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Criminal Law: Substance and Procedure
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Guarantees that no one is deprived of life or
liberty without certain constitutional
protections
Found in both the fifth and fourteenth
amendments to the constitution
Interpretations of due process is not fixed but
reflect the morality of the people (pendulum)
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Habeas Corpus
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This is a challenge that you submit to court to
determine if you are being held legally
Your attorney would submit a writ of habeas corpus
if they feel you have been denied due process
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Is made of two parts
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Procedural
Substantive
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Branch of Due process that defines what is
criminal and what punishments are required
This is the criminal code
Has taken years to establish
 Evolves and changes with the morality of the people
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Gets its power from the constitution
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Set of basic rules that must be followed during
every stage of the CJS process
Outlines the rights people have and what
protections are available to them while they are
in the CJS
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Right to an attorney, right to confront your accuser,
ect
Gets its power from the Bill of Rights
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Anything that is not criminal
Involves one party to another
Sanctions would be money, having to do something
or having to stop doing something
 You don’t risk loss of liberty or life
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Cases are heard in civil court
The standard of proof is the preponderance of
evidence
If a jury is used they do not all have to agree,
only a majority
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Body of laws that define crimes and sets out
their sanctions (punishments)
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The standard of proof is beyond a reasonable
doubt
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Sanctions can be fines, jail or prison and death
A reasonable person would believe that you are the
only one that could have committed the crime
Jury decision has to be unanimous
If found not guilty in a criminal case you can be
found guilty in a civil case
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Legal requirements of a crime
Accused engaged in the guilty act (actus reus)
 Accused had intent to commit the guilty act (mens
rea)
 Both are present at the same time
 The accused actions were the cause of the crime
 Actual harm was caused
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Each state has developed their own criminal
code therefore they determine how a crime is
classified
In general crimes are classified in three
categories
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Felonies: most serious (more than 1 year in prison)
Misdemeanors: less serious (less than on year in jail)
Violations: non-criminal offenses (most cases you
pay a fine and are not a risk of loss of liberty)
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Felony is a more serious crime, with sanctions
that include prison or death (can include fines )
Misdemeanors are less serious crimes that
carry sanctions that include jail time and fines
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 Conviction of a felony can in some states keep you from:
 Voting, owning a firearm, running for political office, federal
student loans, and joining the military
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Misdemeanors have to be committed in the
presence of the police officer for them to make an
arrest without a warrant (in presence requirement)
Felony arrest can be made at any time as long as
the officer has probable cause (the evidence
present points to the probability that the accused
has committed the crime)
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When people defend themselves in court from
criminal charges they or their lawyer must prove
that one or more elements of a crime doesn’t exist
Or they have to use one of these defenses
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Excuse defenses: defendants mental capacity is reduced
or impaired
 Ignorance or Mistake: they have to prove that the
government failed to make the public aware of a new law
 Insanity: at the time of the crime the defendant lacked the
mental capacity to know what they did was wrong, this is
very difficult to prove the government will apply
standardized tests to prove sanity
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Excuse Defenses (con)
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Intoxication: can only be used if the defendant can
prove that the intoxication was involuntary
Age: child under 7 is considered to lack capacity, 714 will be reviewed by the court, over 14 they are
considered to have capacity and could be tried as an
adult
Entrapment: police use deception to make the
defendant commit a crime that they would not have
committed
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Justification Defense: the defendant admit they
committed the crime, but had been justified in
doing it:
Consent: the victim gave them legal consent
Self-defense: they acted with reasonable belief that they
were in eminent danger of death or harm and had no
reasonable means of escape
 Stand your ground: in your own home you are not
required to attempt to escape, and you are allowed to
defend your self
 Duress: defendant was forced to commit the crime as the
only means to prevent death to self of others
 Necessity: the only way to prevent something worse was
to commit the crime
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Bars prosecution if legal actions take too long
to start after the commitment of the crime
The time periods differ based on the crime and
the state
Some jurisdictions have statutes of limitations
for serious felonies (most do not)
No jurisdictions have a statute of limitations for
murder
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Means the beginning stages but not completed
crimes
Accessory before the fact: help prepare for the crime
but did not commit it
 Accessory after the fact: helps the felon after they
have committed the crime
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Attempt: three elements
Person must intend to commit the crime
 Person must take steps towards committing the
crime
 The actual crime is not committed
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Conspiracy: an agreement between two or
more people to commit a crime
Solicitation: asking, ordering or encouraging
someone to commit the crime for you
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Contempt of court: show disrespect, disrupt, or
fail to follow a court order
Perjury: lying under oath
Witness Tampering: threatening or bribing a
witness to change their testimony
Jury Tampering: threatening or bribing a
member of the jury
Obstruction of Justice: interference with the
orderly administration of justice
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King Hammurabi three Criminal Justice
accomplishments
Created a code of laws
 Posted the law for all to see
 Put the laws in the language of the people
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Two concepts
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Presumed innocent
Providing evidence to prove guilt or innocence
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Told the people the code came from the gods
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He did this so the people would believe that it came
from a higher authority and they would respect
them and follow them
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Roman 12 tables
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This was a list of laws meant to protect the poor
This would become the foundation of all Roman law
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William the I (England )
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Separated civil courts from criminal courts
Established the eyer (traveling judges)
This established the term stare decisis ( let the
decision stand, they used prior cases to determine
future cases)
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Our law is based on
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Common law (case law)
Statutes
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