UNIT 2: Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice
Chapter 8
Introduction to Criminal Law

Almost all crimes require an act, accompanied
by a guilty state of mind
 This means that the act was done intentionally,
knowingly, or willfully
 It deals with the level of awareness of performing
some act—whether it was done purposefully,
intentionally, or recklessly
 Mere carelessness is not a guilty state of mind

State of mind is different from motive
 Motive is the reason—the why

A few crimes are strict liability offenses
 These crimes do not require a guilty state of mind
 The act itself is criminal—regardless of the knowledge
or intent of the person committing the act
○ Example: selling alcohol to minors—this is true regardless
of whether or not the seller know the buyer was underage
 Most strict liability statues are limited to crimes that do
not carry severe penalties or to crimes that are part of a
larger attempt to regulate some area of conduct
?...

Should a person’s intentions matter in
deciding if he or she committed a crime?
 For example:
○ Should it matter if an act was done on purpose?
○ If it was done when a person was being reckless?
○ If it was done when a person was enraged?
General Considerations

Crimes are characterized by three elements
 the act itself
 most crimes require a guilty state of mind—this
means that the act was done intentionally,
knowingly, or willfully
 motive—the reason for performing the act

Each of these three elements must be
proven at trial in order to obtain a conviction
Every crime is made up of certain
elements—at trial, each element of a
particular crime must be proven beyond a
reasonable doubt in order to convict a
person
 A single act can be both a criminal & a civil
wrong

 For example, the state can prosecute & punish
the person for the crime, & the injured person
can sue for damages in civil court
State and Federal Crimes
Both the federal & state governments have
criminal laws
 Some acts can be prosecuted only in state
courts while other acts can be prosecuted
only in federal courts

 You won’t necessarily be able to identify whether
a crime is a state or federal crime (unless it
occurs on federal property) without consulting
the federal criminal statutes
Certain crimes that violate both state & federal
law can be prosecuted in either state or federal
courts
 As part of the “get tough on crime” policies of
Congress in the late 1990s, some crimes
previously classified as state crimes are now
also violations of federal criminal law

 They may also be prosecuted in both state & federal
courts for the same crime—this is not double jeopardy
since they are separate court systems
Classes of Crimes

Crimes are separated into two categories
based on their severity & the punishments
attached to them
 A felony is a crime that carries a potential prison
sentence of more than one year—felonies are
usually more serious crimes
 A misdemeanor is any crime that can result in a
prison sentence of one year or less

Minor traffic violations are not considered
crimes, although they are punishable by law
Parties to Crimes
The person who commits a crime is called
the principal
 An accomplice is the person who helps the
principal commit the crime

 The accomplice can be charged with the same
crime as the principal

A person who helps organize the crime but is
not present when it occurs is called an
accessory before the fact
 This person can usually be charged with the same
crime as the principal

An accessory after the fact is a person who
learns about a crime after it has occurred
helps the principal or accomplice to avoid
capture
 This person is not charged with the original crime
but may be charged with harboring a fugitive or
obstructing justice
Crimes of Omission
Most crimes occur when a person does
something that violates the law
 In a few cases, however, failing to act may be
a crime if the person had a legal duty to act &
was physically able to perform the required
act
 This type of failure to act is known as
omission

Beware:
If you are present when a crime is committed
by someone else, you are potentially liable in
criminal or juvenile court!
 Society’s failure to penalize those who are
parties to crime or who are guilty of crimes of
omission would endanger public safety &
thwart justice

Preliminary Crimes
Certain actions take place before a crime is
committed
 These acts can be punished even if the crime
is never completed

 Three examples of preliminary crimes are:
○ solicitation
○ attempt
○ and conspiracy
[Ch. 8 – Basic Concepts]
Solicitation involves one person asking
another to participate in a crime
 To be convicted for attempt, the accused
person must have both intended to commit a
crime and have taken a "substantial step"
toward committing the crime

A conspiracy is an agreement between two or
more people to commit a crime
 Police cannot arrest people for merely
discussing a crime—the people must have
taken obvious steps towards completing the
crime to be guilty of conspiracy

Conspiracy charges are often criticized
because of the inherent vagueness, due
process, & free speech problems they raise
 The government has sometimes used
conspiracy prosecutions in political cases—
however, because of 1st Amendment
problems, they have seldom resulted in
convictions

Conspiracy has also been used frequently in
recent years to prosecute people involved in
the drug trade
 Large-scale drug dealers who plan activities to
import & sell drugs have been convicted &
sentenced to long prison terms


An overt act is an act that is open to view –
it’s required for conviction on a conspiracy
charge