Truth and Crime- Unit 1

what is true crime

the non-fiction genre that examines and narrates (alleged) real-life crimes (possibly for monetary gain, entertainment, etc.)

true crime is the overlap of

• law/legal studies

• narratology

• media studies

• psychology

what percentage of Americans enjoy/consume true crime

57-60%

narrative

the representation of an event or series of events

event

a story or [fabula], must be an action, not static

representation or [suzjet]

recounting or telling of events

narrative discourse

the method by which a story is told (encompassing the structure, language, and devices used to present a sequence of events, convey meaning, and engage an audience

narrativity

the sense that a story is being told

nonreferential (fictitious) narrative

• “creates the world to which it refers to by referring to it”

• does not need to be real world

• is unverifiable and complete

referential (non-fiction) narrative

• subject to judgement of truth or falsity

• affirms accuracy and does not claim knowledge of what cannot be known (like thoughts)

• is verifiable and incomplete

signs of fictionality

• bi-level structure

• presentation of consciousness

• doubling the narrative

bi-level structure of a story

fiction separates the level of the story (events told) from the level of the discourse (how) in a self-contained way

presentation of consciousness

fiction can represent inner thoughts, feelings, and private consciousness of characters without proof or mediation

doubling the narrative

fiction splits the voice telling the story into two distinct entities: the real-world author and the narrator

muthos or mythos

plot

constituent events

events that are necessary for the story (driving it forward), where we see “what the protagonist is made of”, future depends on these moments

supplementary events

events that do not drive the story forward and without them the story would still remain intact, (sometimes we question why these are included, why was the author compelled to include them in the narrative)

competing narratives

the narratives that the prosecution and defense bring to a case are “competing” (even though they are the same story or retelling of events”

novels

semblance or illusion of reality that we don’t take in conditional sense (but accepts as reality when we are absorbed in it)

emplotment

the teller’s imposition of a coherent temporal order on a succession of events we perceive as in the past, with a view to structing them into a unified story with a beginning, middle, and end

post hoc ergo propter hoc

“After this, therefore because of this”

diegesis

telling of a story, the relay of information in a fictional work (film, novel, etc.) through a narrative with a narrator

mimesis

showing, not telling, directly represented, acting

extradiegetic level

external to any diegesis (narrator not part of story universe)

intradiegetic level

level of the characters, their thoughts and actions (narrator inside story)

metadiegetic/hypodiegetic level

diegesis that is embedded in another one (a story within a story)

homodiegetic narrator

a character telling their own story

heterodiegetic narrator

narrator not a character in the main story, but in a way hovers above it and knows everything about it (ex: nick carraway in The Great Gatsby)

narrative blueprint

preordained forensic story (mold of a legal story that every criminal justice system provides)

deviance

behavior that violates social norms and arouses negative social reactions (ex: lateness, rudeness, inappropriate clothing, etc.)

crime

behavior that is considered so serious that it violates formal laws prohibiting such behavior (any behavior can be made a crime)

elements of a crime

• [A] Actus Rectus →

• w/

• [C] Concurrence → [D] Causation → [E] harm

• or

• [B] Mens Rea →

Mens Rea

mental state, blameworthiness, “guilty mind” that accompanies a criminal act

Actus Rectus

• 1) Human conduct (speech, attempt, doing, failure to do are all considered conduct)

• 2) Voluntary or Controllability (not a reflex)

Concurrence

act and state of mind for any given crime must occur at the same time

factual causation

• purpose is to limit scope of factual causation

• intervening cause (a new intervening event breaks the chain of causation (human agency, natural causes)

Foreseeability

an actor is liable for the foreseeable, but not the unforeseeable consequences of his or her act

harm

loss, disadvantage, or injury to a victim

Inchoate Crimes

crimes of preparing for or seeking to commit another crime (solicitation, accomplice liability, conspiracy, attempt, etc.)

Defenses

Defense is a factor that justifies or excuses the actor’s responsibility

Justification

the act itself is not wrong (self-defense)

excuse

the actor cannot be held fully accountable (insanity, young age, intoxication)

substantive criminal law

defines the crime, relies on statutes (legistaltion)

procedural criminal law

• defines how the official crime “story” may be investigated and constructed

• limitations of state power

• relies on courts (precedent)

• set of rules governing the process by which criminal law is implemented by various government agencies

• balances the goals of the criminal justice system (public safety and individual rights)

burden of proof

prosecutors carry the weight of proving every statutory element

reasonable suspicion

required for traffic stops and “stop and frisks”

probable cause

required to conduct a search, make an arrest, or obtain a warrant

beyond reasonable doubt

no other logical explanation that defendant committed that crime; not 100% absolute certainty, but rather a moral certainty or a firm, reasoned conviction of guilt

admissible evidence

trails rely on rules of evidence and constitutional protections

• examples: Hearsay Prohibition, illegal searches, chain of custody, etc.

Hearsay Prohibition

out-of-court statement offered by a witness to prove truth of the matter asserted