We spent the rest of the class looking at my lecture on an Introduction to Criminal Law.
In case you missed it or in if you would like further clarification on your notes, here are some main points from the lecture:
The Law exists to: Protect society & individuals
Establish rules of conduct
Keep the peace
Punish offenders
Protect rights and freedoms
What is a Crime?
Parliament decides what is a crime and it passes laws accordingly.
A action that we consider a crime reflects societal values, e.g. Marijuana reform.
Because different people have different values and beliefs, we establish that these
FOUR CONDITIONS must exist in order for an action or omission to be considered a crime:
- The Action must harm other people or entities and the harm must be serious in nature and degree.
- The action violates the basic values of society.
- Using law to deal with the action must not violate the basic values of society.
- Criminal law can make a significant contribution to resolving the problem.
Also, these TWO ELEMENTS must exist for an action to be a criminal offense: actus reus & mens rea. Because the Charter sec 11(d) says that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty the Crown attorney must prove both of these beyond a reasonable doubt.
ELEMENTS of a Crime
- Actus Reus: wrongful action (committing the act of the crime)
- Mens Rea: wrongful mind (intention to commit the crime), or that the offense is committed with i.) intent or knowledge or ii.) recklessness.
- Intent or Knowledge: Intent is the true purpose of the action, or what a reasonable person would be thinking under the circumstances.
- General Intent: the person has no other criminal purpose in mind, e.g. assault or trespass (it has to be shown only that the person did apply force or was on someone else’s property) no need to prove mens rea.
- Knowledge: knowing certain facts can provide the necessary mens rea, e.g. using an expired credit card or someone else’s credit card.
- Recklessness: careless disregard for the possible results of an action. People who act recklessly do not necessarily intend to cause harm, no matter.
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