CRIMINAL LAW 120 : Fall outline
September 2007
Professor Judith Mosoff
Office Curtis 228
Phone 822-5019
mosoff@law.ubc.ca
Required Books:
1. Criminal Law 120- Benedet, Boyle, Mosoff
2. Pocket Criminal Code, 2008, published by Carswell. Available at the University Book
Store. You can try other bookstores in Vancouver. You will need a Pocket Code for the
exam, not one of the more expensive annotated Codes.
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Classes
Classes will involve a mixture of lecture, discussion and other activities. It is important
that you bring your Criminal Codes to every class. Throughout the year, there will be
exercises, problems and field visits. To be successful the classes depend on students’
being prepared and participating. For this reason, and as a matter of professional
responsibility I expect you not to be on the internet during class.
Grading
This course is comprised of a legal writing component (25%) and a substantive criminal
law component (75%). The substantive criminal law component will be evaluated by
examination at Christmas and in the final. The legal writing component requires you to
write a factum and participate in a moot. The grade is based on your factum. However,
you must participate in the oral moot in order to fulfill the requirements of this course.
Exams
The exams are open book. In this course this means you may bring your Criminal Codes
(and they must be pocket Codes-no annotated Codes allowed in exams), course materials
and notes. No other materials are permitted. You may not bring in other books or
photocopied books or pages from books.
Your December exam is a fail-safe. If your grade is higher than your April exam, it
counts for 25% of your grade on the substantive component. If your grade is lower, it
does not count towards your final grade.
The following is a more detailed outline for the course. A reading list is appended.
Please note that the timing of the readings will depend upon the speed with which
subjects are covered in class and the following is an approximation only. If particular
areas require additional time the reading list will be adjusted accordingly.
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From time to time, we will be having field trips, guest lectures from Crown counsel
and/or defence lawyers The content of all these lectures is examinable and regular
attendance is expected. Also examinable are the topics and materials from Law in
Context related to criminal law in the fall term. We will also be having some joint
classes with other first year criminal law instructors.
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Reading List ---Criminal Law - Professor Judith Mosoff
Welcome to Criminal Law 120. In this course we will be studying the law relating to the
substance of criminal law. We will cover what the Crown has to prove to convict an
accused person of a criminal offence. We will also study defences, accessory liability
and attempts. We will not deal with criminal procedure (eg arrest, search, bail) except to
the extent that it is relevant to what the Crown must prove against the accused. Students
interested in criminal procedure should consider taking Advanced Criminal Procedure in
second or third year.
I have several objectives in this course.
First, I expect students to learn the doctrinal rules related to the subjects we are studying.
This includes an understanding of the Criminal Code and related federal statutes and how
they interact with the Constitution and specifically the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.
Second, students must understand that criminal law is a statute-based area and they must
develop skill in statutory interpretation. To be competent in criminal law students must
become familiar with the Criminal Code, a large and somewhat unwieldy statute. By the
end of this course, students should be able to pick any crime in the Criminal Code and
identify the elements of that offence, its punishment and how a charge would be tried.
Third, I want students to understand the interaction between Parliament, the courts and
the Constitution in "making" criminal law. Prior to the proclamation of the Charter, the
federal Parliament had the final say about what behaviours could be criminalized. The
courts were limited to determining what was within federal jurisdiction and what was
provincial. Since the proclamation of the Charter, the Courts now have the final say
about the constitutionality of criminal legislation (subject to the use of the legislative
override). If a legislative provision is inconsistent with the rights in the Charter, a court
can invalidate that provision. .
Finally, by the end the year, students should be able to think critically about the criminal
justice system. What values does the system reflect; does the law disadvantage some
groups over others? Students will be expected, as part of the final exam, to analyze
specific law reform issues in criminal law based on both what you have learned this year
but also your own assessment of the law.
Week 1, September 7th
Description of Course
Week 2 September. 11th
Introduction to Criminal Law
This week we will examine the scope of criminal law and the various institutions
involved in enacting criminal law: the Constitution, the federal Parliament and the
courts. We will look at the federal/provincial division of powers in ss. 91 and 92 of the
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Constitution Act, 1867 and how the Charter can be used to invalidate federal criminal
law provisions.
We will explore the function and the operation of the criminal law through a small group
exercise.
Thursday
Overview Chapter 1A , 3B, small group exercise
Week 3 September 18th
The Structure of Criminal Proceedings
During this week we will look more closely at the structure of the Criminal Code and the
sequence of events in criminal proceedings including the structure of a criminal trial.
Tuesday : Criminal Proceedings Chapter 1B, 1C, 1D, 3C. 1E,
Thursday: Discussion of a criminal case R. v. Moyer (web)
Week 4, September 25th
Proving the Crime
We will now move on to examine how the Crown proves its case against an accused. We
will look at legal and evidentiary burdens, the concept of proof beyond a reasonable
doubt and other related ideas. While some of the pre-Charter laws have to be considered
post-Charter, some of the concepts, such as reasonable doubt have not changed
considerably after the Charter
Tuesday: - Truscott materials (handout) Chapter 2: 1-18
Thursday: Chapter 2: p19-end
Week 5, October 2nd
Elements of the Offence
This week we begin our examination of the elements of a crime, the physical component,
the actus reus and the mental component, mens rea. Every crime must have an actus
reus and a mens rea. In these sessions, we develop a conceptual method for analyzing
the actus reus and the mens rea.
Tuesday: Ch. 3A, 3C, Problem 3D
Thursday : Actus reus: Ch 4A, 4B
Week 6, October 9th
Actus reus (cont)
Tuesday: Actus Reus: 4C
Thursday: Actus reus causation, Chapter 5
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Week 7,
LAW IN CONTEXT
Week 8, October 23rd
Introduction to Mens Rea, Subjective Mens Rea
For most crimes, the Crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused had
a blameworthy mental state with respect to the elements of the actus reus. Mens rea is the
idea of fault in criminal law. The conceptual framework we used for the actus reus will
also be used for mens rea. We start with a discussion of the difference between
subjective mental states and objective ones. From there will examine the various forms
of subjective mens rea: intention, recklessness and wilful blindness. We will discuss the
difference between the accused's mental state and the accused's motive. We will then
examine the various different forms of subjective mens rea.
Tuesday: Chapter 6A
Thursday: Chapter 6 B
Week 9, October 30th
Mens Rea cont
Tuesday Chapter 6C
Thursday Chapter 6D
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Week 10, November 6th, Departures from Subjective Mens Rea
Departures from Subjective Mens Rea
We will now move on to Departures from the general principle of subjective fault. The
first exception we will examine is the distinction between true crimes, on the one hand,
and strict and absolute liability offences on the other. The second exception we examine
is the statutory concept of criminal negligence. Criminal negligence refers to a group of
offences in the Criminal Code where the mental state is defined as "criminal negligence".
There has been much debate over the past few decades over whether this is a subjective
or objective mental state. We will look at the leading S.C.C. decision and discuss the
arguments on both sides.
Tuesday: Chapter 7A
Thursday Chapter 7B
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Week 11 , November 13th
Mens Rea and the Charter
We will begin to discuss the first seminal case dealing with mens rea and the Charter.
We begin in this first session by looking at the early cases in which the Supreme Court of
Canada decided that mens rea had a constitutional dimension. The early cases, which
focussed on murder and attempted murder led to the development of the concept of
"special stigma" and a constitutional requirement of subjective fault. Subsequently the
Court departed from its earlier activism in the area of mens rea and the Charter. The
Court has held, in a number of contexts than an objective standard of fault is acceptable
so long as the minimal standard of penal negligence is met
Tuesday: Chapter 7A
Thursday:Chapter 7B
Week 12, November 20th
Mens Rea and the Charter
(cont)
Tuesday : Chapter 7C
Thursday: Introduction to written advocacy
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Week 13 November 27th
Tuesday: Review
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