Chapter 6: Criminal Law Page 1 of 4

Chapter 6: Criminal Law

Criminal law establishes duties the violation of which is a societal wrong against the whole community. Public law.
It is designed to prevent harm to society by defining criminal conduct and establishing punishment for such conduct.

NATURE OF CRIMES
➢ Crime - any act or omission forbidden by public law in the interest of protecting society and made punishable by
the government in a judicial proceeding brought by it.
• Punishment: fines, imprisonment, probation, & death.
• Prohibited and punished on grounds of public policy, which may include the protection and safeguarding
of government (treason), human life (murder), private property (larceny), deterrence, rehabilitation, and
retribution.
• There are no federal common law crimes, all federal crimes are statutory.

Essential Elements
➢ Actus Reus - wrongful or overt act. All nonmental elements of a crime. Including:
• the physical act must be performed
• the consequences of that act
• the circumstances under which it must be performed
➢ Mens Rea - criminal intent or mental fault. Refers to the mental elements of a crime.
• Most common law and some statutory crimes require subjective fault, other crimes require objective fault,
while some statuatory crimes require no fault at all.
○ Subjective fault: Purposeful, knowing, and reckless
A person acts purposefully or knowingly if his object is to engage in the prohibited
conduct or to cause the prohibited result.
A person acts knowingly if he is aware that his conduct is prohibited and prohibited
consequence is practically certain to result.
A person acts recklessly if he consciously disregards a substantial & unjustifiable risk-
that his conduct is prohibited & will cause a prohibited result.
○ Objective fault involves a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person
would observe under the circumstances.
Criminal statutes refer by such term as carelessness or negligence.
Occurs when a person should be aware of a substantial and justifiable risk (involuntary
manslaughter, carelessly driving, issuing a bad check)
• Many regulatory statutes have dispensed the mental element of crime by imposing criminal liability
without fault.
○ Sale of adulterated food, sale of alcoholic beverages to a minor.
○ Since they deal with health and safety, they impose only fines for violations.

Classification
➢ From the standpoint of the seriousness of the offense, crime is also classified as
➢ Felony - a serious crime - any crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the penitentiary
➢ Misdemeanor - a less serious crime - any crime punishable by a fine or imprisonment in a local jail

Vicarious Liability
➢ Vicarious liability - liability imposed for acts of employees if the employer directed, participated in, or approved
of the acts. Is a liability imposed upon one person for the acts of another
• Employers are vicariously liable for any authorized criminal act of their employees if the employer
directed, participated in, or approved of the act. (Sherman Trust Act)
• Employers may be criminally liable under the liability without fault statutes for certain unauthorized acts
of their employees.

Liability of a Corporation
➢ a corporation may be liable for violations of statutes imposing liabilities without fault. They face fines, not
imprisonment.

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME
➢ Definition nonviolent crime involving deceit, corruption, or breach of trust.
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➢ Less specific - Crime committed by a person respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.
➢ Narrow - Fraud or deceit practiced through misrepresentation to gain an unfair advantage.
➢ Includes crimes committed by individuals (embezzlement and forgery) & crimes committed on behalf of
corporation (commercial bribery, product safety, & health crimes, false advertising, and anit-trust violations).
➢ Fraud or deceit practiced through misrepresentation to gain an unfair advantage.
➢ Computer crime (cybercrime) - use of a computer to commit a crime. It is best categorized based on whether
the computer was the instrument or the target of the crime.
• Instrument – distribution of child pornography, money laundering, illegal gambling, copyright
infringement, illegal communication of trade secret.
• Target – attacks a computer’s confidentiality, integrity, or availability.
○ Theft or destruction of proprietary information, vandalism, denial of service, website defacing
and interference, and implanting malicious codes.
• Spam – unsolicited commercial electronic mail.

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)

• Federal law intended to stop organized crime from infiltrating legitimate businesses
• Purpose: terminating the infiltration of organized crime into legitimate business.

CRIMES AGAINST BUSINESS

Larceny
Larceny - trespassory taking and carrying away of personal property of another with the intent to deprive the victim
permanently of the property. Applies only when a person takes personal property from another without the other’s
consent. Thief unlawfully possess the property.

Embezzlement
➢ Embezzlement - the fraudulent conversion (taking) of another’s property by a person who was in lawful
possession of the property.
➢ Conversion is any act that seriously interferes with the owner’s rights in the property.
➢ Intended to prevent individuals who are lawfully in possession of another’s property from taking such property
for their own use. It must interfere with the significantly with the owner’s rights to the property.

False Pretenses
➢ False pretenses - Obtaining the title to the property of another by making materially false representations of an
existing fact, with knowledge of their falsity and with the intend to defraud.
➢ Test of deception (subjective): The test is satisfied when the victims is actually deceived
➢ Mail fraud – does not require the victim to be actually defrauded. Requires the defendant to use mail.
➢ Wire fraud – prohibits the transmittal by wire, radio, or TV in interstate or foreign commerce.
➢ Bank fraud – to execute a scheme to defraud the financial institution.

Robbery
➢ Robbery - committing larceny with the use or threat of force. It is larceny with the additional elements:
• the property is taken directly from the victim or in the immediate presence of the victim
• the act is accomplished through either force or the threat of force, which need not to be against the person
whom the property is taken.

Burglary
➢ Burglary - Breaking and entering the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony. Under most
modern statutes,
• (1) an entry (2) into a building (3) with the intent to commit a felony in the building.
➢ Statutory definitions omit 3 elements of the common law crime:
• (1)The building need not to be a dwelling house. (2) The entry need not be at night. (3) The entry need
not to be technical breaking.
Extortion and Bribery
➢ Extortion - (blackmail) is generally held to be the making of threats for the purpose of obtaining money or
property. Making threats to obtain money or property. Occurs only if the defendant actually causes the victim to
give up money or property.
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➢ Bribery - is the act of offering money or property to a public official to influence the official’s decision. (The
crime is committed when the illegal offer is made, whether accepted or not). Offering money or property to a
public official to influence the official’s decision
➢ Commercial Bribery - is the use of bribery to acquire new business, obtain secret information or processes, or
receive kickbacks.

Forgery
Intentional falsification (or false making) of a document with the intent to defraud.

Bad Checks
Writing a check on an account containing funds insufficient to cover the check. Presumed if the issuer had no account
at the bank or if the check was not paid for lack of funds and the issuer failed to pay the check within 10 days.

DEFENSES TO CRIMES

Defense of Person or Property

➢ individuals may use reasonable force to protect themselves, other individuals, and their property. Enables a
person to commit, without criminal liability. Assault, battery, manslaughter, or murder (never reasonable).

Duress
➢ A person who is threatened with immediate, serious bodily harm to himself or another unless he engages in
criminal activity has the valid defense of duress to criminal conduct other than murder.

Mistake of Fact
➢ If a person reasonably believes the fact surrounding his conduct would not constitute a crime, then the law will
treat the facts as he reasonably believes them to be. Honest and reasonable belief that conduct is not criminal
➢ Mistake of fact will justify the defendant’s conduct.

Entrapment
➢ Arises when a law enforcement official induces a person to commit a crime when that person would not have
done so without the persuasion of the police official. Applies only to government officials and agents.
➢ inducement by a law enforcement official to commit a crime

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Steps in Criminal Prosecution

generally include arrest, booking, formal notice of charges, preliminary hearing to determine probable cause,
indictment or information, arraignment, and trial

Fourth Amendment
protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures

Fifth Amendment
protects persons against self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and being charged with a capital crime except by grand
jury indictment

Sixth Amendment
provides the accused with the right to a speedy and public trial, the opportunity to confront witnesses, a process for
obtaining witnesses, and the right to counsel
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CHAPTER SUMMARY

Nature of Crimes Definition any act or omission forbidden by public law

Essential Elements
• Actus Reus wrongful or overt act
• Mens Rea criminal intent or mental fault
Classification
• Felony a serious crime
• Misdemeanor a less serious crime
Vicarious Liability liability imposed for acts of employees if the employer
directed, participated in, or approved of the acts
Liability of a Corporation under certain circumstances a corporation may be
convicted of crimes and punished by fines
White-Collar Crime Definition nonviolent crime involving deceit, corruption, or breach of trust
Computer Crime use of a computer to commit a crime
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) Federal law
intended to stop organized crime from infiltrating legitimate businesses
Crimes Against Business Larceny trespassory taking and carrying away of personal property of another with
the intent to deprive the victim permanently of the property
Embezzlement taking of another’s property by a person who was in lawful
possession of the property
False Pretenses obtaining title to property of another by means of representation
one knows to be materially false; made with intent to defraud
Robbery committing larceny with the use or threat of force
Burglary under most modern statutes, an entry into a building with the intent to
commit a felony
Extortion making threats to obtain money or property
Bribery offering money or property to a public official to influence the official’s
decision
Forgery intentional falsification of a document to defraud
Bad Checks knowingly issuing a check without funds sufficient to cover the check
Defenses to Crimes Defense of Person or Property individuals may use reasonable force to protect
themselves, other individuals, and their property
Duress coercion by threat of serious bodily harm; a defense to criminal conduct
other than murder
Mistake of Fact honest and reasonable belief that conduct is not criminal
Entrapment inducement by a law enforcement official to commit a crime
Criminal Procedure Steps in Criminal Prosecution generally include arrest, booking, formal notice of
charges, preliminary hearing to determine probable cause, indictment or
information, arraignment, and trial
Fourth Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable searches and
seizures
Fifth Amendment protects persons against self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and
being charged with a capital crime except by grand jury indictment
Sixth Amendment provides the accused with the right to a speedy and public trial,
the opportunity to confront witnesses, a process for obtaining witnesses, and the
right to counsel