Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Theories of Punishment
Incapacitation- usually accomplished through prison sentences
and/or death penalty. People who are likely to do the crime again in the
future, we want to keep them away from public.
Deterrence- fear is a great motivator. Not available on federal level.
Retribution-in order to balance a wrong that has been done to a
society or victim, must do a wrong against the perpetuator. Eye for an
eye
Restoration- putting the victim in society back to the position they
were before the crime had been committed.
Rehabilitation- idea here I someone has committed a crime and we
want their punishment to not just punish, but hopefully do some good
in the sense that they get the skills and perspective to live a lawful life.
To the extent circumstance are in the picture. Linsday lohan discussion.
Not available on federal level
Owens v State
A circumstantial evidence alone is not to be sustained unless the
circumstances are inconsistent with an reasonable hypothesis of
innocence.
- Christopher Columbus owens is appealing a case in which a
judge without a jury convicted him of driving while intoxicated,
and it is being appealed because there was noce evidence that
was legally sufficient in support such a finding. The case goes to
show 2 possible reasons why he would be passed out in the car
while drunk, he was either coming back from driving drunk
( which is illegal) or about to go ( which is not illegal since it was
a drive way and not a public highway) court takes several
matters in to consideration to see what the possible implications
were and how it would effect the 2 possible scenarios. With the
whole suspricious vehicle call it was implied he was driving
erratically, with him having empty cans in the car it implied he
was drinking while in the car since usually people dont put
empty bottles in their car from their house. Court affirmed the
lower court decision.
Queen v Dudley
C I T Y O F C H I C A G O V. M O R A L E S
FAC T S
In 1992, the Chicago City Council enacted the Gang Congregation
Ordinance which prohibited criminal street gang members from
loitering with one another in any public place. The ordinance was
violated if (1) a police officer reasonably believed that at least one of
the two or more persons present in a public place was a criminal
street gang member, (2) the persons were loitering, defined as
remaining in any one place with no apparent purpose, (3) the officer
ordered all of the person to disperse from the area, and (4) any
person disobeyed the officers order. Morales (defendant) and others
were accused of violating the law, but the charges were dismissed by
the trial court that held the law to be unconstitutionally vague. In a
consolidated appeal from several of those holdings, the Illinois
Supreme Court agreed with the trial courts and affirmed. The U.S.
Supreme Court granted certiorari to review whether the states
supreme court correctly held the ordinance violated the Due Process
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
R U L E O F L AW
An ordinance violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment if it is so vague that it fails to provide sufficient notice to
citizens regarding the type of conduct prohibited and fails to provide
adequate guidelines for law enforcement officers.
ISSUE
Does an ordinance violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment if it is so vague that it fails to provide sufficient notice to
citizens regarding the type of conduct prohibited and fails to provide
adequate guidelines for law enforcement officers?
HOLDING AND REASONING(STEVENS, J.)
Yes. The intent of the ordinance was to stop loitering gang members
from intimidating ordinary residents leaving their homes. A law may be
unconstitutionally vague for two reasons. First, it may fail to provide
the kind of notice that will allow an ordinary person to understand what
conduct is prohibited. Second, it may authorize arbitrary enforcement.
A law fails to meet the Due Process requirements of the Fourteenth
Amendment if it is so vague that it leaves the public uncertain as to
the conduct it prohibits. Giaccio v. Pennsylvania, 382 U.S. 399, 402-03
(1966). The term loiter may have a common meaning, but the
definition of the term in the ordinanceto remain in any one place with
no apparent purposedid not. It is hard to know whether any
particular person standing in a public place has an apparent purpose.
The loitering is the conduct the ordinance is designed to prevent. If the
loitering is innocent in nature, the dispersal order is an unjustified
impairment of liberty. Moreover, the terms of the dispersal order are
vague. It provides that the officer shall order all such persons to
disperse and remove themselves from the area. The lack of clarity in
how far persons must move and how quickly must they disperse
further supports the ordinances vagueness. The ordinance contains no
standard of conduct for a citizen to conform his or her actions to.
Finally, the ordinance does not contain adequate guidelines for law
enforcement officers. In any public place persons who stand or sit in
the company of a gang member may be ordered to disperse unless
their purpose is apparent. If the ordinance was narrowed to include
only loitering with an apparent criminal or harmful purpose or effect,
the police may then have sufficient limitation on their authority to
disperse such loitering persons. But the ordinance does not. The
ordinance provides too little notice to citizens and affords too much
discretion to police officers. The holding of the Illinois Supreme Court is
affirmed.
CONCURRENCE(OCONNOR, J.)
A criminal law must not permit policemen, prosecutors, and juries to
conduct a standardless sweepto pursue their personal
predilections. The ordinance is unconstitutionally vague because it
lacks sufficient standards to guide law enforcement officers how to
judge whether an individual has an apparent purpose. The ordinance
simple allows police officers to choose which purposes are permissible.
A reasonable alternative would be focusing on acts committed by
individuals that posed a harmful purpose. Further, the term loiter
could have been more narrowly written to mean to remain in any one
place with no apparent purpose other than to establish control over
identifiable areas, to intimidate others from entering those areas, or to
conceal illegal activities.
COMMONWEALTH V. MOCHAN
S U P E R I O R C O U RT O F P E N N S Y LVA N I A 1 1 0 A. 2 D 7 8 8 ( 1 9 5 5 )
FAC T S
Michael Mochan (defendant) was charged with making numerous
telephone calls to the home of Louise Zivkovich at all times of day and
night where he referred to her in a lewd, immoral and lascivious
manner and used other profane language to incite her to commit
adultery to the great damage, injury and oppression of Zivkovich.
Mochan was tried before a judge without a jury and convicted of a
misdemeanor. Mochan appealed, arguing that the offense he was
charged with did not constitute a misdemeanor at common law.
R U L E O F L AW
Any unlawful act which directly injures or tends to injure the public
morals or health of the community is indictable.
ISSUE
Is any unlawful act which directly injures or tends to injure the public
morals or health of the community indictable?
H O L D I N G A N D R E A S O N I N G ( H I RT, J . )
Yes. Although the indictment charging Mochan with committing
unlawful acts is based in the common law and not included in any
statutory text, Commonwealth v. Miller, 94 Pa. Super. 499, 507 (1928),
held that the common law is sufficiently broad to punish as a
misdemeanorany act which directly injures or tends to injure the
public to such an extent as to require the state to interfere and punish
the wrongdoer, as in the case of acts which injuriously affect public
morality. Mochans criminal intent was shown by his overt acts
beyond the mere verbal solicitation of adultery to Zivkovich. Mochans
language and statements injuriously affected public morality because
the operator or anyone else on Mochans four-party telephone line
could have heard what he was saying. Undoubtedly, at least two
individuals at Zivkovichs house heard the conversation. The charges in
Mochans indictments identify the offense as a common law
misdemeanor and the testimony established his guilt. The judgment of
conviction is affirmed.
R U L E O F L AW
A viable fetus is not a human being under the law to which one may be
charged with murder.
ISSUE
Is a viable fetus a human being under the law to which one may be charged
with murder?
IN RE BANKS
S U P R E M E C O U RT O F N O RT H C A R O L I N A 2 4 4 S . E . 2 D 3 8 6
(1978)
FAC T S
North Carolina established a Peeping Tom statute, G.S. 14-202, that
proscribed peeping into a females room with the intent to invade
privacy. Respondent Banks (defendant) challenged this law on the
grounds that it was unconstitutionally vague, since different people
would have to speculate as to its meaning and arrive at different
interpretations. Banks also argued the law was unconstitutionally
overbroad because it criminalized actions beyond the scope of what
the legislature meant to criminalize.
R U L E O F L AW
A criminal statute is not void for vagueness if it gives fair notice of the
criminalized conduct and provides sufficient guidance to judges and
defending lawyers, and is not void for overbreadth if there is an
available interpretation that does not inadvertently criminalize
permissible actions.
ISSUE
Is a Peeping Tom statute that criminalizes the secret peeping into a
females room with the intent to invade privacy void for vagueness or
overbreadth?
HOLDING AND REASONING(MOORE, J.)
No. G.S. 14-202 is neither void for vagueness nor overbreadth. As long
as a criminal statute gives fair notice of the specific conduct that the
statute criminalizes and provides a guiding standard for the
interpretation and application of that crime by judges and defending
attorneys, it is not void for vagueness. Statutes are not required to be
as specific as possible. It is only necessary that statutes are sufficiently
detailed so that there is little uncertainty as to what conduct is
criminalized. In Kahalley v. State, 48 So. 2d 794 (1950), the Alabama
Supreme Court invalidated a Peeping Tom statute because it did not
require the peeping to be done in secret. This omission made it difficult
to determine what type of conduct the statute prohibited. However,
G.S. 14-202 explicitly refers to those who peep secretly. This court
previously interpreted the term secretly in State v. Banks (1965), and
said it clearly refers to the act of spying on someone with the wrongful
intent to invade privacy. The inclusion of the term secretly
adequately notifies the public as to what type of conduct the statute
prohibits, and gives sufficient guidance to a judge or defending lawyer
to determine whether the defendant has violated the statute. It is
therefore not void for vagueness. The statute is not void for
overbreadth, as well. As long as the statute does not criminalize acts
that the legislature did not intend to criminalize, the statute is not
overbroad. Therefore, if there is an interpretation of the statute that
does not inadvertently criminalize permissible conduct, the statute is
not void for overbreadth. In Lemon v. State (1975), the Supreme Court
of Georgia said its Peeping Tom statute was not overbroad because the
requirement of a wrongful intent narrows the applicability of the law. It
eliminates the possibility that the law might punish someone who is
lawfully in a location where he accidentally observes a woman in her
room. G.S. 14-202 similarly avoids such a possibility because it
includes a requirement of wrongful intent. This statute is therefore not
overbroad, and its constitutionality is upheld.
Statutory interpretation:
Plain meaning rule- when the language of the law is plan and the
meaning is clear, court must follow it even if court feels the outcome is
unwise/undesirable.
- Exceptions:
o Law leads to injustice, oppression, or an absurd outcome.
`
Ambiguous statute- courts use rule of lenity- ambiguous statutes are
strictly construed in favor of defendant.
Next week
142-147
actus reus- (guilty act)- physical act (or omission) by the defendant
mens rea- (guilty mind/intention)- the state of mind ( or intent) of the
defendant at the time of her act
concurrence- the physical act and the sate of mind existed at the
same time
harmful result & causation- a harmful result that is caused (both
actually & proximately) by the defendants act
Omissions can count as acts ( i.e., they can satisfy the actus reus
elements of crimes) under certain circumstances.
Duty to act can be created by- statute, relationship (parent/child,
spouse/spouse), contract, ( bodyguard, lifeguard, nurse), creation of
peril by defendant
Cover page
- see the local rules
- caption-
o identifies the parties ( including names, and procedural
designations (e.g., plaintiff / defendant, appellant/appellee)
- title ( identifies te memo and its purpose, e.g., memorandum in
opposition to defendants motion for directed verdict)
Intro
- set up the procedural posture of the case
o nature or litigation (e.g., criminal prosecution for DUI)
o Identifies the parties
o Describe the motion before the court and the relief being
sought
- Can include a very brief/conscise summary of writers theory of
the motion ( example this motion seeks dismissal , because the
defendants action did not qualify as trespass to real property
under Calfornia common law. This memorandum explains that
the plantiff has failed to allege that the defendant physically
invaded the plaintiffs property, which is an essential element
of trespass.
Facts
- similar to the statement of the facts in an office memo
Argument
- corresponds to the discussion section of a memo
o lays out the rules
o analyzes the facts under that rules
Conclusion
- reminds the judge what outcome you want, and summarizes
your legal theory
- The defendant walked down a public sidewalk that bordered
the plaintiffs property. Although he did yell at the plaintiff who
was in her front yard, he never physically invaded her property.
Sound have have never been considered physical, and physical
invasion is required for trespassing. This court should dismiss
plaintts case for faulture to state a claim upson which relief can
be granted.
BlueBook Exc
Pg 262 table 1, pg 430 for abbreviations
Rapagnani v. Judas Co., 1999 PA Super 203.
Cite to a PA superior Court case that hasnt yet been published in the
atlantic reporter:
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.December 28, 2009 605 Pa. 1987 A.2d 638
Strict liability offense are those that dont require awareness of all
factors that constitute the crime.
Most strict liability offenses= public health or public safety is
imporicated (regulalatory or
Mala in se- crimes that are in wrongs in themselves ( inherently evil)
Mala prohibirum- prohibited by legislature.
mistake of fact
this defense is not relevant to elements of a crime that have no
mens rea requirement.
Specific intent- when a crime requires both an act, and doing that act
with a specific purpose, intent or object.
Example: E.G., forgery ( intent to defraud) BURGLARY
( INTENTTO COMMIT A FELONY IN THE DWELLING OF ANOTHER
Exceptions: Murder or Arson (malice, not specific intent)
Larceny:
(1)taking
(2)and carrying away
(3)tangible personal property
(4)of another
(5)by trespass
(6)with the intent to permanently ( and for an unreasonable amount
of time) deprive the person of her interest in the property.
People v Navarro
Theft
Trespassory- (1) taking and carrying away (2) of property of another (2) with the
intent to steal the property.
(2)When you rely on an official interpretation of the law (or official advice)
valid defnense under the MPC, so long as that statement about the law is obtained
from some onr with responsibility for the interpretation, administration, or
enforcement of the law.
N dense under common law ( unless is was erroneous official statement of the
law)
(3) if statute that makes the conduct illegal was not published or reasonable
available prior to the conduct valid defense.
Hastening the inevitable result- an act that hastens the inevitable result is
nevertheless a legal (actual cause) of the result.
Proximate cause- D is responsible for all results that occur as a natural and
probably consequence of the conduct, even if she didnt anticipate the precise
manner in which they would occur.
Causation does not involve any mental state, does not require mens rea.
1. Ask if the law is (a) specific intent, (2) general intent, or (3) strict liability
If specific intent, ask if the mistake is related to the specific intent element
of the offense
If yes: if mistake negates the specific intent valid defense.
If its a general intent law: ask if the mistake was reasonable. If yes ask if
the mistake negates the mens rea for an element. If it does valid
defense. If it does not not a valid defense.
Intentional Killings
Degrees of Murder
State v Guthrie
Guthrie lost his temper when his co-worker Farley snapped a dishtowel and him in
jest and then the D lost his cool and pulled out a knife and stabbed Farley in the
neck.
Guthrie has a lot of psychiatric problems, he claims that right before he stabbed
the guy he had a panic attack.
It is only necessary that such intention should have come into existence for the
first time at the time of such killing or at any time previously.
in order to constitute a premeditate murder an intent to kill need exist only for
an instant.
Midgett v State.
Issue- whether the states evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction.
Unless our law is changed to permit conviction of first degree murder for
something like child abuse or torture resulting in death, our duty is to give those
accused of first degree murder the benefit of the requirement that they shown by
substantial evidence to have premeditated and deliberated the killing no matter
how heinous the facts may otherwise be.
The point of this opinion is to note that there was no evidence of premediation or
deliberation which are required element sof the crime of first degree murder.
State v Forrest
People v Rideout
Safety Doctrine
1. was the actual result within the purpose or contemplation of the actor?
a. Yesproximate cause.
b. NoDid the actual result involve the same kind of injury or harm as
designed by the actor?
1. If noproximate cause
Friday 338-355
Point Headings
Either
AND
The reason that the court should take that action or agree with that
conclusion.
Inform the court of the issue and precise procedural step youre asking it to take.
Legal Grounds- When viewing the evidence in the light for beneficial to the
commonwealth, blah blah blah for the jury to grant/deny motion to aquit.
Thomas Shockley is on trial for conspiracy for conspiracy for agg assault and third
degree murder.
Adequete provation-
Defendant was in fact provoked, and the provocation must have been enough to
arouse sudden and intense passion in the mind of an ordinary person to cause her
to lose self-control
D did in fact not cool off between the provocation and the killing and there was
not sufficient time to cool off.
How to analyze- first go through elements of Malice, if there is not then it can not
be murder, so that tells you it is either voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. If
you look at the face pattern, and any of the elements of malice are there, you
have either involuntary manslaughter or nothing. Then see if someone acted with
crim negligence or if they were somehow doing an unlawful act. If acting lawfully,
did you act without due caution? If unlawfully unlawfully act
People v Fuller- Res gestay? the cut off point is when the felony reaches a place
of temporary safety in order to cut off felony murder.
( when, even though a death occurs in the commission of a felony, you do NOT use
the felony-murer rules/test)
- Merger- if felony that has been commited, intended is one assaulted by its
nature, it merges into its subsequent killing.
Proximate Causation
Involuntary manslaughter exists when the death of a human being occurs during
the commission of a criminally negligent or unlawful act.
Felony murder occurs when in the commission of an inherently dangerous felony
and as a result of that felony some one is killed. The murder must occur during the
commission of the crime meaning that the crime ends when the persons have
reached a place of safety. Also if the felony is a predicate of the murder; it merges
with the felony and cannot apply to felony murder. Generally it doesn't matter
whether the death was intended so long as it happened in furtherance of the
crime.
Mens Rea--Here mens rea will be _____ ( look to see if there is a deadly weapon,
threat, or other facts that show a mental state for an intent to kill)
Actus Reus must include at least one voluntary act, here ________.