unit 1 aos2 Flashcards
criminal law
an area of law that defines behaviours and conduct that are prohibited
crime
an act or omission that is an against an existing law, harmful to both an individual and society.
sanction
a penalty imposed by a court on a person guilty of commiting a criminal offence
presumption of innocence
the right of a person accused of a crime to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty
beyond reasonable doubt
the standard of proof that there is no reasonable doubt that the accused commited the offence
standard of proof
the degree to which a case must be proved in court
burden of proof
the obligation of the prosecution or plaintiff to prove a case
purposes of criminal law
to protect individuals, property, society and justice
how is the presumption of innocence protected?
it is protected by the burden of proof and the standard of proof
what are the elements of a crime?
actus reus and mens rea
actus reus
a latin term meaning a guilty act. the physical element of a crime
mens rea
a latin term meaning a guilty mind. the intentional element of a crime.
strict liability
where culpability or responsibility for commiting a crime can be established without having to prove there was mens rea
what is the age of criminal responsibility?
a child under 10 cannot be charged, a child 10-13 can be charged if the prosecution proves there was mens rea, a child 14+ can be charged with a crime.
Division A of crime:
Homicide, assault, sexual offences, stalking
Division B:
Arson, property damage, burglary, theft
Division C:
Dealing and trafficking drugs
Division D:
Weapons and explosives offences
Division E:
Perjury
Division F:
Regulatory driving offences
Type of offender or victim (5)
cyber-crime, prejudice motivated crime, organised crime, juvenile crime, white collar crime.
cyber crime
a criminal offence in which the use of computers or tech is an essential and central part of the offending.
prejudice motivated crime
a criminal offence motivated by prejudice and bias towards the victim (because of their race, sex, age or religion)
Organised crime
a criminal offence undertaken in a planned and ongoing manner by organised syndicates or gangs.
juvenile crime
a criminal offence undertaken by a young person aged between 10-18
white collar crimes
a criminal offence undertaken by people in government, or in the corporate/business world.
indictable offences
a serious offence generally heard before a judge and jury in the county or supreme court (homicide, culpable driving causing death and rape)
summary offence
a minor offence generally heard in the Magistrate’s court (drink driving and minor assault)
principal offender
a person who has carried out the actus reus and has therefore directly commited the offence
accessory
a person who does an act to help another person (who has commited a serious indictable offence) to avoid being prosecuted.
defences to crime (7)
self-defence, mental impairment, duress, sudden or extraordinary emergency, automatism, intoxication & accident
self-defence
if they believed that their actions were necessary to protect themselves or percieved their actions to be a reasonable response in the circumstances
mental impairment
a condition of the mind that impacts on a person’s ability to know the nature and quality of their conduct
duress
strong mental pressure on someone to overcome their independent will and force them to do something
sudden or extraordinary emergency
their actions were the only reasonable way of dealing with the situation
automatism
a state in which a person has a total loss of control over their bodily movements so that they cannot form an intention to commit a crime
intoxication
to succesfully argue intoxication, the accused must prove that their state of intoxication was not self-induced.
accident
this would apply if the actions the accused took to commit the offence were involuntary or unintentional
unfit to stand trial
if they are unable to understand the nature of the charges, enter a plea, follow the course of the trial and instruct their lawyer.
homicide
the killing of another person without legal justification
manslaughter
the unintentional killing of a person due to reckless, dangerous act or negligent behaviour
infantcide
the killing of a mother of her child under two years of age while suffering a mental conditions caused by the effect of that child’s birth
child homicide
the killing of a child under 6 years of age in circumstances that would normally be manslaughter
culpable driving causing death
the act of causing a death of another person while driving a motor vehicle in a negligent or reckless manner under the influence of drugs or alcohol
homicide by firearm
the killing of a person by discharging a firearm in a circumstance that would normally be manslaughter
elements of murder (4)
the killing was unlawful, the accused acts were voluntary, the accused commited acts that caused the victim’s death, the accused acted with intent to kill or cause serious harm.
possible impacts of murder
the victim (and their family and friends), the community, the offender.
