific Calculus. Utilitarianism is a philosophy which argues that what is right is the one that would cause the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Others refer to it as the greatest happiness principle or the principle of utility. -devised the pseudo-mathematical formula called “felicific calculus” or the pleasure- and – pain principle which states that individuals are human calculators who put all the factors into an equation in order to decide whether a particular crime is worth committing or not. - This is a theory that proposes that individuals calculate the consequences of his actions by weighing the gain or “pleasure” and the suffering or “pain” he would derive from doing the action. If the pleasure outweighs the pain , then he would most probably proceed to doing the act. But if the possibility of pain is greater than the pleasure, he would choose not to do it. 2. NEO - CLASSICAL CRIMINOLOGY –from the word” neo” which means new.(focused on other factors) This theory modified the doctrine of free will by stating that free will of men may be affected by other factors and crime is committed due to some compelling reasons that prevail. It argued that since children and lunatics are incapable of calculating pain and pleasure or any condition that will make it impossible for the individual to exercise free will entirely. They should be treated differently. 3. POSITIVIST or ITALIAN SCHOOL(focused on person) -views crime as a product of the internal and external factors which are beyond one’s control. It implores science in explaining the causes of crime and proposed the idea of individualized treatment of offenders. Criminal offenders should be considered as part of and not apart from the society. Proponents of the Positivist School  a. Dr. Cesare Lombroso- an army physician in Italy who is credited today as the “ Father of Modern Criminology”. He studied prisoners anatomical dispositions and correlated it with criminal’s propensity to commit crime and published a book entitled “Criminal Man”. Criminal man- the first book which described the causes of crime. It contains the argument that a criminal can be identified through his/her biological make up or physical appearance. b. Enrico Ferri- a student of Cesare Lombroso. He focused his study on the influences of psychological factors and sociological factors such as economics, on crimes. He believed that criminals could not be held morally responsible because they did not choose to commit crimes, but rather were driven to commit crimes by conditions in their lives C. Raffaelle Garofalo- an Italian , a politician, and a notable writer, was also a student of Cesare Lombroso. - argued that criminals are morally deficient and are therefore be eliminated from the society either through death penalty or other forms of incapacitation. THE (UN) HOLY THREE (3) OF CRIMINOLOGY 1. Cesare Lombroso 2. Enrico Ferri 3. Raffaelle Garofalo Cesare Lombroso - recognized as the “Father of Modern and Empirical Criminology” due to his application of modern scientific methods to trace criminal behavior, however, most of his ideas are now discredited - known for the concept of atavistic stigmata (the physical features of creatures at an earlier stage of development). - he claimed that criminals are distinguishable from non-criminals due to the presence of atavistic stigmata and crimes committed by those who are born with certain recognizable heredity traits. according to his theory, criminals are usually in possession of huge jaws and strong canine teeth, the arm span of criminals is often greater than their height, just like that of apes who use their forearms to push themselves along the ground other physical stigmata include deviation in head size and shape, asymmetry of the face, excessive dimensions of the jaw and cheekbones, eye defects and peculiarities, ears of unusual size, nose twisted, upturned or flattened in thieves, or aqualine or beaklike in murderers, fleshy lips, swollen  and protruding, and pouches in the cheek like those of animal’s toes Lombroso’s work supported the idea that the criminal was a biologically and physically inferior person Classes of criminals: 1. born criminals – individuals with at least five (5) atavistic stigmata 2. insane criminals – those who are not criminals by birth; they become criminals as a result of some changes in their brains which interfere with their ability to distinguish between right and wrong 3. criminaloids - those with make up of an ambiguous group that includes habitual criminals, criminals by passion and other diverse types