The Law can be divided into two separate categories, being criminal and civil law. The difference between the two is that criminal proceedings are separate from civil actions. The difference between the two is, in the criminal case the crime is a public wrong, punishment is either death or incarceration, the government is the prosecutor, and the proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil case the harm is a private wrong, instead of a criminal matters, punishment is compensation, the plaintiff is the person who suffered, and the proof is preponderance of evidence. The one thing both these laws have in common is that they both try to control the behavior by imposing sanctions on those who violate the law.
At the very least, they should attend and complete a special designed program, go through a waiting period, and take a drug-screened testing regularly before they get their privileges restored. A felon is a person who has been convicted of a felony, which is a crime punishable by death or a term in state or federal prison. A felony is a crime sufficiently serious to be punishable by death or a term in state or federal prison, as distinguished from a misdemeanor which is only punishable by court, local jail or a fine (felonvoting.procon.org). Some various felony activities include murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault or battery, tax evasion, grand larceny, perjury, child pornography, arson, threatening an official, and many many more. All felonies can be classified into two groups which are violent and non-violent but the classifications of felonies differ by state because of different laws.
Sentencing of a Felon John E. Brown Strayer University LEG 320 – Criminal Law Professor Shawn M. Koenig, Esq. November 24, 2013 Sentencing of a Felon Introduction: Sentencing in the United States is governed by the legal process of our judicial system to ensure that all criminals are treated fairly when they are being sentenced. While using certain principles, the court and the legal system work together to make sure that they issue the appropriate punishment. When dealing with proportionality laws, it all depends on if you’re dealing with the state or federal law, and whether the death penalty might apply. When it comes to capital punishment, proportionality under the Eight Amendment to the U. S. Constitution means that any state or federal law that allows for the death penalty must specify the exact crimes for which the death penalty may be imposed.
2003. p. 114). The prosecutor’s main roles are to establishing that those guilty are prosecuted, and to determine which cases are weak and weed them out. Meyer & Grant (2003) state that, “ the tasks that prosecutors perform fall into three broad categories: planning and supervising the investigation phase of criminal and civil cases, case preparations, and responding to the issues related to appeals. The defense attorney’s role is to protect an individuals right when he or she has been accused of committing a crime, and to ensure that the individual is not prosecuted unjustly or falsely tried. A prosecutor presents evidence to prove that the defendant is guilty of the crime and the defense attorney tries to prove that the defendant is not guilty.
This essay will attempt to establish the core characteristics the elements of mens rea, Intention (direct and oblique) and Subjective recklessness and explore the differences between these elements. Intention is one of the main elements of mens rea and is used to examine the state of mind in different crimes. For murder, intention is the only form of mens rea. Intention is the highest degree of mens rea. Being the highest degree of mens rea, one would expect to find a statute or case in common law that defines intention unequivocally and rigidly.
Ratio Decidendi which is the reason for the decision and Obiter Dicta, anything else said. Precedent may be original, binding or persuasive. Binding precedent is a decision of a higher court where the legal facts are the same. An example of this would be in R v Smith 1961, D.P.P v Hyam 1975 and R v Maloney 1985 where all the defendants were convicted of murder with reasonable foresight. Persuasive precedent is a decision of a lower court which may influence the higher court, where the legal facts are similar or slightly different.
“according to Lord Bridge in Moloney [1985] AC 905, in the great majority of murder trails the judge when summing up should tell the jury to give intention its ‘normal meaning’. What is the ‘normal meaning’ of the intention, and in what circumstances should the judge give a further explanation”. This essay aims to examine, what is the ‘normal meaning’ of intention. This essay is going to discuss the concept of intention in English criminal law. The answer is going to look at the key elements that make up intention, use relevant case law and academic opinion to support the discussion.
Constitutional Rights and Plea Negotiations A plea bargain is a process in which the defendant arranges a ‘deal’ with the prosecution. A plea bargain essentially means that a defendant charged with multiple crimes will plead guilty to a certain charge in order to escape going to trial for a more serious charge. In the United States, the majority of criminal cases are settled through plea bargains. Moreover, a guilty plea waives the constitutional right to trial and subordinates trial rights such as the right to confront one's accusers. Under the "doctrine of unconstitutional conditions," waivers of constitutional rights often are held invalid when they have been required as a condition for receiving favorable governmental treatment.
The death penalty is not mandatory and is reserved for murders with aggravating circumstances where no other penalty can be thought of. There are some factors that are considered when choosing to sentence a defendant to death. These include: the number of victims, the severity of the crime, the amount of remorse the defendant shows, the defendant’s age, his criminal record, and the social impact the crime made. The numbers of executions in 2013, to this date are six. The death penalty is carried out by hanging.
Different states have different rules on when the capital punishment penalty applies and when it does not. Normally, I do not agree with applying such extreme punishment unless it can be proved without any doubt that this person who is accused is guilty. It should also be one of the heinous acts of being a serial killer or a child killer. It’s better when a true confession, with evidence to back up the confession, has been obtained. There is nothing worse than to have a doubt that the person already executed could be an innocent person.