Essay Sample on Criminal Law: Rules, Punishments and Defenses

Introduction

Criminal law is made up of rules and regulations that are applied to crime breakers as a way of minimizing crime occurrence in society. Therefore, the main focus of criminal law is to set punishment and define crimes. These laws classify different types of conducts as crimes and offer a way forward for those defenders. Any individual who violates laws passed by a state, local leaders or federal government may be imprisoned, fined for the crime or be on probation. (Brown, 2004)

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Prosecutors act in place of government to ensure the laws are followed and offers punishment for any individual who violates any law. Different states or countries have a separate statute for crimes. The prosecutor cannot rule out that the crime has been committed unless he/ she proves by use of each element that the defendant is guilty of the crime for them to be convicted. (Brown, 2004)

Every person has rights that protect them, so Prosecutors should follow a precise procedure while locating any activity related to the crime in a manner that they do not violate the suspect's rights. In a case where an individual is convicted for a theft case, the officer goes ahead to questioning the individual concerning the crime. However, the constitution, in the 5th and 6th amendments protects individuals from unlawful interrogation. (Williams & Baker, 1983) Defendants are also protected from cruel punishment in the 8th amendment.

Any crime is categorized into seven elements which include mens rea commonly known as criminal intent, actus reus which refers to a criminal act, the third element consists of the first and second elements co-occurring, causation, references, see also and external links. Mens rea and actus reus are the most used elements. Conduct is a word which reflects intent elements and any criminal act. A crime can be voluntary or involuntary. (Brown, 2004) An optional crime is one that is performed voluntarily by the defendant. Clara, a high school girl, gets pregnant and goes to live with her grandmother in the village. Clara delivers her baby secretly in the bathroom and decides to through away the baby in the toilet. Clara should be convicted of intentional murder since she did the act willingly. (Brown, 2004)

Involuntary crime is one that is done without any intention from the defendant. For instance, John goes to a club and get himself too drunk. He decides to drive himself home, and on his way, he collides with another car, and two of the occupant dies. John gets drunk voluntary, but the accident he caused is involuntary. In this situation, John can be convicted of driving while he is drunk since that is the act which led to the accident. (Williams & Baker, 1983)

Criminal conduct refers to behaviours that break any of the law implemented and a penalty for committing that crime is applicable. A person can never be convicted for thinking of committing a crime. Oftenly criminal conduct is witnessed in not-for-profits. Not- for- profits experiences criminal conduct such as harassment and stalking, property damage, embezzling and stealing, sexual assaults, fraud, traffic violations and even when one fails to report cases like child abuse. (Warr, 2002)

An Ex Post Facto clause tries to illegalize crimes that were legal by the time they were committed, it also tampers with a penalty imposed for a particular case and also tries to make conviction of a case easier by changing evidence rules. (Logan, 1997) Ex Post Clause can be applied as a defence to prevent an increase in federal minimum or mandatory sentencing after a crime has been committed by the defendant. It is so because any government should follow the rules and laws it implements and not to keep referring to what was passed a long time ago. It ensures a uniform judgment of all courts, and it is a way of expressing fairness to everyone. (Logan, 1997)

Tort refers to an act that is wrongful, which causes an injury or tampers with another individuals property. It is a civil proceeding of the court. In this kind of case proceedings, the criminal is referred to as the defendant, and the plaintiff is the name given to a victim. The plaintiff issues the defendant with the charges of the crime committed and in case the plaintiff wins the case, the defendant is to cater for any damage he imposed on the plaintiff. (Hall, 1943) A good example of a tort case is when john knocks down Mary as a result of not looking where he is going. Mary can sue john for the damage he caused in order for her to be compensated.

Crime, on the other hand, is an act that violates laws amended by the federal government or states. A crime undergoes criminal proceeding where the individual accused of the crime is the defendant and the person affected by this wrongful act is the victim. Unlike in tort, the government issues the charges to the defendant. In case the defendant loses the case, he/she is to be jailed, and fines are paid to the government. (Hall, 1943) For example, when Linda is caught selling cocaine to the jack is a criminal act since cocaine selling is a crime.

However, moral wrong is an act that violates another person's ethics. No legal action applies to an individual who commits moral wrongs. This kind of crime tries to demonstrate the perfectionist of a person, unlike a criminal act that aims at showing the bad moral of an individual. (Hall, 1943)

Solicitatizing someone to commit a crime refers to enticing, encouraging, commanding or requesting someone to commit a crime with the aim of commissioning the offence. Whereas conspiracy is a mutual agreement of two or more people, who plan on committing a future crime. It is a crime grouped as inchoate since it doesn't matter if the crime has been committed or not. In conspiracy, a conviction can be made on individuals even when the murder they were planning to do has not occurred.

For instance, two ladies intend to rob a bank and decides to tell a taxi driver to drive them to the bank. Since the taxi driver has no information on the intended crime, he cannot be charged with conspiracy crime. In my point of view, I disagree with the use of unilateral methods as a way of conspiracy conviction since the intent to commit the crime is absent. (Williams & Baker, 1983) There are four main goals of any criminal law, as illustrated below:

First, criminal law deters and discourage individuals from performing unlawful acts. Secondly, it offers protection to society by secluding harmful and dangerous people from the community for disciplinary action. Thirdly, the criminal law punishes individuals who are caught violating the law. Last but not least, criminal law offers fair punishment for all wrong doors, irrespective of their social status. (Williams & Baker, 1983)

References

Brown, D. K. (2004). Cost-benefit analysis in criminal law. Calif. L. Rev., 92, 323. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1339&context=californialawreview

Hall, J. (1943). Interrelations of Criminal Law and Torts: II. Colum. L. Rev., 43, 967. Retrieved from http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2404&context=facpub

Logan, W. A. (1997). The ex post facto clause and the jurisprudence of punishment. Am. Crim. L., Rev., 35, 1261.Retrieved from https://ir.law.fsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1203&context=articles

Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/googlebooks/images/kennedy/insert_link.png

Williams, G. L., & Baker, D. J. (1983). Textbook of criminal law (Vol. 231). London: Stevens. Retrieved from https://norek.pw/nuc3nxqa6xa.pdf