CRIMINAL LAW

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CRIMINAL LAW

• The Nature of Crime

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Crime any act or omission of an act that is
prohibited and punishable by federal statute.

• Law Reform of Canada 4 conditions must exist for
  an act or omission to be considered a crime
• 1) The act is considered wrong by society.
• 2) Act causes harm to society in general or to
  those who need protection.
• 3) The harm must be serious.
• 4) The remedy must be handled by the criminal
  justice system.

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Criminal Law Definition

• Criminal Law- the body of laws that prohibit and
  punish acts that injure individual people,
  property and the entire community.

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Criminal Code of Canada

• -federal statute that contains the majority of
  the criminal laws passed by Parliament.
• -lists crimes, sentences and procedures to follow
  when trying those accused of crimes.
• -amendments to the code are made when the values
  of Canadian society change.

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Changes Over Time and Place

• Prostitution is legal in some European countries
• Adultery used to be a criminal offence in Canada

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Changes over time and place

• Possession of marijuana less serious today
• 1795- twelve people hanged in Halifax for the
  crime of theft, one for stealing a few potatoes
• no longer capital punishment in Canada

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• Example sexual abuse
• On October 18, 1999-Parliament passed Bill C-7
  making criminal records of pardoned sex offenders
  available for background checks.
• -Also, outdated laws can be revised or repealed.
• i.e. 1976-sentencing option of capital
  punishment removed

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• -technological advances change the code
• i.e. new laws for airplane hijacking, credit
  card fraud, Internet hacking.

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History

• Canadas first Prime Minister, John A.
  MacDonald, strongly advocated having one set of
  criminal laws for the whole country.
• So, in July 1892, Canadian Parliament passed a
  statute called the Criminal Code of Canada which
  combined a description of crimes and criminal law
  procedure into a single statute.
• The code has been amended every year since.

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Today, there are approximately 850 sections. It
is still difficult to include all the crimes in
the Code, so other federal laws now contain
criminal offences that are not in the code or in
enough detail in the code. These include

• Controlled Drug and Substances Act
• Customs Act
• Youth Criminal Justice Act
• Competition Act
• Food and Drug Act
• Income Tax Act

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• Authority for administering the criminal justice
  system is shared between the federal and
  provincial governments.

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Quasi-Criminal Laws

• Technically, laws passed by provinces or
  municipalities are not considered criminal laws
  but quasi-criminal laws.
• These are less serious offences and the usual
  punishment is paying a fine.

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ELEMENTS OF A CRIME

• To convict a person of a criminal offence in
  Canada, the Crown must usually prove that two
  elements existed at the time the offence was
  committed the act itself and the intention to
  commit the act.

Actus Reus Mens Rea CRIME
the guilty act the guilty mind CRIME
Demonstrates a voluntary action, omission or state of being that is prohibited by law Demonstrates that the act was intentional, knowing, negligent, reckless or willfully blind CRIME
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Exceptions to Actus Reas

• Being forced by another person
• Sleepwalking
• Reflex reaction (i.e. epileptic seizure)

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Understanding Mens Rea

• The Crown can establish Mens Rea through
• 1) Intent
• 2) Knowledge
• 3) Criminal negligence
• 4) Recklessness
• 5) Willful blindness

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1) INTENT

• someone desires to carry out a wrongful action,
  knows what the results will be and is reckless
  regarding the consequences.
• There are two types of intent General Intent
  and Specific Intent

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Two types of Intent

• General Intent the desire to commit a wrongful
  act, with no ulterior motive or purpose.
• For example assault to vent anger, jealously or
  frustration.

• Specific Intent the desire to commit one
  wrongful act for the purpose of accomplishing
  another.
• For example assault for the sake of theft

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Motive verses Intent

• Motive is the reason a person commits a crime.
• Intent is the persons state of mind and
  willingness to break the law.
• For instance, if someone kills her mother to
  receive an inheritance.
• Motive inheritance
• Intent was it planned and deliberate?
• Motive can not prove a conviction in a murder
  trial because it is not one of the elements of a
  crime.

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2_KNOWLEDGE

• An awareness of certain facts that can be used to
  establish Mens Rea.
• For example If a person knew a document was
  forged and used it anyway.
• The word knew/know indicates the Mens Rea of
  the offence.

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3) CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE

• reckless disregard for the lives and safety of
  others, sometimes causing serious injury or
  death.
• For example, leaving a loaded gun in a house with
  children.

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4) RECKLESSNESS

• knowingly taking an unjustifiable risk that a
  reasonable person would not take.
• For example, driving without your prescription
  glasses and getting into a serious accident.
• Driving a car you know is not safe.

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5) WILFUL BLINDNESS

• A deliberate closing of ones mind to the
  possible consequences of ones actions.
• For example, buying a TV from student which
  clearly has the name of the school board on the
  TV.
• The price is too good to pass up, so you buy it
  but in your mind you likely knew it had been
  stolen.

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Strict and Absolute Liability

• For some less serious offences the Crown does not
  have to establish Mens Rea to win a conviction.
• For instance, regulatory laws which are federal
  or provincial statutes meant to protect the
  public welfare.
• i.e. environmental protection, workplace
  safety, hunting and fishing regulations and
  traffic offences.

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2 Liability Offences

• STRICK LIABILITY
• The accused may admit the offence took place but
  then offers the defense of due diligence which
  means that he or she took every reasonable
  precaution to avoid committing the offence.
• Someone slips and falls on your sidewalk but you
  can prove that you shoveled and salted it.
• Wet floor signs at a store

• ABSOLUTE LIABILITY
• No defense possible. Guilty as charged.
• i.e. driving a car without a license or
  insurance

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INVOLVEMENT IN A CRIME

• Perpetrator- person who actually commits the
  crime.
• 2 people co-perpetrators
• Aiding helping a perpetrator commit a crime.
  You dont have to be on the scene.
• i.e. giving a key to someone to break into a
  store.
• Parties to an Offence those people who are
  indirectly involved in committing a crime.
• Abetting- encouraging the perpetrator of a crime
  without actually providing physical assistance.
• i.e. egging on a perpetrator who is beating
  someone up.

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• Counseling- advising, recommending or persuading
  another person to commit an offence. You dont
  have to be on the scene.
• i.e. advising a perpetrator the best way to
  accomplish a criminal act.
• Accessory After the Fact- someone who knowingly
  receives, comforts or assists a perpetrator in
  escaping from the police.
• i.e. allowing a perpetrator to hide out at your
  house.

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Involvement in a Crime Cont.

• Party to Common Intention- the shared
  responsibility among criminals for any additional
  offences that are committed in the course of the
  crime they originally intended to commit.
• i.e. If 5 people hijack a security truck and
  one of them shoots and kills the driver, all 5
  can be charged with murder.

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Two Types of Incomplete Crimes

• Attempt the intention to commit a crime, even
  when the crime is not completed.
• The Crown only needs to prove obvious steps
  toward committing a crime.
• Example terrorist bombing- construction of a
  bomb, having a bomb in your possession.

• Conspiracy an agreement between 2 or more
  people to carry out an illegal act, even if that
  act does not actually occur.
• Example 2 people who plan to murder, hire a hit
  man who turns out to be an undercover police
  officer.

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Bibliography

• Law in Action, 2003
• All About Law, 1996