Intro/Criminal Law

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from Legal Studies lecture notes.

Legal rules

Established and enforced by a governing body

Non-legal rules

established by families, schools, or social groups, which are not enforced by the legal system

C.A.K.E.S

Changeable, Acceptable, Known, Enforceable, Stable.

Changeable law

Laws must adapt to societal needs over time.

Acceptable law

Laws should align with community values

Known law

Community must be aware of laws and responsibilities.

Enforceable law

Laws require compliance and enforcement. e.g. police

Stable law

Laws must maintain consistency to ensure order.

Process for a bill to become a law

Bill > First House, Intro and first reading > Second reading, members debate bill > third reading > second house, intro and first reading > second reading, members debate the bill > third reading > bill passes both houses > royal assent by governor > a law

Royal assent

Formal approval by a monarch for a bill.

Magistrates court

Handles less serious offenses, known as summary offences.

County court

Deals with serious offences before a judge and jury. e.g. rape, arson

Supreme court

Handles the most serious criminal offences. e.g. murder, manslaughter

Court of appeal

Hears appeals on previous court decisions.

Appeal

Challenge a court decision based on legal grounds.

Criminal law

an area of law that protects the community by establishing and defining what crimes are

Mens Rea

a guilty mind - the person knows that the act or omission was wrong

Actus Reus

a wrongful act - they know what they were doing was wrong but they did it anyway

Strict liability crime

no mens rea is required to be proved e.g. speeding

Summary offences

Less serious crimes, decided in magistrates court.

Indictable offences

Serious crimes heard in county or supreme court.

Summary Offences Act 1966

Victorian law for less serious crimes, e.g. traffic offenses

Criminal sanctions

a penalty imposed by a court for a criminal offense

Common law

Law developed through court decisions and precedents.

What is a crime?

An act or omission that breaks an existing law, is harmful to an individual or society, and is punishable by law.

Crimes Act 1958

Indicates defenses and criminal law in Vic law

What are the two main elements of a crime?

Mens Rea, Actus Rea, Both must be proven to commit a crime.

What is a strict liability crime?

A crime where no Mens Rea needs to be proven, such as speeding or underage drinking.

What are summary offences?

• Less serious criminal offences

• not heard in front of a judge or jury

• decided in magistrates court

• disorderly behavior, DUI.

What are indictable offences?

Serious criminal offences such as murder, rape, and manslaughter, which are decided by the County and Supreme Courts.

What is a committal hearing?

A preliminary hearing in the Magistrates Court to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a jury to find the defendant guilty at trial.

What is the burden of proof?

who has the responsibility to prove the case

What is the standard of proof?

the level of certainty needed to prove a claim in court

What does the presumption of innocence mean?

innocent until proven guilty

What are the six elements required to prove murder?

1. The killing was unlawful. 2. The victim was a human being. 3. The accused was over the age of discretion. 4. The accused caused the victim's death. 5. The accused was of sound mind. 6. There was malice aforethought.

What is malice aforethought?

The conscious intent to cause death or grievous bodily harm to another person before committing the crime.

What is voluntary manslaughter?

An intentional killing that is accompanied by mitigating factors, such as lack of premeditation, occurs in the ‘heat of the moment’, knew action would kill.

What is involuntary manslaughter?

occurs when a death is unintentional and results from reckless or negligent act. no intent to kill in the moment only to harm

What are some defences to a crime?

Accident, self-defense, mental impairment, automatism, duress, and intoxication.

What is the maximum penalty for murder in Victoria?

Life imprisonment.

What types of sanctions can be imposed for crimes?

Fines, Community Corrections Orders (CCO), and imprisonment.

What is the maximum number of penalty units for fines in Victoria?

3000 penalty units, with each unit valued at $197.59.

Accident

applies when the death was unintentional, unforeseen and occurs without negligence or unlawful conduct

Self-Defense

applies when someone believes it is necessary to protect themselves or another person from serious harm or death. Must be reasonable and proportionate to death

Mental impariment

applies when at the time of the offense the person had a mental disorder that made them unable to understand the nature of their conditions and wrongful conduct

Automatism

action performed without conscious thought or intention. not aware of the conduct e.g. sleepwalking, seizure

Duress

involves committing an offense because of threats of death or serious injury

Intoxication

can affect the assessment of a person’s intent of committing murder. while voluntary intoxication is not a defense it can be considered when determining if the accused had the necessary intent to commit murder. if intoxication prevents forming intent, it may reduce the charges to manslaughter

Purpose of sanctions

punishment, protection, deterrence, denunciation, rehabilitation

punishment

the offender recieves consequences for their actions to ensure the penalty reflects the severity of the crime

protection

safeguarding the public from the offender

denunctiation

this conduct is so bad that it draws an extra penalty

deterrence

to discourage the offender from re-offending and discouraging others from committing similar offences

rehabilitation

providing opportunities to perform and get released

fines

monetary penalties, measured in penalty units, max penalty units is 3000

CCO

an order served in the community (usually community service, also could be COURSES, monitoring drug/alcohol use or curfews

imprisionment

most severe sentencing

Local Government

makes laws which specifically relate to suburb/council in which we live e.g. pet registration, rubbish collection and parking

State Government

makes laws which are applicable to a particular state e.g. education, hospitals, roads, police

Federal Government

makes laws on issues that affect the whole country as outlined in the constitution e.g. taxation, defenses, immigration

Lower House

Vic: legislative assembly (88)

Federal: house of reps (151)

Upper House

Vic: legislative council (40)

Federal: senate (76)

Crown

Vic: governor

Federal: governor general

H.C.A

constitutional matters and disputes between the states

Courts

their primary role is to resolve disputes b/c there are gaps in the law. sometimes have a secondary role to make a law (common law)

Relationship between Parliament and Courts

law made through parliament, court interprets and applies law, law evolves, used in parliament