INTRO TO CRIMINAL LAW (1)

(INTRO) What is a crime?

Conduct that is prohibited by law and is subject to penal sanction (like imprisonment or a fine)

• In Canada some EX are:

  • Theft

  • Assault

  • Murder

  • Impaired driving

(INTRO) What is Criminal Law?

• Body of law that deals with conduct that is determined as harmful to society as a whole that is prohibited by statute and prosecuted and punished by the government

(INTRO) Criminal law defines…

• Acts or omissions are against the law and sets out the available penalties

• The rules for making arrests, obtaining evidence, and presenting evidence in court

(INTRO) What is the Criminal Code?

• Statue passed and amended by the federal government

• Outlines what actions are categorized as crime,

• how offenses are prosecuted,

• and what penalties are imposed

(INTRO) What is the Judge Made Law?

• While the code sets out offenses, judges interpret them

• They rely on legal precedents

• Judges expand definitions of  a crime to cover behavior not specifically addressed by the drafters of the code

(INTRO) What are the two elements of crime?

• Actus Reus and Mens Rea or both together = Crime

(INTRO) What is Actus Reus

• Latin term meaning guilty act

• Consists of specific action, failure to act (omission)

  • Actus reus of a crime must be voluntary:

  • Actions over which an accused has no control are not are NOT actions which result in criminal liability

    • EX. A person gets a heart attack while driving a car and crashes into a another car, this person did NOT VOLUNTARY commit the actus reus offence of dangerous driving as they didn’t not plan it or insisted on doing it

(INTRO) What is a specific Action in Actus Reus

• Committing a act that is prohibited by law

  • EX: Punching sm1 in the face (S.265 of CC)

(INTRO) What is Omission in Actus Reus

• Failure to do something that is considered to be one’s duty (Not doing something that youre supposed to do)

  • EX: A parents duty to provide the necessities of life to a child under the age 16 (S. 215 of CC)

(INTRO) What is Mens Rea?

• Latin term meaning guilty mind

• Refers to intending to commit the act but some offenses need different “states of mind” (Categories of Mens Rea)

• It is irrelevant if the person knew or didn’t know the act was illegal

  • IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NOT A EXCUSE

  • If a person doesn’t intend to commit the illegal act, then they may not be guilty of a crime.

    • For example, although it is assault to hit someone, if the hit is NOT intended, it can be not assault

What and how many types of Mens Rea are there?

• There are 3 types of Mens Rea or there are different types of mental states for different criminal offenses

• MAIN 3:

  • Intention - Intends to commit the Actus Reus

  • Wilful blindness - person knows the possibility of illegality but chooses not to ask questions or investigate the situation

  • Criminal negligence - while this person did not realize the consequences of their actions, a reasonable person should have

OTHERS:

• Intending to cause death -

• Knowledge of likely consequences

• Negligence

• Recklessness

(INTRO) What are STRICT AND ABSOLUTE LIABILITY OFFENSES?

• Guilty even though they did not intend to break the law

• Some criminal offenses don’t need the Crown to prove the “state of mind” of the accused

(INTRO) What is the purpose of STRICT AND ABSOLUTE LIABILITY OFFENSES?

• These offenses are aimed to deterring risky behavior and at stopping harm before it happens or becomes worse

• EX: Traffic offenses (speeding)

• Environment Offences (pollution)