Main Principles of Criminal Law

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• Criminal law is very different from civil law:
  • Criminal law aims to deter wrongful behavior through a combination of punishment and rehabilitation of the offender
  • civil law aims to right personal wrongs
• Substantive law describes a person’s rights and responsibilities
  • defines how people should relate to one another and how they should relate to the government
  • known as subject matter law
• Substantive criminal law defines the conduct that constitutes a crime and establishes penalties

Types of Wrongful Conduct

• two basic types of wrongful conduct:
  • Mala in se
    • means “evil in itself”
    • describes conduct that is inherently wrong
    • conduct or acts that society universally agrees are wrong, morally repugnant, or dangerous to other people
    • E.g. murder and rape
  • Mala prohibita
    • means “wrong because it is prohibited”
    • conduct is not inherently evil, but society prohibits it nonetheless
    • E.g., IP violations, traffic law violations, tax evasion

2 Types of Crimes

• Misdemeanors
  • less serious offense and less severe penalty
  • generally punishable by no more than 1 year in prison
• Felonies
  • more serious crimes
  • usually punishable by more than 1 year in prison

Elements of a Crime

A government must prove the following elements to show that a crime has been committed:

• Mens rea
  • means “guilty mind”
  • describes a person’s intent to commit a crime
  • Someone who lacks mens rea cannot be held responsible for a crime
  • government also can prosecute a person who acts recklessly for criminal behavior
    • recklessness means that a person acted in a manner that consciously disregarded whether or not harm could result from the actions
• Actus reus
  • means “guilty act”
  • is the wrongful act that constitutes a crime
  • requires a physical act in furtherance of a crime
  • E.g., simply being addicted to illegal drugs cannot be a crime, must include physical act
  • wrongful act also can include the failure to act when there is a duty to do so
    • E.g., parents have a duty to care for their children
• Causation

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction describes the types of cases that a court has the authority to hear.

• Courts can hear only cases, or disputes, that are within their jurisdiction

Ways to Describe Jurisdiction

1. describe the function of a court
   • E.g.,
     • trial courts generally have original jurisdiction
       • ability to conduct trials and to hear initial disputes between parties
     • Appellate courts have appellate jurisdiction
       • can only review decisions made by lower courts
2. describe the power of a court to hear a certain type of case and make a binding decision in that case
   • Courts must have the proper jurisdiction to make a valid judgment
   • To make a valid judgment, a court must have:
     • Subject matter jurisdiction
       • is the power of a court to decide certain types of cases
       • E.g., federal courts have jurisdiction only to decide cases about federal laws
     • Personal jurisdiction
       • refers to a court’s ability to exercise power over a particular defendant
       • state courts can exercise personal jurisdiction over people who commit acts within the state
       • For criminal law, personal jurisdiction comes into play when criminal acts:
         • are committed in several different states
         • affect residents in many states
       • Strassheim v. Daily (1911) addresses this
         • Supreme Court used a “detrimental effects” test to determine if a state could exercise jurisdiction over a person outside the state
         • test includes 3 parts:
           • Did the act occur outside the state?
           • Did the act produce detrimental effects within the state?
           • Were the acts the actual cause of detrimental effects within the state?
         • this test is a common law rule
           • many states have codified it
       • important for cybercrimes