Criminal Investigation:
A Method for Reconstructing the Past, 7th Edition
Book
Cover
Here
Chapter 15
CRIME AND
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
The Foundations of Criminal Investigation
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
1
Crime Defined
An act committed or omitted in violation
of law forbidding or commanding it, and for
which punishment is imposed upon
conviction.
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
2
Crime
• The legislature defines crime by enacting penal
statutes that govern behavior for which punishment
can be meted out
– Behavior can be viewed as:
• Inherently bad
• Against public policy
– Public perception of crime varies over time and across
cultures
• The way wealth is acquired
– Old money / new money
• New money may involve behavior that may be outlawed — white
collar crime
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
3
Crime and Law
• Criminal Law
– Substantive Criminal Law
• The Elements of a Crime
• Corpus Delicti
– Procedural Criminal Law
• Case Law
• The Model Penal Code
• Sources of State Law
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
4
Substantive Criminal Law
• Describes the forbidden acts and the punishment to
be inflicted when the law is broken
• Felonies
– Crimes of more serious nature
– Punishable by death or imprisonment for one year or
more
– Convicted felon is prohibited from holding public office or
engaging in a licensed occupation
• Misdemeanors
– Less serious, perhaps trivial
– Imprisonment for less than a year or by a fine, or both
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
5
Elements of a Crime
• “Elements of the crime” describes the specific acts
that, taken together, compose the crime
• If each and every element of a crime is not proved,
a defendant cannot be convicted for that crime
• Corpus Delicti
– Each element of the crime is satisfied
– Someone is responsible for inflicting the injury or loss that
was sustained
• When the state has proved the corpus delicti beyond
a reasonable doubt, the prosecutor has met the
burden of proof required for a jury (or judge) to
convict
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
6
Procedural Criminal Law
• Flows from the Constitutions of the United
States and the respective states
• Supreme Court interprets the U.S.
Constitution or exercises its supervisory
power over the federal system of criminal
justice
• Bill of Rights
– Actions permitting or forbidding the government
in criminal matters are spelled out in the Fourth
to Ninth Amendments
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
7
Model Penal Code
• Proposed in 1962 by the American Law Institute (ALI)
in an effort to make criminal laws more uniform
– Intended to bring a unified approach to criminal law
through an examination of its philosophical foundations,
the elements that defined specific crimes, and the
provisions for sentencing and correction
• Has not been widely accepted, through some aspects
have found their way into the criminal law of some
states
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
8
Theories on Crime
• Classical School of
Thought
• Psychological
Approaches
• Attachment
• Behavioral
• Social Structure
• Environmental
• Strain/General Strain
• Culture Conflict
• Social Process
• Differential
Reinforcement
• Social Control
• Labeling
• Life-Course
• General Theory of Crime
• Conflict
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
9
Constitutional Law
• Control Over Investigations
– Criminal Justice in the Articles and Amendments
– The Bill of Rights
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
10
The Supreme Court and Criminal Justice
• Congress is given the power to define what the
appellate jurisdiction or the court will be.
– The legislative branch may increase or decrease this
function of the Court as it sees fit, however, it has been
reluctant to do so
– If the issue is one of interpretation: whether a law or
procedure — either state or federal — is in accord with
the Constitution, then the power of the Court is beyond
the reach of the Congress
• Incorporating the Bill of Rights through the
Fourteenth Amendment
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
11
The Bill of Rights
• The first 10 amendments were adopted in
1791
• Past Supreme Court decisions having the
greatest influence on investigative practice
are based on the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and
Eighth Amendments
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
12
Milestone Decisions Affecting
Investigative Practice
• Effect of the influence of law on the process of
criminal investigation is far-reaching.
• Criminal law issues are decisions of two kinds:
– Those unwittingly created by police behavior
– Those involving apparently new interpretations of
law or custom as urged by defendants through
their attorneys
• Rochin v. California (1952)
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
13
Evolution of “Probable Cause”
• Statutory authority for police officers to make felony
arrests without warrant is generally restricted to
crimes committed in their presence, or to cases in
which they have reasonable grounds for believing a
person has committed (or is committing) a felony
• Probable cause appears in the Fourth Amendment
• Crucial to law enforcement officers, this
constitutional imperative governs arrests or searches
with or without warrants
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
14
Probable Cause Cases
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ker v. California (1963)
Locke v. United States (1813)
Stacey v. Emery (1878)
Carroll v. United States (1925)
Brinegar v. United States (1948)
Rios v. United States (1960)
Johnson v. United States (1948)
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
15
Conclusion
• Control over Investigative Practice
– Significant changes since 9/11
• Rule of Law
– Indisputable aspect of the American CJ system
– Police and public do not always agree on changes
Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Inc.
All Rights Reserved
16