our criminal law chapter 5. criminal law lesson 5-1

Our Criminal Law

Chapter 5

Criminal Law

Lesson 5-1

Goals

Define the elements present in all crimesDescribe crimes that commonly occur in

the business environment

What are crimes?

Punishable offense against societyDefined by statutes (laws enacted by state

or federal legislatures)Society (through police/prosecutors)

attempt to identify, arrest, prosecute, and punish the criminal

Criminal and civil offenses are not the sameCivil - against just the victim (not society)

Elements of a Crime

Before anyone can be convicted of a crime, 3 elements must be proved at trial

1. a duty to do or not to do a certain thing

2. an act or omission in violation of that duty

3. criminal intent

Duty

State statutes usually describe dutyLess frequent - federal statutes or city

ordinancesTo establish duty in trial, the prosecutor

cites a statute to the judge

Violation of the Duty

The specific conduct that violates the statute is the criminal act

All states have statutes that makes battery a crime “the intentional causing of bodily harm to

another person”Prove?

Testimony of a witness

Criminal Intent

Means the defendant: intended to commit the act and intended to do evil

Deliberately punch someoneAccidentally fall and hit someone

Criminal Intent (cont)

Can Corporations form criminal intent like humans can?YES

If the criminal act benefits the organization, most courts will find criminal intent

When a corporate employee commits a crime, can officers be held criminally responsible?YES Liable under the doctrine of vicarious

criminal liability


Vicarious Criminal Liability Substituted criminal liability

The criminal intent of the employee is used as a substitute for the requirements of criminal intent for an officer

The president knows of dangerous working conditions but does not report themHomicide


Related to age (early common law)Under 10 – below the age of reason

Incapable of having the criminal intent necessaryOver 14 – know the difference between right

and wrongAccountable as adults

Ages 7-14 criminal intent has to be provedToday, most states fix the age to 18

(range from 16-19)


One must have sufficient mental capacity to know the difference between right and wrong Insane person

Not held responsibleVoluntary intoxication or use of drugs does

not relieve a person


Not all crimes require criminal intent Less serious crimes where being sentenced to jail

is unlikely Traffic offenses

Exception – extreme carelessness 80mph through a neighborhood drunk and kill

someone You may not have intended to speed or do evil So careless it could be treated as criminal intent Vehicular homicide


EmbezzlementTaking of another person’s property or

money by a person to whom it has been entrusted

Criminal Conduct

Crimes against:1. A person (assault and battery, kidnapping, rape,

murder)2. Property (theft, robbery embezzlement)3. The government and administration of justice

(treason, tax invasion, perjury)4. Public peace and order (rioting, disorderly conduct,

illegal speeding)5. Realty (burglary, arson, criminal trespass)6. Consumers (fraudulent sale of securities, violation of

pure food and drug laws)7. Decency (bigamy, obscenity, prostitution)

Classification of Crimes

1. Felonies• Crime punishable by confinement for more

than a year in a state prison or by a fine or more than $1,000, or both – or even death

Murder, kidnapping, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, embezzlement, forgery, theft of large sums, and perjury

Perjury• Crime of lying under oath

Classification of Crimes (cont)

2. Misdemeanor• Less serious crime • Punishable by confinement in a county or

city jail for less than one year, by fine, or both

Disorderly conduct and speeding• Infractions

Minor misdemeanor Can only be fined (no risk of jail)

• Parking violations and littering

Business-Related Crimes

White-collar crimes Offenses committed in the business world No not involve force or violence Do not cause injury to people or cause physical

damage to property Examples

Evading income taxes, defrauding consumers, cheating with false weighing machines, conspiring to fix prices, false insurance claims, false advertising, committing bribery, engaging in political corruption, and embezzling

Fines and short prison sentences because no physical violence

Business-Related Crimes (cont)

Antitrust LawsLaws that prohibit competing companies

from price fixing or dividing up sales regions


Larceny (theft) The wrongful taking of money or personal property belonging

to someone else, with the intent to deprive the owner of possession

Shoplifting, pickpocketing, and purse snatching Felony or Misdemeanor (determined by value of property)

Robbery (variation of larceny) The taking of property from another’s person or immediate

presence, against the victim’s will, by force or by causing fear Burglary (variation of larceny)

Entering a building without permission when intending to commit a crime

FELONIES


Receiving stolen property the one who receives stolen property is known as a fence

False Pretense – One who obtains money or other property by lying about a past or existing fact (type of fraud)

Forgery – falsely making or materially altering a writing to defraud another (felony)

Bribery – unlawfully offering or giving anything of value to influence performance of an official (accepting a bribe is also criminal activity)


Computer crime Extortion (blackmail) – obtaining money or

other property from a person by wrongful use of force, fear, or the power of office

Conspiracy – an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime The conspiracy is a separate crime from the crime

that the parties plan to commit Arson – The willful and illegal burning of a

building

our criminal law chapter 5. criminal law lesson 5-1

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