Canadian Law I Unit 4 Criminal Law

Unit 4: Criminal Law 4.1 Foundations of Criminal Law ● Crime: an act that is illegal and punishable under law. ● There are three conditions that must be present for an act to be considered a crime: ○ The action is considered felonious by society as a whole. ○ The action can or has caused harm to society. ○ The action has caused serious harm and a remedy must be sought. ● The area of law that prohibits certain acts that cause harm to society is called criminal law. ● Criminal law protects people, their property, and ensures there is a standard of public decency amongst citizens. ● The body of laws that observe criminal law is called the Criminal Code of Canada. Elements of Crime ● To convict the accused of a crime, it must be proven that the accused had two elements, actus reus and mens rea. ○ Actus reus: “guilty action”, the physical act of committing a criminal offence. ○ Mens rea: “guilty mind”, the intent to commit a criminal offence. ● Intent and motive also contribute to the accused’s mens rea. ○ Intent: the state of mind in which the person wants to commit a crime. ○ Motive: the reason why someone might be motivated to commit a crime. ● To prove the accused had the intention (mens rea), the Crown can prove the criminal shows willful blindness, negligence, or recklessness. ○ Willful blindness: choosing to overlook the obvious and commit a crime anyway. ■ In court, the accused cannot say they did not know the law as a defence. ○ Negligence: not doing something that harms another ○ Recklessness: reckless actions that cause harm Involvement in Crime ● Perpetrator: the person who commits the crime. ● Parties to an offence: anyone who helps the perpetrator commit the crime. ● Abetter: anyone who encourages the perpetrator to commit the crime. ● Aider: anyone who physically aids the perpetrator (best example: getaway driver). ● Counselling: anyone who provides advice or counselling to the perpetrator. ● Accessory after the fact: anyone who assists the accused in escaping from the police. ● Party to a common intention: when multiple come together to commit a crime and end up committing another, they are held responsible for all crimes, together. ● Conspiracy: when two or more people come to an agreement to commit a crime. 4.2 Criminal Offences Levels of Offences In the Criminal Code of Canada, there are three levels of criminal offences: ● Summary conviction: small offences with minor penalties ○ A fine of up to $2000 ○ Maximum 6 months imprisonment ● Indictable offence: more serious crimes ○ Maximum penalties (from a minimum of 5 years (tax, fraud) to a maximum of life) ○ Charged individuals can post bail before a trial ● Hybrid/dual offence: an offence that can be either indictable or summary, the Crown decides per case and somewhat based on precedent Types of Offenses - Offenses Against a Person Offences against a person are crimes where a person is threatened, killed, or injured. ● Homicide: indirect or direct murder of a human being. ○ Culpable homicide: a murder where the accused is held criminally responsible ○ Non culpable homicide: death caused by accident, the accused cannot be held criminally responsible ● Murder: the killing of another human being with intention ○ First degree murder: pre mediated, deliberate murder ○ Second degree murder: murder with intention, but not pre mediated ● Infanticide: the murder of a newborn by his or her mother ● Manslaughter: unintentional murder ● Assault: threatening or injuring another human being ○ Level one assault: intentional application of force against a person ○ Assault with a weapon: threatening or injuring someone with a weapon. ○ Aggravated assault: endangering the life of another person ○ Sexual assault: non consensual secual touching ■ Three levels of sexual assault, sexual harrassment is the lowest level, rape being the highest level Offenses Against Property ● Theft: taking property without the owner’s permission ○ Theft over $5000-indictable offence ○ Theft under $5000-hybrid offence ● Robbery: theft involving violence or the threat of violence ● Breaking and entering: breaking into property and committing an indictable offence once inside Drug/Laundering Offenses ● Possession: having narcotics and other substances on you with the knowledge of having it ● Trafficking: selling or administering narcotics and other substances ● Money laundering: transferring money to conceal the illegal source it came from Other Offences ● Mischief: destroying property or data ● Fraud: intentional deceit in order to lose the other money, property, or services ● Prostitution: soliciting sexual acts for money ● Disorderly house: keeping a home for prositiutuon where the keeper of the home gets a cut of the prostitutes pay 4.2 Legal Defences Rights of the Accused ● The Crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person had both the actus reus and mens rea to commit the crime. ● The accused has the legal right to defend themselves or have a lawyer defend on their behalf. ● They are three main arguments the accused may employ: ○ Completely deny committing the crime (no actus reus) ○ Argue they had no intent to commit a crime (no mens rea) ○ Try and give reasons why they committed the crime to mitigate the damage Defence #1: Alibi ● Argument that the accused was never even at the crime scene when the crime happened, therefore they cannot even have committed the crime ● This is the strongest legal defense the accused can use because if there was no actus reus (physical action of committing a crime), there is no case. Defence #2: Automatism ● Automatism is an action that is done involuntarily, meaning the person doing the action does not have control over what they are doing because they are in a state of impaired consciousness. ○ Insane automatism: when someone with certain, specific mental health issues commits a crime unknowingly in a state of impaired unconsciousness (example: someone in a state of psychosis commits murder, they are not responsible) ○ Non insane automatism: regular body actions that we have no control over (example: sneezing, sleepwalking, etc.) ● If the accused claims automatism as their defense, it eliminates the mens rea (intent) of the crime. ● Therefore, the accused can be declared not criminally responsible (NCR). Defense #3: Intoxication ● The accused claims they did not have the intent to commit a crime because they were intoxicated and could not control their own actions ● Eliminates the intent so the accused will not get a maximum penalty but can still be found guilty. Defence #4: Self Defence ● Argument that the accused had to use force to defend themselves ● If the force is found to be excessive, this defence cannot be used Defence #5: Battered Woman Syndrome ● Battered woman syndrome is a mental condition caused by continuous and daily domestic violence. ● After being abused by a spouse for so long, a woman can develop this syndrome and might suddenly lash out and injure or kill her spouse. She can then use this as defense in court. Defence #6: Necessity ● Accused argues that they had to commit a crime because they were in a dre situation ● This defence can only be used in a situation where the danger is imminent. ● Example: man speeding on the highway trying to get his wife to the hospital before she gives birth. Defence #7: Duress ● The accused claims they were threatened to commit a crime against their will Defence #8: Mistake of Fact ● An honest mistake, the accused did not know they were committing a crime (example: someone takes a bike which is not theirs, but looks exactly like their own) Defence #9: Entrapment ● The accused claims a police officer tried to induce them to commit a crime ● Coercing by a police officer 4.4 Sentencing ● Sentencing in Canada is the responsibility of the CSC (Corrections Services Canada) ● Each criminal is treated individually in the sentencing process ● Judges are responsible for the amount of years each person gets, and they must provide a written and oral statement explaining why the person has that many years. Sentencing in The Criminal Code ● Minimum and maximum sentences can range for each crime ● The judge has to consider past cases and factors that aggravate or mitigate ○ Aggravating factors: factors that increase the severity of a crime ○ Mitigating factors: factors that lessen the severity of a crime ● The purpose of sentencing: ○ Deterrence: deter others from committing crimes ○ Separation: separate the criminals from society ○ Rehabilitation/reparation: compensation for crimes for the victims and rehab for criminals ○ Promotes responsibility: society : can change future actions Types of Sentencing ● Absolute discharge: no terms to discharge ● Conditional discharge: terms for discharge ● Suspended sentence: probation and discharge might be revoked if the criminal has bad behaviour ● Fines: maximum of $2,000 for summary offences and no limit for indictable offences ● Life imprisonment: criminal would be able to apply for parole after serving 7 years ● Imprisonment under 2 years: criminal can apply for their sentence to be decreased ● Imprisonment under 10 years: criminal can apply for parole after serving ⅓ of their sentence ● Imprisonment over 10 years: criminal can apply for parole after serving ⅔ of their sentence