Law test 3 Flashcards
Ambit of the offence
Prohibits Double jeporady
- The protection against someone being tried multiple times for the same or similar charge following an acquittal or conviction
Vitiated by fraud
- In sexual assult, fraud will remove the validity of consent
- Occurs when an objectively dishonest act has the signifficant risk to cause the person consenting serious bodily harm
Sanctions
- Canada imposes sanctions in response to:
- Breaches of international peace and security that have resulted in an international crisis
- Gross and systematic human rights violations
- Acts of significant corruption
- Any sanctions made by the UN
- Sanctions include trade barriers, asset freezes, travel bans, arms embargoes and restrictions on financial transactions
Actus Reus
- The guilty act
Mens Rea
- The guilty mind
Interpretive presumption
- Presumes that the text within an Act takes precident
- The literal meaning of the text is to be followed unless outweighed by other factors
Requisite Intention
- Required intention
- The list of elements that must be proven for conviction
- Must be proven that it was done intentionally
Absolute Liability
- Responisbility without fault or negligence
- Absolute crimes can be punished without a finding of mens rea (guilty mind)
Strict Liability
- Certain activities are so risky that compensation is awarded without the need to establish the defendants fault
Due Diligence
- The ability to demonstrate that a person did what could be expected under their circumstances to satisfy a legal requirement
Private Harm Principle
- Harm principle says that people should be free to act however they want unless their actions hurt someone else
Public Harm Principle
- Harm principle states that power can only be rightfully exercised over members of a community against their will in order to prevent harm to others
Offence Principle
- Expressions which intend to inflict psyschological offence are morally equivilent with physical harm
Legal Paternalism
- Justifies state coercion to protect individuals from self inflicted harm or to guide them, whether they like it or not, toward their own good
- Ex. Requiring motorcycle helmets
Legal Moralism
- Laws that represent the morals of society
- Used to require or prohibit behaviour based on societies morals
- Ex. Marriage restrictions
Atavism
- Explains criminal behaviour as a result of primitive/genetically inherited traits in individuals
- The theory states that those traits were acceptable in early/more primitive societies but are now redundant in modern societies, leading to criminal behaviour
Anthropometry
- The theory that people with certain physical characteristics are more likely to commit crimes
- Characteristics: Primitive, ape-like
What is crime
- An action that constitutes an offence that can be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law
The Criminal Code
- Includes definitions of most of the criminal offences that the Parliament of Canada has enacted
The controlled drugs and substances act
(S.C. 1996, C. 19)
- Legislation for the single convention on narcotic drugs and substances and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances
Judge-Made Criminal Law
- Common law as pronounced by judges on a case by case basis
The purpose of criminal law
- Preventing crime
- Protecting the public
- Supporting victims of crime, their families and witnesses
- Holding people responsible for their crimes
Causes of crime theories
Classical Theories, Positivist Theories (biological; FASD), psychological or social determinants (Durkhiem theory of anomie, Ecological theory), Marxist theory, Consensus Theory and conflict theory (Merton’s strain theory)
Positivist
- Self interest, pleasure/reward
- Punishment should be greater than the reward of doing the crime
Biological
- Criminals are born as such
- Atavism (Primal insticts lead to crime)
- The appearance of people can distinguish criminal status (primal appearances) (Anthropometry)
- Insane criminals: Weren’t born criminals, had a developmental upset that led them to become
- FASD (Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder)
- Have poor reasoning and judgement skills
Psychopaths are they born or made?
- Born; brain defect etc.
Elements of an Offence
Crime = Actus reus + mens rea
Absolute vs. Strict Liability Offences
- Circumstances where only Actus reus (guilty act) need to exist (no Mens rea) (guilty intentions)
- Such as speeding and polluting
Charter of Rights and Freedoms Legal Rights (Sections 7 through 11)
Section 7
- Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person
- The right not to be deprived exept when necessary
Section 8
- Right against unreasonable search and seziure
Section 9
- Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned
Section 10
- People have the right to challenge the lawfulness of an arrest or detention
Section 11
- Rights that apply to people charged with an offence
Continuity of Evidence
- Should be lead where there is potential evidence before the court, by direct or circumstantial evidence or by interference, that may raise doubt as to the continuity
Case officer
- Determines if a person is granted citizenship
- Reviews the application and makes a determination
Writ of habeas corpus
- Used to bring a prisoner or other detainee before the court to determine if the person’s imprisonment or detention is lawful
Discretion
- The ability to judge between right and wrong
Warrant
- Executed by the OPP
- Search warrant
- Arrest warrant
Summary Conviction
- A less serious crime with a less serious punishment
- Max fine is less than $5,000
- Max jail time is 2 years
Hybrid offence
- Most criminal offences are hybrid offences
- The Crown uses specific facts of each case to decide if it’s a summary offence or an indictable offence
Search incidental to arrest
- The police have a reason based on a valid law enforcement purpose to conduct that search, and that the reason is reasonable
- The search results in an arrest
Appearance notice
- Legal document that states a criminal charge and the date and time of the court data
- Issued if the suspect is not believed to be a threat to society and are LIKELY to show up at a bail hearing
- Issued only in summary convictions/less serious indictable offences
Summons
- If the accused doesn’t respond to an arrest warrant
- A summons will be delievered by a sheriff/deputy
Promise to appear
- Similar to an appearance notice
- Generally issued at the station once you have been processed and formally charged
Recognizance
- A promise made by the accused to appear and respond to criminal charges