Criminal Law Basics
Criminal laws are enacted and put into place in our judicial system through the United States Congress and State legislatures. Based on common law (laws determined by a judge) and inherited from England, state criminal laws originally dictated the criminal law process and procedures. Consequently, most ordinary crimes are covered under state law, making a state’s criminal law the prevailing standard even when a criminal case is tried in a local court and prosecuted by local prosecutors.
Other more substantial crimes are dealt with under Federal criminal laws. Crimes that Federal law cover include:
- Crimes that involve Federal property;
- Crimes that involve Federal employees;
- Crimes that involve Federal taxes;
- Crimes that involve receipt of Federal benefits;
- Crimes that involve Federally guaranteed civil rights; and
- Crime that involve interstate commerce (i.e., the transporting of individuals or goods across state lines).
Felonies and Misdemeanors
Crimes are divided into categories which depend on the seriousness of the crime and the length of time that particular crime can be punishable. The two categories of crimes are felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies are crimes punishable by more than one year of imprisonment and usually guarantee the offender the right to a jury trial. Common felonies include: murder, rape, burglary, robbery, treason, and kidnapping.
Misdemeanors, on the other hand, are crimes punishable by less than one year’s imprisonment and are generally less serious than felony crimes. In the case of misdemeanors, the offender is entitled to a jury trial only if the crime is considered serious enough, with each state having its own degree of seriousness.
The Model Penal Code
In some states, as with Federal courts, the common law system replaced certain categorization of crimes with a newer system of classifying crimes called the “Model Penal Code.” The Model Penal Code, based on a model law, classifies crimes by degree; thus, you have first-degree and second-degree crimes. First degree crimes include very serious crimes like murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault, while fourth-degree crimes would include such offenses as mischief and jaywalking. The Model Code also categorizes less serious criminal conduct as offenses and violations. With some 22 states adopting some variation of the Model Penal Code, it will inevitably be the law of the land soon.
What makes a Crime a “Crime”?
Criminal law establishes some basic elements that every crime has (with the exception of strict liability crimes). These elements are the issues a criminal prosecutor must prove to convict a person of a crime, and they are “a guilty mind and a guilty act.” Consequently, for an action to be a crime the act must be considered a guilty act and the person committing the crime must be found to have a guilty mind. Basically for someone to be guilty of a crime, they must be shown to have known that what they did was wrong and did it anyway.
The Model Penal Code designates four types of culpability that can be considered to characterize a guilty mind.
- Purpose – the intention to cause a specific result;
- Knowledge – knowing that a specific action will most certainly have a particular result;
- Recklessness – knowing that there exists an unjustifiable and substantial risk that a particular conduct might case a particular result but not intending that result to be harmful; and
- Negligence – thoughtlessly and carelessly created a situation in which there is significant risk that harm will be done.
Criminal law is a pretty straight forward system in the United States. If you find yourself in a situation where you are charged with a crime, contact a qualified criminal defense lawyer licensed in your state for assistance with your case. Trying to defend yourself is never a good idea. Having an experienced criminal defense lawyer represent you puts you in the best possible position to have a positive outcome to your case.
