Criminal Law Concepts PDF

Ch.2 Mens rea: guilty mind or mental element of a crime, proves level of blameworthiness Different levels of mens rea: - Intention: when they mean to do it. They saw beforehand it could cause harm and that is why they did it. - Knowledge: they know that it could cause harm but they are n...

Ch.2 Mens rea: guilty mind or mental element of a crime, proves level of blameworthiness Different levels of mens rea: - Intention: when they mean to do it. They saw beforehand it could cause harm and that is why they did it. - Knowledge: they know that it could cause harm but they are not meaning to - Recklessness: when they see that it can cause harm but do it anyways, but they dont intend the outcome. Ex. Accidentally running over someone and then hiding their body instead of coming forward about it - Negligence: didn\'t see that their actions would cause harm but any normal person would have seen that it would have Causation: what was the cause of the crime? Harm: how can we link how the crime was harmful? Legality and punishment: A punishment has to be available for the crime for there to be a crime. Has to be a law that forbids it according to the black letter law (written, codified in black letter) ACTUS REA: action element of a crime which can include acting, omission to act, threatening to act, attempting an act, and possession. (doing something voluntarily is an act) Saying and doing are different. Concurrence: the legal principle stating that intention must precede and be related to actus rea. Intention must be present and be related to action or actus rea Chicago school: A group of Scholars who asserted that delinquency and crime resulted from a failure of community groups to ensure its members adopt proper moral codes. Self policing: Independently managing community members behavior through formal and informal mechanisms. For example, telling on someone who is using their phone during a test. Carceral network /Archipelago:: A group of interconnected agencies and networks that encourage practices of a social control and discipline. And that develop and maintain numerous strategies of social control and correction over the population in all areas of social life. They are interested. And how the criminal justice system is a part of a broad network of control. Including how we are educated and how we engage in intimacy and how we work and raise children. Crime Policy: A relatively stable, purposive course of action followed by an actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or a matter of concern. General Deterrence: The threat of punishment to inhibit acts of crime. It Is the use of an imagined punishment to prevent people from engaging in harmful acts. Specific Deterrence: The use of punishment to inhibit offenders from committing future crime. It\'s the use of an actual punishment to prevent the offenders from engaging in future crime. Target hardening: Strengthening the security of a space by installing mechanisms to prevent entry or theft. Focuses primarily on property crime. The use. Of things such as surveillance cameras and neighborhood watch programs, For example. Retributive punishment.: the idea that if an offender breaks the law, they should be punished in proportion to the amount of harm their act caused, so that their offender suffers as much as the victims did. Rehabilitative punishment.: the idea that the cause of the offending behavior, not the effect of the act on their victim, should be addressed in decision of their punishment. Liberal Justice: A conception of justice sitting that justice is achieved when an individual freedom and rights are upheld, which includes the minimum intrusion of government in the rights and freedoms of its citizens. Human rights is based in the contention that all humans are born with inalienable rights and are equally entitled to freedom of thought, freedom of expression, privacy, life and security. Due process.: the principle that the government and its agents must respect all legal rights granted to citizens of Canada during criminal justice procedures. They are the rights. That are protected in the Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is a pivotal element of a democratic society. They must take into account the rights and freedoms of the offender. This is similar to the. Liberal justice. Federal government; It is responsible for the creation of federal statutes. The federal government has the power to create, amend and repeal Canadian criminal law. The statutes. Include the Canadian Criminal Code, Youth Criminal Justice Act, Controlled Drugs and Substance Act, Safe Streets and Communities Act, Proceeds of Crime Act, Firearms Act. And ETC. It\'s also responsible for the administration of justice. The RCMP is the federal police force. That is responsible for policing matters of federal importance. Federal corrections overseas all incarceration facilities for inmates sentenced to more than two years. Crown prosecutors are hired by the federal government. The federal government is also responsible for appointing Superior Court judges, as well as provincial appeal court and Supreme Court justices. Provincial and territorial governments.; responsible for administering justice. All provinces appoint a Minister of Justice to oversee the judicial affairs of the region. Criminal law is passed by the federal government. Provincial governments are responsible for passing provincial legislation that is not criminal law but may interact with criminal penalty. Example. Each province or territory in Canada is responsible for drivers licensing and Hwy. Traffic Safety. It is responsible for the administration of summary conviction offences. They take place in provincial quarks. The the government usually appoints judges at the provincial level level to hear these cases. Provinces and territories hire Crown attorneys. Who oversee the prosecution of provincial court trials. They also have some form of legal aid. They are also responsible for maintaining provincial police acts. These acts govern the development of policing within provincial boundaries. They\'re also responsible for Correctional Facility housing inmates sentenced to a term under two years. Provinces are also responsible for non custodial programming such as probation, mediation, restorative practices. And find option programs. They also have other departments of government as well as a host of non governmental organizations that work alongside the criminal justice system. Regulatory law: Law that governs the conduct of administrative agencies and includes the development and application of procedures. Provincial statutes are considered regulatory law because they allow administrative agencies such as school boards or hospitals to govern the conduct of individuals who engage with the agency. Summary conviction offenses: A category of offense that is minor carries a minor penalty and proceeds without the right to a jury. Crown attorneys: Lawyers who conduct public prosecutions of those charged with criminal offences under the Criminal Code as well as other Statutes, also known as Crown Council or Crown prosecutors. Municipal Governments: Responsible for the creation of city bylaws and policing. City bylaws regulates space, not people. They could include matters such as parking, smoking, building permits, littering or noise. Another responsibility. Is policing. The vast majority of police are recruited, trained and employed by municipalities. Policing: is when someone witnesses or experiences. A suspected criminal event. The police will ask questions and if there\'s enough evidence. They can detain or arrest the accused or submitted information in order to get an arrest warrant. Information.: A sworn written statement alleging that the individual named has committed a specific criminal offence. Arrest warrant: An authorization issued by a judicial officer directing a law enforcement officer to arrest his specific person for a specific reason. Courts: At the first Court appearance The accused can plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty, sentencing can take place immediately. Or a date can be set. Summary conviction charges are heard in provincial court by a judge alone, and indictable offences are heard by a Superior Court judge or a judge and jury. hybrid offenses, which are offenses that could be tried via summary conviction or indictable, depending on the circumstances of the act. Indictable offenses. Serious offenses that carry a serious penalty and tried by a high court and warrant a jury. Preliminary hearing. With: a hearing that\'s held by the court to see whether there is enough evidence to send a case to trial. This is determined by a crown and a defendant. And a judge. Evidentiary and procedural law: All trials are tightly governed by them. Their legal rules governing the procedures used to collect evidence and how it can be used in court to establish guilts. These laws ensure that the right to a fair trial is not compromised by introducing evidence those illegally obtained. The individual cannot be convicted. If illegal evidence is admitted in court. Corrections.: Depending on the type of sentence, a convicted person will be given a community or a custodial sentence. Custodial sentence.: a term spent in prison. Can range from days to years. If it\'s less than two years, it will be served in a provincial institution Two year rule: If the sentence is more than two years. It\'s a rule designating where an individual will serve their custodial sentence. Academic discipline: an area of studies such as psychology or sociology, in which science is used to accumulate knowledge to be taught to others in a higher education setting. It questions how and why we make laws. Why some people break those laws and how society does and should respond to lawbreaking. Criminology in Canada: The study of crime and society. Consists of way of thinking and talking about crime, criminals and criminal control. It\'s often associated with sociology. It has a strong connection to the practices of crime control by government and community agencies. Criminal justice: Study of responses to crime and administration of justice. It has a commitment to identify and explore the meanings of justice, And to improve justice practices. It studies a wide range of things, such as what behaviors become defined as, criminal philosophies of crime control, constitutional politics, Thanks. Patty. Policy Studies and evaluation of a variety of criminal justice policies and programs. It\'s mostly concerned with the development, implementation and critique of administration of crime control.