Criminal Law

The types of conduct that constitute crimes

Rules that must be followed in redressing crimes

A wrong committed against society or against the community in general [not against an individual]

A wrong committed against one or more specific individuals or the property of one or more individuals; civil wrong

Federal government has jurisdiction to define and enforce crimes in these places & situations:

D.C.; US territories; fed property (military bases, nat'l parks, fed bldgs);

persons on American ships or in American aircraft in or over int'l territory;

conduct of American citizens located abroad; and

conduct or activities within individual states when the power to regulate the conduct or activity is expressly granted by the Consitution (taxation, fed. officials, interstate commerce, & activities that cross state lines)

State where the crime occurred had jurisdiction over it

State can prosecute for:

offense committed within the state, in whole or in part; the occurrence can be either conduct or a result that is an element of the offense; (ex. homicide-either the physical contact causing death or the death itself);

conduct outside the state that constitutes an attempt to commit or conspiracy to commit an offense within the state;

conduct within the state that constitutes an attempt to commit or a conspiracy to commit an offense outside the state;

omission to perform a duty required by a state law is an offense in that state, regardless of where the offender is located at the time of the omission

Common law; Constitution; statutes; administrative rules & regs; Model Penal Code (where adopted)

Brought from England by the colonists defined common law crimes, which were enforced by courts when specific statutes were unavailable;

[there is no federal common law of crimes]; fed crimes are defined exclusively by statutes;

however, Congress recognizes common law crimes in the D.C.

some states retain common law crimes either impliedly or by "retention statutes." trend is to abolish common law crimes by express statute of abolition or adoption of comprehensive criminal codes to replace common law crimes; common law defenses may be retained; however most are statutory

US Constitution gives Congress power to legislate in certain areas, such as interstate commerce; Congress may define criminal conduct in these specific areas; all powers not given specifically to fed gov are reserved to the states for reg.

Fed crim law governed exclusively by statutes adopted by Congress;

most state crim law governed by statutes adopted by state legislative body; some states' statutes include comprehensive criminal codes, more or less after the Model Penal Code

Either fed or st legislature may delegate authority to admin agencies to make rules, the violation of which may be punished as a crime;

legislature may not delegate the power to decide which regs carry criminal punishment; nor delegate the power of adjudication;

persons charged w violation are tried in the fed ct system when involve fed agencies

however, quasi-judicial functions can be delegated, ie, issuance and revocation of licenses or fines imposed for violation of agency rules & regs

By American Law Institute

not a source of law in technical sense; but has influenced criminal laws adopted by various states, and has been adopted in whole or in part by more than half of the states

Restraint, deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation

When restrained or incapacitated by imprisonment, person has fewer opps to engage in conduct harmful to society in general