chapter 2 Flashcards
where does the word crime come from
the latin word “crimen” which means accusation
where does criminal law come from?
legislation decisions and judicial decisions (common law)
who can criminal law be enacted by
parliament of Canada and legislatures of provinces and territories
crime can be defined by what three elements
1) a prohibition against certain behaviour
2) a penalty for violating that prohibition
3) the penalty and prohibition must be directed against a public “evil”
what is substantive criminal law
laws that define criminal offences and specifies legal elements that must be presented before conviction (declaring someone’s guilty)
what is Criminal Procedure
laws that specify procedures followed in the prosecution of a criminal case
what is an Indictable Offence
a serious offence like murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, terrorism, drug trafficking, etc.
what is a summary (conviction) offence
less serious crimes like drinking and driving, causing public disturbance, soliciting a prostitute
what’s a mixed/hybrid offence
an offence that can both be tried as a summary offence or a indictable offence
what is a regulatory offence
non serious crimes that are usually dealt with tickets and fines
what is common law
judge Made law that isn’t passed by legislation
under what two circumstances is medically assisted dying okay
1) if there is clear consent to the ending of life
2) if the person is suffering from a medical condition that is intolerable
what argument was made when deciding whether medically assisted suicide should be legal
because of section 7 in the criminal code the states a person has the right to life, liberty, and freedom
which bill is the medical assistance in dying act
Bill C-14
what are the two elements of crime
Actus reus and Mens rea
what does actus reus mean and what are the three elements
refers to the action, behaviour, and no-mental elements of a crime
- conduct (behaviour)
- circumstances
- consequences
what is considered bodily harm
physical or mental harm
what does “mens rea” mean
it refers to all the mental elements that the crown mist prove to obtain conviction for a criminal offence
it refers to the guilty mind and wrongful intention of the accused
what is the mens rea requirement and what does it ensure
the requirement is to analyze or in relation to each of the three elements of the actus reus
it ensures that only the defendants who are morally blameworthy are convicted
what is subjective mens rea
based on the idea that a persons may not be convicted of a criminal offence unless they 1) purposely intended to and 2) subjectively realized that their behaviour would result in the consequences
what is objective mens rea
based on the idea that the accused person should be convicted of certain offences not because they intended it, but because reasonable people would have avoided the behaviour/conduct
what three forms of subjective mens rea are required to be proven in criminal prosecution
1) Intention and knowledge
2) recklessness
3) wilful blindness
