1. Chapter 4
Criminal
Law:
Substance
and
Procedure

2. Four Broad Categories of Law
a. Criminal law
 Body of rules that define crimes, sets out their
punishments, and mandates the procedures for
carrying out the criminal justice process
a. Substantive Criminal Law
 Body of specific rules that declare what conduct is
criminal and prescribes the punishment to be
imposed for such conduct
a. Procedural Criminal Law
 Sets out the basic rules of practice in the criminal
justice system
a. Civil law
 All law that is not criminal

3. The History of Criminal Law
The underlying goal of the
substantive criminal law is:
 To enforce social control
 Distribute retribution
 Express public opinion and morality
 Deter criminal behavior
 Punish wrongdoing
 Maintain social order
 Restoration

4. The History of Criminal Law
The roots of the criminal codes used in the
United States can be traced back to such
early legal charters as:
 The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (2000 BCE)
 The Mosaic Code of the Israelites (1200 BCE) and
the Roman Twelve Tables (451 BCE).
Emerging Germanic societies developed
legal systems featuring monetary
compensation, called “wergild”
Our legal code is directly tied to England

5. Sources of the Criminal Law
Mala in se
Mala prohibitum
Constitutional Limits

6. Sources of the Criminal Law
 After the Norman Conquest, royal judges would
decide what to do in each case, using local custom
and rules of conduct as their guide in a system
 Stare decisis
 Latin for “to stand by decided cases”
 Eventually this system evolved into a common law of
the country that incorporated local custom and
practice into a national code
 Mala in se
 Crimes that are inherently evil and depraved (such as murder,
burglary, and arson)
 Mala prohibitum
 Crimes which reflected existing social and economic
conditions

7. Sources of the Criminal Law
The contemporary American legal
system was codified by state and
federal legislatures
 The content of the law may also be
influenced by judicial decision making
Regardless of its source, all criminal law in
the United States must conform to the rules
and dictates of the U.S. Constitution

8. Constitutional Limits
Criminal laws have been interpreted as
violating constitutional principles if they
are too vague or overbroad to give clear
meaning of their intent
 Each state and the federal government has
developed its own body of criminal law that
defines and grades offenses, sets levels of
punishment, and classifies crimes into
categories
 Prohibits laws that make a person’s status a crime
 Cruel and/or capricious
 Bills of attainder
 Ex post facto laws

9. Classifying Crime
Felonies
Misdemeanors
Infractions and Violations
The Legal Definition of a Crime

10. Classifying Crimes
Felonies
Misdemeanors
Infractions and Violations
 Each jurisdiction in the U.S. determines by
statute what types of conduct constitute
felonies or misdemeanors

11. The Legal Definition of a
Crime
Almost all common-law crime
contains both mental and physical
elements
 Actus reus
An illegal act, or failure to act when legally
required… the guilty act
 Mens rea
A guilty mind; the intent to commit a
criminal act

12. Video: Mental Intent

13. Discussion Questions
What is mental intent?
Is the mental intent to
commit a crime always
clear?

14. What cops hear…
My friend let me borrow his/her car
It’s not my pants
It’s not my bag/purse

15. The Legal Definition of a Crime
To constitute a crime, the law requires
a connection be made between the
mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus
(guilty act) thereby showing that the
offender’s conduct was the proximate
cause of the criminal act

16. The Legal Definition of a Crime
 Certain statutory offenses exist in which mens rea
(guilty mind) is not essential
 These offenses fall within a category known as a public
safety or strict liability crime
 Traffic crimes, public safety, and business crimes are
typically strict liability crimes
 The third element needed to prove that a crime was
committed is the immediate relationship to or
concurrence of the act with the criminal intent or
result
 For an act to be considered a crime, the actor’s willingness
to cause harm must be proved (we call this “intent”)

17. Video: Crime in L.A.

18. Discussion Questions
Compstat (shor t for COMPlaint
STATistics)
 Using statistics to fight crime
 It uses Geographic Information
Systems to map crime and identify
problem areas.
 Lets you send resources to the
right areas at the right time
 Holds Supervisors accountable for
crime in their assigned areas

19. Crime Mapping Example
 Auto-Theft Hotspots in Los Angeles during 2003.

20. Criminal Defenses
Excuse Defenses
Justification Defenses

21. Criminal Defenses
When people defend themselves against
criminal charges, they must refute one or
more of the elements of the crime of which
they have been accused
 Defendants may deny the actus reus (guilty act) by
arguments that they were falsely accused and the
real culprit has yet to be identified
 Defendants may also claim that while they did
engage in the criminal act they are accused of, they
should be excused because they lacked mens rea
(guilty mind)

22. Criminal Defenses
Another type of defense is justification
 Such as self-defense, which involves
maintaining that the act was justified under
the circumstances
 “Given the circumstances, anyone would
have done what I did.”

23. Excuse Defenses
Ignorance or Mistake
 Can be an excuse if it negates an element of
the crime
Insanity
 If the defendant’s state of mind negates
his/her criminal responsibility
Intoxication
 Not a defense unless the defendant became
involuntarily intoxicated under duress or by
mistake

24. Excuse Defenses
Age
 Generally a conclusive presumption of incapacity
for a child under the age of 7
 Not the same as adult vs. juvenile
 Children under 18 can be charged with a crime.
Entrapment
 If law enforcement agents used traps, decoys, and
deception to induce criminal action
 Recent discussions on entrapment with fbi stings on
terrorists and with cpd arresting nato demonstrators

25. Justification Defenses
Consent
 The type of crime involved generally
determines the validity of consent as an
appropriate legal defense
Self-defense
 Must prove she/he acted with a reasonable
belief that she/he was in imminent danger of
death or harm, and had no reasonable means of
escape from the assailant

26. Justification Defenses
Stand your ground
 The “castle exception”
 Florida’s Stand Your Ground law authorizes
citizens to use deadly force when they
reasonably believe that their homes or vehicles
have been illegally invaded.
Duress
When the defendant claims he was forced to
commit a crime as the only means of preventing
death or serious harm to himself or others

27. Justification Defenses
Necessity
When a crime was committed under extreme
circumstances and could not be avoided
 Example: A pregnant woman in labor stole a car
because she feared she was imminently going to
give birth and had no other means of transportation
In the Line of Duty
 Crime committed in the line of a first responder
occupation

28. Reforming the Criminal Law
Public Opinion

29. Reforming the Criminal Law
Laws, in part, reflect
public opinion… morality
 Stalking
 Prohibiting assisted
suicide
 Registering sex offenders
 Clarifying rape
 Controlling technology
 Protecting the environment
 Legalizing marijuana
 Responding to terrorism

30. Law of Criminal Procedure
Judicial Interpretation
4th Amendment
5th Amendment
8th Amendment
14th Amendment
Due Process of Law

31. The Law of Criminal Procedure
The law of criminal procedure consists of
the rules and procedure that govern the
pretrial processing of criminal suspects
and the conduct of criminal trials
 The main source of the procedural law is the
body of the Constitution and the first 10
amendments added to the U.S. Constitution on
December 15, 1791
These are collectively known as the Bill of Rights

32. Judicial Interpretation
Of primary concern are the Fourth,
Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments:
 Limit and control the manner in which the
federal government operates the justice
system
The Fourteenth Amendment applies these
rights to the state and local governments

33. 4th Amendment
 The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no
Warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation,
and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be
seized
 Stopping, questioning, or searching an individual
without legal justification represents a serious
violation of the Fourth Amendment.

34. 5th Amendment
 No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a
presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in
the militia, when in actual service in time of war or
public danger; nor shall any person be subject for
the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life
or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.
 I plead the 5th (Losi Lerner in the IRS Scandle)

35. Video: Lois Lerner

36. 6th Amendment
 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the state and district wherein
the crime shall have been committed, which
district shall have been previously ascertained
by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation; to be confronted with
the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and
to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense.
 Right to attorney - Change of Venue

37. Video: Change of Venue

38. 8th Amendment
 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishments inflicted.
 Death Penalty?

39. 14th Amendment
 Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the state wherein they reside. No state shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any
person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
 Equal protection (gay marriage)

40. Due Process of Law
The concept of due process is found
in both the Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendments
 Due process has been used to evaluate
the constitutionality of legal statutes and
to set standards and
guidelines for fair
procedures in the
criminal justice
system

41. Due Process of Law
Due process can be divided into two
distinct categories:
a. Substantive
b. Procedural
Substantive due process
 Refers to the citizen’s right to be protected
from criminal laws that may be biased,
discriminatory, or otherwise unfair
Procedural due process
 Seeks to ensure that no person will be
deprived of life, liberty, or property without
proper and legal criminal process

42. Chapter 4
End