5. Inchoatቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ Crimes 6. Defenses 7. Criminal Sanctions
Defining Crimes
According to William Blackstone, an English
judge and author of Commentaries on the Laws of England, a crime is a wrong committed
▪ In some states: felonies are crimes that
are served in state prisons and misdemeanors are offenses served in county jail.
▪ Other states: crimes authorizing a
In the U.K. Common law Criminal Law Act (1977)
➢ In the U.S.
Common law statutes
▪ Most states define crimes through statutes e.g.
Illinois Criminal Code
▪ Model Penal Code
Elements of a Crime
2. The Culpable State of Mind
➢ an alleged criminal offender should possess a
guilty mind at the time of the commission of the wrongful act.
Elements of a Crime
A crime including the following components: (1)
the wrongful act (actus reus); (2) the culpable state of mind (mens rea)); (3) causation.
manslaughter.
▪ Murder is the killing of a human being with
malice.
▪ Manslaughter is an unlawful killing of another
without malice.
Sources of Criminal Law
1. The wrongful act: an unlawful voluntary
act– a voluntary act occurs when the accused causes his or her body to move in a manner that produces prohibited conduct.
robbery, arson etc.
▪ Crimes against government: bribery,
perjury, etc.
Classifying Crimes
In the U.S. some new classification schemes have gained popularity
➢against the public– an illegal act against the
interests of the public as a whole as opposed to an illegal act only against the individual victim.
Defining Crimes
➢ The defining of crimes are changing
As a society advances, its judgments about crime and punishment change. e.g. before the enactment of Suicide Law (1961), Committing a suicide is a crime.
culpability: (1) purpose, (2) knowledge, (3) recklessness, and (4) negligence.
Wrongful act
• Wrongful act • 1. crimes of commission • 2. crimes of omission
➢ malum in se v.s. malum prohibitum
Classifying Crimes
▪ Various criteria are applied to classifying
crimes
Classifying Crimes
In the U.S.
➢ felonies & misdemeanors
➢Homicide, murder and manslaughter
▪ homicide is the killing of one human being by
another human being.There are lawful homicide and unlawful homicide.
▪ Any unlawful killing is either murder or
Categories of Criminal Law
1. Substantive criminal law
law that concerns what constitutes criminal behavior, what the elements of a crime are, and what punishment is appropriate for a given criminal act
Lecture 6 Criminal Law
The Outline 1. Defining crimes 2. Sources of Criminal Law 3. Categories of Criminal Law 4. Elements of a crime
1) wrongful act ( actus reus) 2) culpable state of mind (mens rea) 3) causation
2. Procedural criminal law
law that concerns the rules by which the government must abide before it can deprive one of its citizens of life, liberty, or property.
➢ not voluntary acts: e.g. (1) a reflex or
convulsion (2) a bodily movement during unconsciousness or sleep; (3) conduct during hypnosis or resulting from hypnotic suggestion.
Liability without fault On 3 conditions, an act could constitute crime without the element of fault: 1) public welfare offenses 2) vicarious liability (eg. employment) 3) corporate liability
Elements of a Crime
2. The Modes of Culpability
➢ Purpose: A person she has a conscious desire
to engage in certain conduct or achieve a particular result.
➢ Recklessness: A person consciously
disregards the welfare of others and creates a significant risk. (no law-abiding person would have consciously created).
➢ Knowledge: A person is aware that a
prohibited result or harm is very likely to occur, but does not have a conscious desire to produce such a result or harm.
➢Crimes against persons, crimes against
property and crimes against government
▪ Crimes against persons: rape, kidnapping,
murder etc.
▪ Crimes against property: theft, burglary,
➢ It is often difficult to prove that person acted
with a guilty mind, and prosecutors often have to prove it indirectly and circumstantially.
➢ The Model Penal Code recognizes four modes of
Sources of Criminal Law
• Model Penal Code
• Now over 2/3 of the states have enacted
new criminal codes based, to a greater or lesser extent, on the Model Penal Code (MPC) adopted by the American Law Institute in 1962.