1 / 33

Introduction to Criminal Law

Introduction to Criminal Law . What is a Crime? .

matsu
Télécharger la présentation

Introduction to Criminal Law

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Introduction to Criminal Law

  2. What is a Crime? • “Crimes are wrongful acts that the State recognizes as deserving of control and punishment in the interests of society as a whole. When such wrongs are detected, the State prosecutes the alleged perpetrators to ensure the safety of the public and to preserve the rule of law, which is the foundation of our democratic society.” - Justice McDermid (Ontario Superior Court)

  3. What is Crime? • What can we take from that quote? • Public dimension to criminal law • Alleged criminals are prosecuted by the state on behalf of us all • Prosecution is not the responsibility of the victim • Victim remains uninvolved or minimally involved • Ensure the safety of the public • Preserve rule of law • Applies equally to all persons, no one is above the law

  4. A Crime is any… • Harmful act or non-act • That threatens society, and • Must be dealt with

  5. So…what’s the purpose of Criminal Law?

  6. Purpose of Criminal Law • To protect individuals and society from being harmed • To punish Criminals • To protect the innocent • To inform society as to what is considered a crime • To show differences between serious and minor crimes

  7. The Criminal Code of Canada

  8. The Criminal Code of Canada • Is a statute, passed and amended by the federal Parliament • Outlines which actions are considered crimes • How offences are prosecuted • What penalties are imposed • It applies in every Canadian province and territory • It is the most comprehensive statement of the law of crime and punishment in Canada

  9. The Criminal Code of Canada • Group Activity: Examining the Criminal Code of Canada • Group 1: Bigamy • Group 2: Extortion • Group 3: Burial, Neglect • Group 4: Conspiracy • Group 5: Fortune Telling • How does the Criminal Code define the crime? What is the punishment?

  10. Criminal Code of Canada • Other statues deal with crimes such as Controlled Drug and Substances Act: which deal specifically with drug offences • The Code is regularly amended to reflect societal concerns, emerging issues, etc. • Can you think of an example of a criminal law that has changed because of social changes or emerging issues?

  11. Judge-Made Criminal Law • The Code set out offences, judges interpret them • Judges rely on legal precedents to assist in the interpretation of provisions that are often ambiguous • Judges expand definitions of crime to cover behavior not specifically addressed by the Code • Precedent

  12. Case Study: R v. Cuerrier • Read pages 234-235 • Answer #1-2 on pg. 235

  13. Criminal Code of Canada Retribution • Involves the public denouncing and punishing of wrongful behavior • Meant to reaffirm social values and deliver justice • Focuses on providing a fitting response by society to wrongdoing • Punishment must respect the rights and liberties of an accused person • It should be fair

  14. Criminal Code of Canada Protection of Society • Purpose is more forward thinking • Intent is to make society safer be deterring future wrongdoing and by rehabilitating wrongdoers • Focus in on public safety and the prevention of crime • Must be a balance between this protection principle to extending the states use of criminal law power and the rights and freedoms of its people • What is more important to you? Punishment or Rehabilitation?

  15. Criminal Code of Canada Principles of Justification • Private Harm Principle • The prevention of harm to individuals • Public Harm Principle • The prevention of harm to public institutions and practices • Legal Paternalism • The prevention of harm to the self • Legal Moralism • The prevention of immorality

  16. Criminal Code of CanadaCitations • In a Criminal trial, it is the government – in the name of the king or queen – who prosecutes the accused. • This is why criminal cases are named like this: • R. v. Eaton(2009) • R. v. Srouji(2003)

  17. Criminal Code of Canada Citations R v. Rocha (2014) • R = Rex (King) or Regina (Queen) • V = versus (Against) • The name that follows = the Accused • The year = year the decision was given

  18. Criminal Code of Canada Citations • Governments acts for the benefit of society in general • Does not act for the individual victim • If the accused is convicted, the person would be given a fine or penalty • The purpose of the punishments is to punish OR rehabilitate the offender AND to discourage others from breaking the law

  19. Who Commits Crime?

  20. Who Commits Crime? • During the 19th and 20th Centuries, two theories emerged 1. Chicago School: • Theory that people are not simply born good or bad – they are influenced by the people, social situations, and other external forces that surround them

  21. Who Commits Crime? 2. Sigmund Freud • Linked crime to individual psychology • He believed that all humans have criminal tendencies, but that these are modified through inner controls learned through childhood

  22. Who Commits Crimes? • Criminologists looked for more complex explanations, given the fact that crime continued to grow even though individuals were generally better off and protect by a more elaborate social safety net.

  23. Who Commits Crimes? • Research in the 1960s revealed two discoveries….

  24. Who Commits Crimes? #1 • Girls were much less likely to engage in illegal behaviour than boys • Vast majority of all male participants reported having committed illegal acts that cold have landed them before youth courts

  25. Who Commits Crime? #2 • Children or parents with professional jobs were just as likely to report having committed illegal acts as the children of poorer parents with low status jobs

  26. Who Commits Crime? • Most experts now agree that the social status and income of the parents have little or no direct effect on the likelihood that children will turn to delinquency

  27. Who Commits Crime? • Children most “at risk” • 1. Receive little love, affection or warmth and are physically or emotionally rejected and/or abandoned by their parents • 2. Inadequately supervised by parents who fail to teach them right from wrong, do not monitor their whereabouts, friends, or activities and who discipline them erratically and harshly • 3. Conflict in homes, martial discord, violence, limited coping resources, social isolation, poor parenting skills.

  28. Who Commits Crime? • Most Canadians commit crimes at some point… • Most Criminal offences are committed by men at the extremes of the social spectrum • Criminal who are without legitimate employment sometimes destitute are most feared by the public and responsible for a large share of street crime • White collar criminals, who are responsible for more deaths and steal much more money than the poor, are seldom called criminals • Do you agree?

  29. Textbook Questions • Read Pages 243-244 • Answer Questions 1-3 • Read Pages 245-246 • Answer Questions 1-3

More Related