General Principles of Criminal Law Flashcards
Key Differences Between Civil and Criminal Law
- Criminal cases brought by the government, and civil cases brought by private parties
- Higher burden of proof in criminal cases
- Proof beyond a reasonable doubt
- Jury must be unanimous in criminal cases, but not in civil cases
- Criminal defendant entitled to legal representation, a government-appointed attorney
- No civil right to an attorney
Jury Nullification
The act of retiring a verdict contrary to the law
Jury acting against the rule of law, and determining guilt based on personal sense of justice
Theories of Punishment
Retribution: Justice, “eye for an eye”. If a person does something bad, then the government will do something bad to that person
Incapacitation: Protect the rest of the society form a person
Deterrence: Others don’t want to face the punishment; preventative
Rehabilitation: Resolving the underlying issue that drive that crime
Proportionality
Punishment should fit the crime
Presumption of Innocence
A ∆ is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt
Statutory Interpretation
- Look at plain language of the statute first
- Look at legislative history if plain language is not clear
- Apply rule of lenity is language is ambiguous/unclear
(We must adopt the interpretation of the statute that is most favorable to the defendant; in other words, the interpretation that is more likely to lead to the defendant being found not guilty)
Yermian
When a statute is unclear or ambiguous, courts consider the plain language of the statute and the legislative intent behind the statute to interpret the statute’s meaning. If the meaning is ambiguous based on a review of the plain text and the legislative intent, courts default to the rule of lenity and interpret the statute in the manner that is most advantageous to the defendant.
