Criminal law Felony Sentence over a year Misdemeanor minor crime Sentence in jail up to one year Action in conjunction of state of mind Must have both at same time Action Act State of mind Ment Rea X hates Y Y wants to kill X and tries but a dog jumps out and he swerves and hits X Not a crime cause he didn t have the state of mind at the time Defenses to criminal action Infancy under 18 not an adult If you commited a crime under 18 you can claim infancy cause didn t have the intent state of mind or knowledge cause infancy No maturity Intoxication Voluntary intoxication is never a defense Involuntary intoxication someone put something in your drink can maybe work Insanity So many different standards Not being able to tell the difference between right and wrong Duress an act you normally wouldn t do but for a threat that is imminent and relate to serious bodily harm or death I want you to rob the bank I have your mom tied up with a gun to her head and I will kill her if you don t do it Must be that day but I m going to do it in a week cause you should tell police Cant argue if you put yourself in harms way Was going to rob and bailed and now partner is going to kill your family Statute of limitations no statue on murder Time they have to convict you Over time memories and credibility fade and becomes unfair Time period a state has to prove its case against you Immunity what the state gives you in exchange for your testimony You have a 5th amendment right not to testify You re a small fish and they want your boss so they give you immunity to take away your criminal liability No immunity give contempt aka hold you till you testify Constitutional Rights 4th amendment gives you reasonable expectation of privacy Police cant search or seize you without a warrant Protection from unreasonable search and seize 5th due process Right of no self incrimination Right of double jeopardy not tried twice for some crime Find gun you killed with next day but cant try you twice 6th guarantees you a speedy trial Can t lock you away for years Lets you have a jury trial and public trial Lets you confront witness cross examination and right to an attorney council 8th prohibits cruel and unusual punishment Bail post money or property to be released from jail If you leave country you forfeit what you paid as bail Capital punishment is not cruel and unusual Violation of amendments Exclusionary rule violation of 4th amendment Find drugs illegally without warrant or probable cause so any evidence they got should be excluded Way to protect against police Maranda Rule Rights Set of rules they need to tell you when you are in Custody Telling you what your constitutional rights are when in custody I want and Attorney They can not question you any more at that point Anything you say after that would be excluded Steps in a Criminal Case Always starts with an arrest taken into custody Booking get a call take your photo and fingerprint Initial appearance go before magistrate and he s the one to read the charges of why you have been arrested and he sets bail Grand jury if there s enough evidence for the charges to be brought Indictment formal charges Arraignment plead guilty or not guilty Plea Bargain if you agree then usually guilty talk about sentencing if don t then trial for guilty or not guilty and then if guilty the sentencing again Minimum sentences go to jail for five years if crime with gun Should know minimums cause if plea bargain says I recommend 3 years but you have to get 5 you shouldn t take the plea