January 30 2013 Exam 1 Chapters 7 11 Chapter 7 Criminal Law and Cyber Crime Civil Law and Criminal Law o Civil Law Duties that exist between persons or between persons and their governments o Criminal Law Crime Wrong against society proclaimed in a statute and punishable by a fine an or imprisonment or death Offenses against society as a whole Prosecuted by a public official district attorney or attorney general Major Differences between Civil Law and Criminal Law not by victims Issue Party Who Brings Suit Wrongful Act Burden of Proof Verdict Remedy Civil Law Person who suffered harm victim Causing harm to a person or to a person s property Preponderance of the evidence must convince court that based on evidence the plaintiff is true majority typically Damages to compensate for the harm or a decree to achieve an equitable result Criminal Law State Violating a statute that prohibits some type of activity Beyond a reasonable doubt Unanimous almost always Punishment fine imprisonment or death Civil Tort Lawsuit and Criminal Prosecution for the Same Act Classification of Crimes than one year for up to a year Criminal Liability o Felonies Serious crimes punishable by death or by imprisonment for more o Misdemeanors Less serious crimes punishable by a fine or by confinement Petty offenses Subset of misdemeanors minor violations o Elements that must exist for a person to be convicted of a crime 1 Performance of a prohibited act 2 Specified state of mind or intent on the part of the actor Must be concurrence between act and intent The Criminal Act o Most crimes require act of commission person must do something in order to be accused of a crime o Actus reus Prohibited or guilty act State of Mind o Mens rea Wrongful mental state Typically required to establish criminal liability o Criminal Negligence or Recklessness Criminally reckless Consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk Criminal negligence Mental state in which defendant deviates from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use under the same circumstances Defendant should have foreseen the risk o Strict Liability and Overcriminalization Ex Environmental illegal drugs public health safety and welfare Corporations can be fined and denied certain legal privileges ex Corporate Criminal Liability license o Liability of Corporate Entity Corporations liable for crimes committed by agent and employees They must have been able to prevent the act or there was authorized consent to or knowledge of the acts o Liability of the Corporate Officers and Directors Personally liable for all acts May be liable for acts by employees under their supervision Responsible corporate officer doctrine Court may impose criminal liability on a corporate officer despite whether he or she participated in directed or even knew about the violation Types of Crimes Violent Crime Crimes against persons o Cause others to suffer harm death sexual assault rape etc o Robbery Taking of money personal property or any other article of value from a person by means of force or fear Aggravated With a deadly weapon Property Crime Most Common Burglary Breaking and entering the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony o Larceny Unlawful taking and carrying away of someone else s personal property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession Grand larceny Felony Petit larceny Misdemeanor o Arson Willing and malicious burning of a building or other personal property owned by another person Designed to protect human life o Receiving Stolen Goods Intent to deprive the owner of the goods the legal rights and liabilities of another o Obtaining Goods by False Pretenses o Forgery Fraudulent making or altering of any writing in a way that changes Public Order Crime o Public drunkenness prostitution gambling illegal drug use o Victimless crimes normally harm only the offender White Collar Crime Crimes occurring in the business context Illegal act or series of acts committed by an individual or business entity using some nonviolent means to obtain a personal or business advantage o Embezzlement When a person entrusted with another person s property of funds fraudulently appropriates that property or those funds Not larceny or robbery o Mail and Wire Fraud o Bribery Offering to give something of value to a person in an attempt to influence that person who usually is but not always a public official Crimes 1 Bribery of Public Officials 2 Commercial Bribery Corrupt dealings between private persons or businesses 3 Bribery of Foreign Officials Crime only occurs when bribe is offered o Bankruptcy Fraud Allows individuals and businesses to be relieved of oppressive debt o Insider Trading When individuals who obtains inside information about plans of a publicly listed corporation Violation of securities law o Theft of Other Intellectual Property Pirating Organized Crime o Money Laundering Revenues over a billion Difficulties depositing cash o RICO Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act Makes it a federal crime to 1 Use income obtained from Racketeer activity to purchase any interest in an enterprise 2 Acquire or maintain interest in an enterprise through Racketeering activities 3 Conduct or participate in affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity 4 Conspire to do any of the above Defenses to Criminal Liability Justifiable Use of Force o Self defense Best known defense o Defense of one s dwelling defense of one s other property prevention of a crime o Deadly force Likely to result in death or serious bodily harm o Non deadly force Force that appears necessary to prevent the imminent use o Many states are expanding the situations in which the use of deadly force can of criminal force be justified Necessity Criminal defendants can be relieved of liability by showing that a criminal act was necessary to prevent an even greater harm Insanity Person who suffers from a mental illness may be incapable of the state of mine required to commit a crime o Does not enable a person to avoid imprisonment mental institution o M Naghten Test Criminal defendant is not responsible if at the time of the offense they did not know the nature and quality of the act or did not know that the act was wrong o Rarely used usually not successful Mistake o Mistake of fact Can excuse criminal responsibility if it negates the mental state necessary to commit a crime Ex Walking away with someone else s suitcase no knowledge of it o