Foundational Issues Flashcards
Crime
- The person causes a social harm
- The social harm is due to morally blameworthy behavior.
- As a result, apart from other consequences, the defendant is morally condemned by the community
Utilitarianism
People are punished if, and only if, it is expected to cause a reduction in crime that would otherwise occur.
Utilitarianism
General Deterence
The goal of punishment is to stop other potential crinimals from committing crimes.
Utilitarianism
Individual Deterence
The goal of punishment is to deter an offender from committing a crime again.
Also known as specific deterence.
Utilitarianism
Incapacitation
The goal of punishment is to imprison the defender so he cannot commit further crimes.
Utilitarianism
Rehabilitation
The goal of punishment is to change the offender so he won’t commit crimes when he is released.
Retribution
The offender deserves to be punished for his crime.
Assaultive Retribution
The theory is that because the offender hurt society, it is right for society to hurt him back.
Also known as public vengeance or societal retribution.
Protective Retribution
Punishment is meant to restore the moral balance of society. Society has rules and if a person breaks the rules and is not punished for it, he enjoys the benefits of society without carrying the burden of following the rules.
Victim Vindication
Punishment is a way to right a wrong.
Denunciation
Punishment is justified as a way to express society’s condemnation and the relative seriousness of a crime.
Common Law in Statutes
If a term is not defined in a statute, it’s presumed to retain its common law meaning.
Felony
An offense punishable by death or imprisonment in a state prison
Misdemeanor
An offense for which the maximum punishment is a fine, local jail time, or both
Reception Statutes
Common law crimes that are not in the penal code but can still be punished.
Punishment
Punishment is suffered only when an agent of the government is granted authority by the criminal conviction to inflict pain or otherwise cause consequences ordinarily considered unpleasent.
People v. Suite
Suitte had an unregistered gun but was a good guy. NY had a minimal one-year jail requirement meant to produce general deterrence. Judge used his discretion and sentenced Suitte to 30 days in jail.
Rule – Appellate courts defer to trial courts unless there’s an abuse of discretion
Just and Proper Sentences Consider
- The purpose of punishment
- The crime and
- The nature of the defendant.
Principle of Legality
A person may not be punished unless her conduct was defined as criminal before she acted
Policies Behind Legality
- Criminal statutes should be understandable to the average person
- Criminal statutes shouldn’t leave policy matters to policemen, judges and juries to decide on an ad hoc, subjective basis
- Judicial interpretation of ambiguous statutes should be construded in favor of the accused
Constitutional Law
Article I, Section 9
Prohibits bills of attainder, special legislation that declares a person guilty of a crime and subject to punishment without a trial.
Constitutiional Law
Article 1, Section 10
Prohibits people from being prosecuted for current crimes that were not crimes when the people did them.
This rule is for the legislature, not the judiciary. A court may interpret common law doctrines with retroactive effect unless the interpretation is unexpected or indefensible.
Constitutional Law
Amendments V & IX
- Provide for equal protection and due process under the law.
- Prohibits arbitrary criminalization
- Prohibits vague laws
- Prohibits laws that deny substantive due process
- Prohibits discriminatory criminalization
Constitutional Law
Amendment VIII
Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
- Punishments offensive to human dignity
- Excessive punishments
- Punishments that have no relationship to the purpose of punishment
- Punishments that are grossly disproportionate to crime.
Rule of Lenity
When a criminal statute is subject to conflicting reasonable interpretations, the statute should be interpreted in favor of the defendant.
This is the very last tool of judicial interpretation. Not recognized by the MPC.
Graham v. Florida
Facts: The juvenile defendant commited nonhomicide crimes and was sentanced to life without parole.
Rule: It violated the Eighth Amendment to sentence a juvenile defendant to life without parole for nonhomicide crimes, but states may keep the offender in prison if he is irredeemable.
Outcome: Remanded for a finding based on the opinion
Principle of Specificity
Criminal statutes must not be so vague or overbroad as to fail to provide fair notice of what is prohibited.
The notice is required not only so people know how to conform to the law, but also to prevent vesting too much discretion in law enforcement.
Constitutional Law
Amendment I
Prohibits criminalization that improperly impinges on the right of free speech.
Constutional Law
Amendment VIII
Prohibits criminalization of status.
People v. Marquan M.
Constitutional laws are not absolute, but a law that infringes on a fundamental right (or affects a suspect classification) must survive strict scutiny, meaning it must be needed to achieve a compelling state interest. And it must be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.
Evolving Standard of Decency Analysis
Eighth Amendment Analysis
- Look at the historical practice
- Look at the current societal consensus
- Legislature
- Juries
- Public opinion
- Court’s independant judgment
Eighth Amendment Prohibition of the Death Penality
- Nonhomicide offenses (rape)
- Many felony murders
- People with intellectional disabilities
- Juveniles
Proportionality of Non-Capital Sentences
Solem v. Helm (1983)
Three Factor Test
- The gravity of the offense and the harshness of the punishment
- Sentences imposed for the same and similar crimes in the jurisdiction
- Sentences imposed for commission of the same offense in other jurisdictions
Proportionality of Non-Capital Sentances
Harmelin v. Michigan (1991)
Guiding Priciples for Solem Test
- Primacy of the legislature in deciding prison terms
- Variety of legitimate penological schemes
- Nature of the federal system is that each state will have its own penological theories
- Objective factors guide proportionality review
- The Eighth Amendment only prohibits grossly disproportionate sentences.
Strict Scrutiny
This applies when laws seem to discriminate against suspect classes, like race, national origin, religion and ethnicity. In order to pass strict scrutiny, the law must serve a compelling state interest and be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.
Intermediate Scrutiny
Intermediate scrutiny is used for gender discrimination and similar issues. To pass intermediate sctrutiny, the law must further an important governmenal interest and do so by means that are substantially related to that interest
Rational Basis Review
This is used to determine if a law is constitutional. To pass rational basis review, the law must have a legitimate state interest and there must be a rational connection between the laws means and goals.
