Criminal Law
CHAPTER 2
Vocabulary
 Crime – is an act against the public good,
punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both
 Felonies – is a major crime punishable by
imprisonment or death
 Misdemeanor – a less serious crime with a less
severe penalty
Felonies vs. Misdemeanors
 To determine if it a felony or a misdemeanor you must
look at the punishment for the crime.
 Examples of Felonies:
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Murder
Manslaughter
Burglary
Robbery
Arson
 Examples of Misdemeanors:
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Driving without a license
Underage drinking
Leaving the scene of an automobile accident
Elements of a Crime
 Criminal Act
 Each statute much specifically define the conduct that is
forbidden to commit a crime
 Required State of Mind
 You have to be able to determine the persons intent

Example: Did the man intentionally run over the other man or
unintentionally run over the man
Motive
 The reason a crime is commited
 Examples:
9/11
Casey Anthony
Types of Crimes Against People
 Murder
 Manslaughter
 Assault and Battery
 Kidnapping
 Rape
 Child Abuse
 Sexual Assualt
Murder
 Murder – the unlawful killing of another human
being with malice aforethought.

Malice aforethought means there was an evil intent
 1st Degree Murder
 Went in with the intent on killing
 2nd Degree Murder
 There was not an intent to kill
Manslaughter
 Manslaughter – unlawful killing of another human
being without malice aforethought.
 Voluntary Manslaughter – when someone acts out of
great personal distress when a killing happens

Hard to prove
 Involuntary Manslaughter – when one person kills
another while committing an unlawful or reckless
act.
Assault and Battery
 Battery – the unlawful touching of another person
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Forceful use of a person’s hand, knife, or gun.
 Assault – is an attempt to commit a battery
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Pointing or shooting a gun at someone is an example of an Assault
• A bullet striking someone would be a battery.
 Simple Assault and Battery are generally misdemeanors
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Depends on the situation and severity of injuries
 Aggravated Assault and Battery are felonies
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To qualify for aggravated the assault or battery must be committed
with a deadly weapon or with intent to kill
Kidnapping and Child Abuse
 Kidnapping – involves the unlawful removal or
restraint of a person against that person’s will
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The essence of the crime is illegally imprisoning rather than
moving the victim
 Child Abuse- the physical, emotional or sexual
mistreatment of children
Rape
 Rape - non-consensual sexual intercourse that is
committed by physical force, threat of injury, or
other duress
 Statutory Rape – having sex with a person under the
age of 16 and being 4 years older unless married
Sexual Assault
 Sexual Assault - person engages in sexual intercourse
or deviate sexual intercourse with a complainant
without the complainant's consent
Crimes Against Property
 Burglary
 Larceny
 Embezzlement
 Robbery
 Arson
Burglary and Arson
 Burglary - Is defined as breaking and entering into
a place that is not yours

The essence of the crime burglary is the act of breaking and
entering
 Arson – the willful and malicious burning of a
building or structure.
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The building must have been on fire to get an Arson charge. If
part of the building is just blackened or scorched it will not get
an Arson charge.
Larceny
 Larceny – the unlawful taking and carrying away of
personal property of another with the intent to
deprive the owner.

It is the legal term for STEALING
 Petty Larceny = misdemeanor
 Less than $300 = Petty Larceny
 Grand Larceny = felony
 More than $300 = Grand Larceny
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Shoplifting is a form of Larceny
Embezzlement
 Embezzlement – Is the wrongful taking away of
another person’s property by a person who has been
entrusted with that property.

Very similar to Larceny since both are stealing
Difference is embezzlement the other person entrusted you with
their property
 Larceny you just took their property
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Robbery
 Robbery – the wrongful taking and carrying away
of the personal property of another accompanied by
violence or threats
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Difference between Robbery and Larceny
In Robbery there is a taking from a person’s body or near a
person’s body.
 In Larceny the taking does not take close to a person’s body
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Robbery ex: Snagging an ladies purse
 Larceny ex: Taking a ladies purse from her house when she was
not there.
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Crimes Against Business Interests
 Forgery
 Bribery and Extortion
 Computer Crimes
Forgery
 Forgery - The making or changing of a writing with
the intent to defraud
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Signing of another persons name on a check
Bribery and Extortion
 Bribery – it is illegal to pay or give anything of
value to public officials in order to influence them.
 Extortion – the unjust taking of money by a public
official
Computer Crimes
 This includes crimes such as Cyber Bullying and all
other crimes doing with computers
Defenses to Crimes
 Insanity
 Entrapment
 Self-Defense
Insanity
 Insanity Plea – as a result of a mental disease or
defect he or she lack substantial capacity either to
appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to
conform his conduct to the requirements of law
Entrapment
 Entrapment – when a law officer induces a law
abiding citizen to commit a crime.

You can use this as a defense
Self-Defense
 Self Defense – a person have a reason to believe
they are in serious danger or injury or death.

In ones own home the person must retreat before using self
defense.
Sentencing
 Fines
 Imprisonment
 The Death Penalty
Fines
 Fines – payment of a specified amount of money as
a penalty for committing a crime.

Very common for lesser crimes
Imprisonment
 Imprisonment- spending a given amount of time
in a jail or prison for a crime you have committed.
The Death Penalty
 Person is put to death for committing a crime.
 States without the death penalty

Alaska (1957)
Hawaii (1957)
Illinois (2011)
Iowa (1965)
Maine (1887)
Massachusetts (1984)
Michigan (1846)
Minnesota (1911)
New Jersey (2007)
New Mexico* (2009)
New York (2007)#
North Dakota (1973)
Rhode Island (1984)**
Vermont (1964)
West Virginia (1965)
Wisconsin (1853)
ALSO
- Dist. of Columbia (1981)