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Article 1 section 8
what fed gov can do
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Article1 section 10
what state can do
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Article 6
- Pre-emption
- fed law always triumphs state
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Fed Crimes
- Tax
- Interstate commerce
- Federal property
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Federal Court System
District District court of appeal Supreme Court
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State Court System
Trial Court Appellee Court Supreme Court
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Marbury vs. Madison
- Interpreting fed law for constitution
- Most important case in the US
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Criminal Law
- go against standards of conduct; can go after money, justice, liberty
- Create dangerous situation you know about
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Civil law
- someone is suing to get money- want finality; lower stakes
- unintentional (negligent) conduct (tort, slip and falls, breach of contract, auto)- monetary
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Criminal Procedure
the rules that everyone has to follow (Practice book- “play book”)
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Start of criminal procedure
Bill of Rights
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Four Goals of Criminal Law
- 1. Deterrence
- 2. Incapacitation
- 3. Rehabilitation (cure)
- 4. Retribution
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Deterrence
- Specific- punishment- imprisonment
- General
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Incapacitation
Going to jail
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Rehabilitation (cure)
- Domestic violence
- Narcotics
- Alcohol
- AR (accelerated rehab)
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Retribution
Don’t commit crimes again s
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Where do we get laws?
Statues (2 or 3 books), common law (cases)
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Why can states make different rules?
If not decided by fed gov, states get police power
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Police power
power granted to states for the health of their citizens
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Mens Rea
intent- determines severity in any case
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4 levels of intent
- Purpose
- Knowledge
- Recklessness
- Negligence
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Purpose
4 levels of intent, do exactly what you intended to do (want to hit head and hit head)
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Knowledge
4 levels of intent, acted knowing that the result was extremely likely to occur (want to kill, want to shoot in head but hit chest)
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Recklessness
4 levels of intent, conscious risk creation (didn’t intend to do it but when drive too fast cant prevent anything bad that is going to happen)- conscious decision you are made didn’t think anything bad was going to happen (know you think it is pretty likely something will happen and do it anyways)
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Negligence
4 levels of intent, unconscious risk creation- weren’t consciously aware of the risk you were creating but you should have- rarely considered criminal – sometimes homicide (usually civil)
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Why prove beyond reasonable doubt?
Don’t want an innocent person to be jailed
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How we Categorize Crime
- By Severity
- Misdemeanor
- Felony
- By Degrees- same type of act in the case but doing something in case that makes it more severe
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How categorized/ recorded/ keep track
Uniform crime report (UCR)
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Uniform crime report (UCR)
- take all categories and types to get more accurate picture of crime in the US
- police officers get info and FBI take info and make report
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Bad about Uniform Crime Report
- Not all crimes recorded
- under reporting by victims- sexual assault; undocumented person
- Under reporting by police department- to make their town look better
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Why are not all homicides crimes?
- self defense
- police officers use gun is certain circumstances
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Homicide
intentionally taking a person’s life
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Murder-
- from common law
- Unlawful killing another using degrees-
- 1st Degree- Intentional, deliberate, premeditated
- 2nd Degree- Heat of Passion (just snapped)
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Felony murder (Violent Felony)
- 1. Commit certain felony
- 2.While committing felony innocent person dies
- Robbery most common
- No intent for someone to die needed
- Ex: commit armed robbery and guy dies of heart attack before gun shot
- Ex: you commit robbery and accomplice kills person
- Usually punished just as severely as murder
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Manslaughter
- 1. Intent to wound/injure somebody OR recklessly create case
- 2. When wound/injure you kill the
- Didn’t intend to kill but did
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Negligent Homicide
- 1. Intent- criminal negligence
- 2. Cause death
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Assault
- 1. Intent- intentionally threaten the use/show of force
- 2. Places a reasonable person in fear
- 3. Of imminent attack
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Battery
- 1. Intent- intentional contact that is
- 2. Non consensual
- 3. With another person
- 4. Causes pain or injury
- o Ex: fight
- Sexual Assault
- 1. Non consensual
- 2. Sexual intercourse
- 3. With another person
- 4. Accomplished by the use of force or threat of use of force
- More serious- weapon, age (child/ elderly)
- Less serious- not intercourse but touching (grabbing of sexual parts)
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Statutory Rape
- 1. Member of protected class(minor, mentally challenged/incompetent, doctor, priest, therapist, high school teacher)
- 2. Have sexual intercourse with that person
- Against children more severe
- Doesn’t matter if person says “yes”
- Megan’s Law- sex offenders must be registered
- Kidnapping
- 1. Unlawful, taking or holding
- 2. With movement (asportation)
- 3. Of another person
- 4. With the use of force or deception (can you help me find my dog?)
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Arson
- 1. Intentional
- 2. Burning (explosions)
- 3. Property (that destroyed)
- Makes it more serious
- 4. Dwelling (bc people can get hurt)
- 5. Insurance Proceeds (to get money)
- 6. If someone gets hurt
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Burglary
- 1. Unlawful entry or unlawful remaining (hide)
- 2. In a building
- 3. Intend to commit a crime inside
- a. Larceny
- b. Robbery
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Larceny
- 1. Unlawful taking of holding
- 2. Of property
- 3. Of another
- 4. With the intent to permanently deprive that person of property (have to explain why)
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Robbery (larceny + force)
- 1. Unlawful taking of holding
- 2. Of property
- 3. Of another
- 4. With the intent to permanently deprive that person of property
- 5. Use of threat of force (can be bee bee gun)
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Adversarial system
- both sides want to win and both sides do their best to win (justice system)
- making it a fair trial
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Why is judicial system not fair?
- Government has better resources than normal person
- Criminals have lots of rights bc government (have strong preferably rights)
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Bill of Rights
What fed gov, state gov, and no gov can do
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Amendments 1-10
- Protect individual rights
- Freedom of press, speech (protect from bad government)
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Judge
assures that both sides get a fair trial; chooses punishment
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Due Process
- Usually used
- Protect Civil liberties (focus on individual rights) -> lim gov
- Bill of rights
- Instead of looking at everyone’s info just look at potential criminals’ info
- Not intended to be efficient- want to get it right
- • Make it difficult to enforce law and get you locked up
- o Jury has to make decision
- Prevent bias
- Represent the community
- o Legal and factual guilty
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Legal guilt and Factual guilt for conviction
Not only proved crime and but also the gov played by the rules in order to convict you
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Crime Control
- Used by fed law
- Primary goal to catch and convict criminals
- The end justifies the means
- Efficiently
- Stalk everyone
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Role of Prosecutor
Lawyers or attorneys that represent the government of the people in the community
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Fed Gov prosecutor
- top law enforcement- US attorney general – Eric Holder
- • Appointed by president but confirmed by the senate (need 51 “yeses”)
- • Leave with president (political)
- Each district (of states)has a top prosecutor- US Attorney
- • Appointed by president and confirmed by the senate
- • political
- Assistant US Attorney
- • Taken from law school (not by president)
- • Not political (apolitical)
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State Prosecutor
- Have 95% of crimes to prosecute
- Each state system is different
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State prosecutors In CT
- States Attorney- chief law enforcement officer
- • 13 Judicial District
- o 1 per district, Appointed by committee
- Assistant States Attorney
- • Try to make apolitical
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CT Courts
- Judicial D (jd)- less than in geographic
- • Murder rape, arson
- Geographic area
- • violence, minor drug, DUI (low time in prison)
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Job of prosecutor
- educate the police and public about the legal system
- decide who should be prosecuted, what the charges should be and try the cases
- • if high price then decide not to take plea bargain and then have case with judge
- to do justice
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How prosecutor decides the penalty
- seriousness offence- how serious case
- offender- how often have been arrested
- strength of case- good case or bad case
- • decide to drop case, fine, put on probation, request go to jail, rehab program
- • decide what is worth their time to prosecute (lower level courts) and priority in community
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Percentage of trials that don’t go to trial
95%
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Restrictions of prosecutor
Have to give info even if go against their side (exculpatory evidence)
- Exculpatory evidence
- Info that helps the defendant
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Defense job
- Represent the defendant (∆) to the best of the attorney’s ability; not society at large; whether they did it or not
- Everyone has the right to a great defendant
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Two types of defense attorneys
- Private Defense Attorney
- Public Defender
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Private Defense Attorney
- Works for themselves, law firm, don’t work for gov
- Represent in criminal court
- Hired by client and decides if want to represent you
- If accept case, file an appearance (in CT) they cannot quit
- Paid by hr or flat fee(most common)
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Public Defender
- Attorneys hired by the gov to represent people who are indigent (poor)
- Appointed by court
- Client has no say in who they get
- Cannot quit; unless they the defendant makes too much money and they can buy their own
- Have to face the possibility of jail to receive lawyer
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Gideon vs Wainwright
- Appeal to supreme court
- Saying that constitution requires to give you an attorney if you are poor
- Created public defender system
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Main jobs of a defense attorney
- Educate client to make informed decision
- Make sure factually guilty
- Legally guilty
- 95% of work negotiation of charges or sentence
- If trial- make prosecution earn the accusation
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Factually guilty
Gov can prove each charge beyond reasonable doubt
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Legal guilty
- Make sure gov played by the rules to arrest you
- Did break into house w/o warrant?
- Can file motion for suppress?
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Motion for suppress
Info the Jury cant see bc police didn’t play by the rules to get it
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Plea bargain
- Plead guilty and reduction in charges and/or sentence
- Convince the prosecutor of the judge that the person is actually good
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Attorney, Client confidentiality
- Any communication between attorney and client are confidential
- So the client think they can trust the person and don’t lie about this
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Cant suborn perjury
- so don’t ask what you did; ask what you are accused of- bc then cant put your client on the stand bc you know they are going to lie
- o Unless Secretary, investigator, or if they think a crime is about to be committed
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Cant hold physical evidence that is contraband
Hold something of a client bc it is illegal for them to have it
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