Law Notes Created Class @February 4, 2022 12:46 PM ⚖ CLU3M1-1G Materials For Review What Is The Harm Principle? the harm principle allows government to restrict individuals’ conduct and/or limit individual liberties as necessary to prevent past, present, or harm. What Is The Purpose of The Criminal Law prohibits/restricts harmful conduct, not require socially desirable conduct. Legal Principles What is the law? 1. Rules made & enforced by the government 2. Mandatory 3. A detailed system of consequences Together this makes up the principle of THE RULE OF LAW (no one is above the law) What is the purpose of the law? 1. Establish rules of conduct 2. Establish a system of enforcement 3. To protect rights and & freedoms 4. To protect society 5. To resolve disputes Values of the Justice System Law Notes 1 What Is The Rule of Law? (ROL) What Is The Presumption of Innocence? (POI) What Is Fairness? (i.e., trial fairness, the right to make full answer of defence, the right to know the case against you) What Is Habeus corpus? (i.e., free from arbitrary detention/imprisonment) What Is Burden of Proof? (Criminal standard = beyond a reasonable doubt) What Is Equality before and under the law? (i.e. formal equality vs. substantive equality) What Is The practice of precedent? (past cases help decide current cases) Criminal Pyramid ~100% of Canadians commit a criminal behaviour in their lifetime ~90% of charges do not proceed to trial. ~70% of crimes are reported to law enforcement ~20% are criminally charged. ~10% are criminally prosecuted in trials. ~60% are criminally convicted. (2018 overall rate of conviction) The Criminal Equation The Criminal Equation is The Crown’s Case/Burden and this is where you start every case. All the defence is doing is to raise enough doubt about the crown’s case and if they raise enough doubt. then they win. The STND. of Proof in a criminal trial should be beyond a reasonable doubt (BRD). Someone’s liberty is at stake so the crown has to prove to the highest standard. This is because the court doesn't want to convict someone who is innocent guilty. Law Notes 2 Criminal Equation AR + MR = Guilt Actus Reus (AR) Latin for “the guilty act” What are the two types of prohibition? Acts and Omissions Acts are when someone intends to act. Omissions are when someone fails to act Each offence has a keyword for AR where the crown has to prove. Mens Rea (MR) loosely translates to “guilty mind” or more commonly known as the fault element. We shouldn’t punish someone who didn’t intend to do something criminal (to a certain extent) Each offense has a keyword for MR which the crown has to prove. Below are examples of the most common keywords: intent intend knowledge wilful blindness recklessness state of mind Every offence in the criminal code of Canada (CCC) has a requisite intent. Always changes from offence to offence Guilt (Degree of criminal responsibility) Law Notes 3 AR and MR together are called the elements of the offence and the Crown has to prove both elements with evidence and facts beyond a reasonable doubt. Generally speaking, for a person to be found guilty of a criminal offence he or she must have committed an illegal act (actus reus) and had the required “state of mind” (mens rea) for the criminal offence. The Crown must prove both elements of the offence, the actus reus and the mens rea, beyond a reasonable doubt. Source Below are the two requirements for the Crown to have a case to start with. AR and MR must be voluntary The case is dismissed if someone is forced to do something or done the act/omission involuntarily. Below are some examples: Compulsion - compelled to do a crime because you have no choice such as hostage. Intoxicated driving - drugs, and alcohol. Medical conditions such as mental illness or disease. Below are examples of such events: crashing into a car unintentionally while having a stroke which led to a family dying. Both AR and MR must be simultaneous If the guilty act wasn’t committed and the intent came before. Then it can be labelled as an attempt or intent. What Do You Need To Prove In A Trial? In a trial, you need to prove AR and MR with facts and evidence and the evidence should be credible, reliable, and relevant. Below are some examples: witness testimonies Law Notes 4 real evidence forensics documents murder weapons videos audio demonstrations enactment expert advice What are some Classic Defenses? A criminal defense should be aiming to raise enough doubt, negate either the AR or MR, or excuse conduct. NCR Self Defence Provocation Compulsion Automatism Board Notes Law Notes 5 R. v. Stephan Case Fact Pattern Law Notes 6 What are the AR and MR of the case? AR Prove that Ezekiel is under 16 Prove that Ezekiel is under their care. Prove that Ezekiel is the son of the defendants Prove that Ezekiel was in fatal condition. MR Law Notes 7 Endangerment Failure to perform a duty The core word is “Failure” was it objectively foreseeable by not seeking that medical treatment objective means what would a reasonable person would do and not from the defendant’s perspective. Mr. Baur’s Analysis Law Notes 8 Useful Links Section 215 Law Notes 9 Criminal Code Marginal note:Duty of persons to provide necessaries (a) as a parent, foster parent, guardian or head of a family, to provide necessaries of life for a child under the age of sixteen years; (b) to provide necessaries of life to their spouse or common-law partner; and (c) to provide necessaries of life to a https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-215.html 2 Main Factors In Sentencing 1. Mitigating Circumstances (lessen culpability) 2. Aggravating Circumstances (increase culpability) No remorse Was the crime committed against a vulnerable person/group CORE Ideas in Criminal Law So Far... Crime is socially constructed Criminal law shapes human behaviour & relations It sets a minimum standard of conduct It protects society by calling a truce one harming one another Should criminal law pose a particular morality on us? Criminal justice starts at CRIMINAL EQUATION & CRIMINAL CODE Life Jolt Notes Episode 1: The Before Times In remand, 60% in 2018 That’s 140K incarcerated without a conviction. GRABHER Debate Keywords to search for: Dr. Soh (Expert for no side) Rentschler (Expert for yes side) Law Notes 10 📜 CORE 4 Theories of Crime Readings Useful Links Social & Global Studies Social & Global Studies Courses support curriculum and instruction in the disciplines of law, economics & history at the senior secondary level in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. https://socialglobalstudies.com/ Social & Global Studies INSTRUCTIONS -- Based on the readings linked ABOVE add to the class Criminal Defences GRID detailing two elements: 1) the LEGAL TEST to establish an "air of reality" for your https://www.socialglobalstudies.com/unit-1-principles-problems Law Notes 11
