Criminal Law In chapter 5 there are two separate areas of discussion: 1) crimes and 2) constitutional protections.In order to commit a criminal act you need the state of mind required to commit it (intent) and the commission of the act. In a criminal case, you are presumed innocent until such time as the prosecutor proves you guilty. The burden on the prosecutor is that there must be proof beyond a reasonable doubt. There is no burden on the defendant in a criminal case and the defendant is not required to introduce any evidence at the trial. The STATE is the one who brings the charges in a criminal case. Although you sometimes hear people ask the victim if they want to "press charges", it is always up to the government agency (state, city, federal) whether or not the charges are filed.There are several constitutional protections involved in criminal law as well. Under the Fifth Amendment, you have the right to a fair trial. You are protected against being tried twice for the same offense under Double Jeopardy. Also, during your trial, you cannot be required to testify and if you choose not to, that cannot be used against you. Under the Sixth Amendment you have the right to a speedy and public trial by a jury of your peers. You also have the right to an attorney and the right to confront and cross examine the witnesses that are called to testify against you. The Eighth Amendment protects you against excessive bails and fine and also against cruel and unusual punishment.In Miranda vs. Arizona, the Supreme Court established that an accused must be advised of his/her rights when they are arrested. If the police fails to advise the defendant of their rights and the defendant makes a statement or admission, that statement or admission cannot be used against the accused. It will be excluded from the proceeding.You have a protection under the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. If the police do not have a search warrant and they do not have permission to search, any evidence that they find during a search will be excluded from admissible evidence.If the police fail to read Miranda and/or the Fourth Amendment is violated, that does not necessarily mean that the state will not pursue the charges or that the case will not be pursued. There are several times where the state will use additional or different evidence to continue pursuit of the charges.The steps when you are charged with an offense there is a process. First the defendant is arrested. This happens when the police believe there is probable cause to believe that you have committed an offense. The police usually a "complaint" setting out what it is they think you have done. Then you are formally charged. This can be done by the filing of a trial information that is signed by a judge or by convening a grand jury where they sign and indictment. There is discovery between the state and the defense and then a trial is held. If the jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt that you have committed the offense, they will return a verdict of guilty. The punishments in a criminal case are fines and/or jail or prison.Corporations are legal entities and can be criminally convicted of offenses if the prosecutor can show that the entity could have prevented the act or that the supervisor authorized it or had knowledge.There are several different types of crimes.VIOLENT CRIMESViolent crimes include assault, sexual assault, robbery, and murder. Each of those offenses are violent crimes because they are crimes against a person. They cause others harm or death.It is common for people to get the word robbery confused with the word burglary. They are two different types of crimes because burglary is a property crime where robbery is a violent crime. A robbery is where you take property from another person BY USE OF FORCE. Burglary on the other hand is breaking in (entering without permission or staying past the point where you have permission to be there) to a building or home with the intent to commit a felony.PROPERTY CRIMESBurglary, described above, is a property crime along with crimes like larceny (theft), arson, and forgery. In order for someone to commit larceny, they must takeproperty from another person with the intent to permanently deprive them thereof. So if someone accidentally takes someone else's coat from a restaurant believingthat it is their own, that is not a theft. The mental intent to take someone else's property is not there. If they discover that it is not theirs and choose to keep it themental intent is present and it becomes a theft. When you are looking at the crime of forgery, it is important to recognize that forgery is far more than just signingsomeone's name to a check without permission. Forgery includes altering documents that change the legal rights or liabilities of another. So an example would be ifyour mom gives you a blank check that is signed and tells you to go to the bookstore at DMACC and purchase your books. You take the blank check and go to yourfavorite clothing store and stock up on $1,000.00 worth of clothes. You have changed her liability and gone beyond what you were authorized to do with that blankcheck.WHITE COLLAR CRIMESThere are also several crimes that are considered to be more business type offenses. Embezzlement is similar to theft but there is not property that is actually physically taken from a party. It is when an employee steals funds from their employer by somehow altering the books. An example of this would be someone who works in accounts payable at a business who makes up a fake company. After creating the fake company the person starts issuing invoices in small amounts to their employer. The payables clerk issues checks to the fake company and takes the money.Mail/wire fraud, bribery, bankruptcy fraud and insider trading are other examples of white collar crime.DEFENSESThere are several defenses you can raise if you are charged with a criminal offense. If you used force against someone and you have some justification for that you can raise justifiable use of force as a defense. This can also be referred to as self defense or defense of others. The laws are different in each state, but generally this means you can use the amount of force necessary to stop the person or action. So if someone is punching you and you can stop them by grabbing them or punching them back you would LIKELY be justified. However, if someone punches you and you stab or shoot them, you are most likely not justified. Another defense exists if you can show that your actions were necessary to stop a greater harm from happening. This is called necessity. The standards are also different from state to state with another defense, insanity, which is a defense that is used to state the person did not have the mental state necessary to commit the crime in question. There was an lowa case in which Mark Becker shot and killed his former football coach, Ed Thomas. He attempted to claim that he did not have the mental state necessary to commit the offense and he has experts testify on his behalf in an attempt to prove insanity. He was unsuccessful and the jury found him guilty of first degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison. Duress is a defense you can raise if you commit an offense but were put into the situation innocently and had not choice but to do so. An example would be if you are in the convenience store buying a pop and someone walks up and puts a gun to your head and tells you to go up and rob the clerk or you will be shot. Your life is in danger if you do not do what is asked and you were not any part of the crime to begin with. You can claim duress in this instance.

Answer each of the following questions: 1. Explain the difference between civil and criminal law. (2) 2. Give three examples of each of these: (15) a) violent crimes b) property crimes c) public order crime d) white collar crimes] e) organized crimes 3. Name and describe each of the defenses that are available when you are charged with a crime and GIVE AN EXAMPLE. (15) 4. Name and describe each of the Constitutional protections in criminal cases. (12) 5. Jane and Joe are shopping at the mall on a Saturday. As they are in Macy's. Jane and another shopper get into an argument over the last fur coat that is in the store. The other shopper gets upset and punches Jane in the face. Jane punches her back and grabs the coat and runs. The other shopper then chases Jane down and tackles her and Joe steps in and pulls the other shopper off of Jane. Joe causes injury to the other shopper. Explain what, if any. criminal charges each of these three people could get. Are there any defenses for any of them? Is it possible for anyone to bring a civil mse? Can they bring the civil case even if there are criminal charges led? What are the remedies (or punishments) that are sought in a criminal case? Remedies in a civil case? (16)