Introduction to Criminal Law
Almost all crimes require an illegal act accompanied by a guilty state of mind. This means that
the crime was committed intentionally, knowingly, or willfully. The Latin term for this idea is
mens rea.
Practice: Suezy Creamcheese left the gas on in her apartment when she went out for the night.
When she came back, the building had burned down because of a fire in her apartment. Is she
guilty of arson, the intentional burning of a person’s property? Why?
Robin Hood stole money and property from the rich to give to the poor. Is he guilty of theft?
Why?
Strict liability crimes do not require a guilty state of mind. This means that the act itself is
criminal, regardless of the knowledge or intent of the person committing it.
Practice: Stevie Disco, a strapping young lad of 21, went out to 4Sixty6, a club that only admits
guests that are 21 or older. Freshly bronzed from his spray tan that afternoon and smelling richly
of Drakkar Noir, it was only a matter of time before he met that special lady. When he finally
did, he took her back to his place to hook up and passed out. He was woken by two policemen
and an angry-looking middle-aged man at his door. They informed Stevie Disco that the girl he
took home that night, the middle-aged man’s daughter, was actually 15 years old and had used a
fake ID to get into the club. As Stevie was led away in handcuffs sobbing, he asked the police
why he was being arrested, even though he had no idea his paramour was underage. How would
the police have answered the unlucky Stevie Disco?
Classes of Crimes
A felony is any crime for which the potential penalty is imprisonment for more than one year.
They are generally considered more serious crimes.
A misdemeanor is any crime for which the potential penalty is imprisonment for one year or
less. They are generally considered less serious crimes.
Parties to Crimes
Principal
Accomplice
Accessory Before the Fact
Accessory After the Fact
The person who commits the crime.
Someone who helps the principal commit the crime.
The person who orders a crime or helps the principal
commit the crime but is not present during the crime.
A person who, knowing a crime has been committed,
helps the principal or an accomplice avoid capture or
helps them escape.
Crimes of Omission
A person is guilty of a crime of omission when he or she fails to perform an act required by a
criminal law, if he or she is physically able to perform the required act.
Example: Suezy Creamcheese was so embarrassed for burning down her apartment building that
she got into her car and sped away. Unfortunately, Suezy wasn’t paying attention to the road and
hit a car stopped at a red light. Being so distracted by her emotions, Suezy didn’t even notice and
kept on driving. The driver whom Suezy hit wrote down the license plate number and reported
her to the police. When she was finally pulled over by the police, Suezy, crying, tried to explain
that she would have stopped under normal circumstances. The policeman explained that Suezy
was under arrest for hit and run anyway. Why?
Preliminary Crimes
Preliminary crimes take place before or in preparation for committing a crime and require proof
of criminal intent but can be punished even if the harm intended never occurred.
The three types of preliminary crimes are:
Preliminary Crime
Solicitation
Definition
Asking, commanding, urging, or
advising someone to commit a
crime.
Attempt
When someone performs all of
the elements of a crime but fails
to achieve the intended result.
Conspiracy
An agreement between two or
more persons to commit a crime,
combined with an intent to
commit the crime and some
action that furthers the
agreement.
Example
Stevie Disco eventually
married Suezy
Creamcheese (Suezy kept
her name), but he got tired
of her very quickly. Stevie
wanted to kill Suezy but
didn’t have the nerve to do
it, so he asked his friend
Johnny Jabip to do it for
him.
Johnny wanted more
money to kill Suezy than
Stevie had, so Stevie got a
crew together to rob the
bank in town. They made
it up to the front counter
with their guns and masks,
but there was a group of
police officers across the
street who saw them enter.
Stevie and his crew were
arrested before they could
steal a single dollar from
the bank.
When the police searched
Stevie’s house, they saw
he and his crew had a
handwritten list of banks in
the area and a map with
multiple “X” marks on it.
It was clear the Xs stood
for the other banks. There
was also a closet full of
additional guns and
ammunition.