Unit V Discussion Board Criminal Law

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· Define terms relatA significant amount of the criminal code is devoted to protecting persons from personal harm. Criminal statutes define a variety of crimes against persons, including assault, battery, rape, and kidnapping. Each of these offenses results in a degree of injury to the victim, and the type of specific offense charged is based on the elements of the act.ed to types of personal crime

· A significant amount of the criminal code is devoted to protecting persons from personal harm. Criminal statutes define a variety of crimes against persons, including assault, battery, rape, and kidnapping. Each of these offenses results in a degree of injury to the victim, and the type of specific offense charged is based on the elements of the act.

· TOPICS

· OBJECTIVES

· Topic 01: Assault

· Mayhem is a form of aggravated battery where the injuries to the victim are severe and permanent.

· Topic 02: Battery

· Menacing, also known as brandishing, is the act of wielding a weapon with the intent of threatening another person with bodily harm.

· Topic 03: Sex Offenses

· Rape shield laws are intended to prevent information regarding a rape victim’s sexual history from being raised at trial.

· Topic 04: Manslaughter

· Once kidnappers cross state lines, the crime becomes a federal offense under the Federal Kidnapping Act.

· Topic 05: False Imprisonment

· Under shopkeeper’s privilege, a storeowner may be permitted to detain a shoplifter on store property for a reasonable

Introduction

The terms assault and battery are frequently used concurrently when describing personal injury crimes, but these crime actually consist of different elements. To increase your understanding of the difference between assault and battery, it is important to analyze the elements of these offenses and the definitions of aggravated assault and conditional assault.

OBJECTIVES

· Define terms related to types of personal crime

· Discuss different types of assault

· Differentiate between assault, battery, and aggravated battery

· Identify laws designed to protect individuals from personal crimes

SEQUENCE

Elements of Assault

Many people contend that the modern differentiation between assault and attempted battery is simply semantics. The crime of battery is the unlawful infliction of harm on another. The crime of assault is the threat or attempt to harm another person.

The elements for the crime of assault are:

Mens Rea: An unlawful attempt or threat

Actus Reus: With the present ability to injure another person

The crime of mayhem is listed in many statutes as a higher degree of battery. Here the injuries suffered by the victim are severe.

First-degree assault and batteAssault Versus Battery

The crime of mayhem is listed in many statutes as a higher degree of battery. Here the injuries suffered by the victim are severe.

First-degree assault and battery generally requires that the victim has suffered severe bodily injuries or that the offender attempted battery with a weapon.

Bodily injury need not be a situation that causes harm. The term is synonymous with unlawful touching.

The present ability element of assault statutes requires that the person making the threats has the immediate physical capability to do so.

The crime of menacing is generally the threat of severe bodily harm where the individual does not have the present ability to carry out the threat.

Two men in business suits hitting each other.

ry generally requires that the victim has suffered severe bodily injuries or that the offender attempted battery with a weapon.

Bodily injury need not be a situation that causes harm. The term isAttempted Assault

The phrase attempted assault is redundant. As mentioned previously, an assault is an attempted battery.

However, some jurisdictions try to provide a scale of criminal behavior for an act that causes injury; these jurisdictions have provided an attempted assault crime classification. Simply explained, it examines the act's proximity to the completion of a battery.

For example, “menacing” may constitute an attempted assault in some jurisdictions.

synonymous with unlaAnti-Stalking Statutes

As mentioned earlier, state criminal statutes are constantly evolving to fit the needs of the ever-changing American society.

We hear horrifying stories of individuals who are pursued, harassed, and eventually killed by an obsessed individual. The story of the songstress Selena who was killed by a fan, Yolanda Saldivar, still is fresh in the minds of her mourners.

Anti- stalking statutes make it a criminal act to repeatedly follow, harass, and threaten to harm another person. Generally, these statutes are necessary because it’s possible that the harassment may otherwise not consist of any illegal or unlawful act. Acts such as repeatedly writing love notes or sending unwanted gifts may fall within anti-stalking statutes. Some statutes have been expanded to include cyberspace stalking.

Critical Thinking Question: How do we prosecute those who are stalking from other countries?

wful touching.

The present ability element of assault statutes requires that the person making the threats has the immediate physical capability to do so.

The crime of menacing is generally the threat of severe bodily harm where the individual does not have the present ability to carry out the threat.

Elements of Battery

Now that we have explored the elements of the crime of assault (attempted battery), let’s discuss the particular elements of the crime of battery.

Mens rea: The intentional and unlawful

Actus reus: Use of force against another

Select each item to learn more.

Transferred intent

Constructive touching

Effective consent or legal consent

The requisite mens rea for battery is intent to cause harm. However, if a person intends to cause harm to one person and accidentally causes harm to someone else, they are still guilty of battery. Their initial intent is transferred to the actual victim. Transferred intent refers to this situation.

Aggravated Battery

Much like aggravated assault, the crime of aggravated battery is the crime of additional circumstances that raise the severity of the battery– for example, a battery with the use of a weapon, or in conjunction with the commission of a felony. Battery of the elderly, children, or other statutorily protected individuals can also constitute aggravated battery.

A battery can also be considered aggravated if the injury caused is severe.

Elements of Aggravated battery:

· Mens Rea: The intentional

· Actus Reus: Causing of serious physical harm (including serious bodily injury, disablement, or disfigurement) under aggravating circumstances or through the use of a weapon.

Mayhem

Battery that causes permanent injury carries serious penalties. The crime of mayhem is a battery that causes a permanent injury or loss of limb, organ, sight, and so on.

Lorena Bobbitt is infamous for the mayhem she perpetrated on her husband. The Bobbitt case alleged that John raped Lorena, not that he failed to sexually please her, therefore she cut off his penis while he slept. Although officers were able to relocate the remains of Bobbitt’s penis and later surgically reattach it, this type of injury constituted the crime of mayhem.

Review

The elements of battery include the intentional and lawful use of force against another person. Stalking is considered an assault because it often includes a threat to another person. You should now understand the terms transferred intent, constructive touching, and legal consent. You should also be able to describe examples of aggravated battery and mayhem.

OBJECTIVES

· Define terms related to types of personal crime

· Discuss different types of assault

· Differentiate between assault, battery, and aggravated battery

· Debate what constitutes the crime of stalking

SEQUENCE

Introduction

Police officer holding up a folder containing a criminal record.

Criminal sexual conduct laws inflict significant harm on the victim and include rape, statutory rape, and sexual assault. The defense of consent is commonly raised in such cases, placing the burden on the victim to disprove it.

OBJECTIVES

· Define terms related to types of personal crime

· Discuss different types of assault

· Identify laws designed to protect individuals from personal crimes

SEQUENCE

Criminal Sexual Conduct

Another category of assault and battery is that of sexual offenses. The complications found in prosecuting criminal sexual conduct stem from the different social and gender perspectives that exist in American culture.

The majority of sexual offenses must overcome the defense of consent. Criminal statutes have found the objective codification of consent difficult at best, if not impossible.

The issue of consent as it plays out in a trial before a jury encompasses the biases and stereotypes prevalent in our society. As we examine these particular sexual offenses, we will discuss some of the challenges that social perspectives pose to the prosecution of sexual offenses.

NBA star Kobe Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old hotel concierge in Edwards, Colorado, in 2003. Although the criminal charges were later dropped, the Bryant case drew attention to Colorado's rape shield statute when defense attorneys asked that the accuser's sexual history be introduce at trial, and a judge agreed to allow a limited amount of such information to be used. What role do rape shield statutes serve?

Sad woman with another woman nearby.

Rape

Let’s begin with the crime of rape . The crime of rape is defined as “having forcible sex with another” and is a modern interpretation of the criminal sexual conduct or deviate sexual intercourse . However, because the element of consent is included in the definition of rape, it is not a viable defense for the crime. In other words, if consent was given, that does not "justify" rape, but it does disprove it. Thus, to prove the charge of rape, the lack of consent must be thoroughly established. As an example of how hard it might be to prove consent, imagine that, before someone could be charged with attempted murder in a drive-by shooting, a prosecutor had to prove that the victim thoroughly resisted getting shot. Some might argue that if the victim was standing near several gang members in a rough neighborhood, the victim was giving his consent to be shot at.

Rape is controversial because it does more than provide consent as a defense; it makes the lack of consent an element of the crime. The mandate to prove “resisting a rape” is frustrating to many legal theorists. Phrases such as “NO means NO” state the desire to shift the burden of consent from the victim to the defendant. The diversity of the human population makes legislating consent very difficult. Although one individual may physically respond to his or her attacker, another may be paralyzed with fear and appear not to resist at all.

Another controversial issue surrounding rape statutes is that some states do not recognize the crime of spousal rape . Jurisdictions that recognize spousal rape nonetheless require the accuser to have objectively manifested to the defendant that the marriage has ended before the act; otherwise, the accuser is considered to have given implied consent because they are married.

Another controversial issue surrounding rape statutes is thaRape Scenarios

Select each item to learn more.

Spousal Rape

Date Rape

Stranger Rape

t some Rape Scenarios

Select each item to learn more.

Spousal Rape

Date Rape

Stranger Rape

A second controversial issue surrounding rape statutes is that of date rape. Often the prosecution’s burden to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the accuser did not consent is insurmountable. The fact that there are generally no witnesses and very little physical evidence of a fight make proving date rape very difficult. An example of this is the case of pro-basketball player Kobe Bryant. The evidence of blood and DNA was not enough to overcome the issue of consent.

Rape Scenarios

Select each item to learn more.

Spousal Rape

Date Rape

Stranger Rape

The majority of rape cases that are successfully prosecuted at trial involve stranger rapes in which the perpetrator attacks an unknown victim. Here the issue of consent is less burdensome because of social perceptions that people do not generally consent to have sex with strangers. However, the contention that people who are not consenting in a date rape scenario should react the in same way as those who are raped by strangers is false. No one reacts the same to all situations. Today's rape statutes still struggle to address the issue of consent.

Statutory Rape

The crime of statutory rape is a strict liability crime. There is no mens rea element for statutory rape. This crime focuses on the age of the participants. Statutory rape, unlike sexual assault on a child, often is deemed a victimless crime. The statutory rape statutes in some jurisdictions are gender biased in that they only prosecute men for the crime of statutory rape.

The famous “Lolita” story of a young female who has an older lover has become cliché. Statutory rape statutes, some argue, predominately prosecute consenting lovers such as a 15-year-old high school freshman and a 20-year-old college lover. They perhaps dated while he was in high school. Disgruntled parents who want to end the relationship can simply pick up the phone and call the police to report that their son or daughter is involved with an older person.

Rape Shield Laws

There are many complications raised by sexual assault statutes. State legislatures have attempted to resolve the issue of consent by enacting rape shield statutes. These statutes are designed to keep the victim's sexual history or past sexual conduct and demeanor from entering into evidence at trial.

However, because the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires due process to the defendant, any evidence that can be said to lead to the exculpation of a defendant is to be entered.

Thus, any defense attorney can make the issue of a victim's past relationships or sexual conduct relevant to the element of consent.

Sexual Assault

Some modern-day legal theorists assert that the crime of sexual assault should be prosecutable without the element of reasonable resistance. No other crime against a person requires the victim to reasonably resist. Conduct that constitutes sexual assault includes fellatio (oral touching of the penis); touching of the anus, breast, or any sexual organs. This includes the use of objects to touch in a sexual manner.

Many contend the defense of consent as it is applied to other personal crimes should be applied in the same manner to rape. If the element of reasonable resistance was removed, and the defense had to show proof that the victim gave consent rather than requiring the district attorney to prove he or she did not give consent, the crime of rape could be more effectively prosecuted. Rape shield laws would then perhaps be able to provide protection to the victim, because even though the defense would need to provide proof of consent, they would not be able to use the victim’s personal life to do so.

Introduction

Many famous movies and novels are based on a high-profile kidnapping for ransom. However, most kidnappings are not committed for ransom, and many result in serious harm to the victim. To increase your knowledge of kidnapping laws, it is important to understand the elements of the offense, how the defense of consent applies to kidnapping, and the different types of kidnapping.

OBJECTIVES

· Define terms related to types of personal crime

· Discuss different types of assault

SEQUENCE

Elements of Kidnapping

The crime of kidnapping, much like the crime of rape, places the burden on the district attorney to prove that the victim did not consent. Here experts agree that this makes sense. The criminal statutes have always recognized intimate relationships as raising special circumstances and/or elements.

Once again the issue of slippery slope comes into play. When does one's consent to particular actions, such as getting into the car, expire? What if he or she takes the accuser to the mountains driving wildly? What if he or she promised to drive directly home but first drives to a cliff and threatens to drive off?

Select each item to learn more.

Mens rea:

Forcefully, fraudulently, threateningly, or with intimidation.

Actus :

Types of Kidnapping

Select each item to learn more.

Kidnapping

Felony Kidnapping

Interstate Kidnapping

The use of force to unlawfully move a person from one place to another against his or her will.

Types of Kidnapping

Select each item to learn more.

Kidnapping

Felony Kidnapping

Interstate Kidnapping

A kidnapping in conjunction with the commission of another felony. For example, kidnapping with intent to rape. This is an aggravated kidnapping.

Types of Kidnapping

Select each item to learn more.

Kidnapping

Felony Kidnapping

Interstate Kidnapping

Kidnapping with intent to cross state lines. This charge is generally brought simultaneously both in the state and the federal court, and does not violate double jeopardy.

Introduction

False imprisonment is closely associated with the crime of kidnapping. It is important to understand the elements of false imprisonment and how it is distinguished from kidnapping.

Elements of False Imprisonment

In conjunction with the crime of kidnapping, the crime of false imprisonment involves the restriction of the personal liberty of another person. The difference is that the crime of false imprisonment does not involve the removal or carrying away of another person.

· Mens Rea: Intentionally, forcefully

· Actus reus:

· Physically restraining the freedom (any conduct by the defendant which forcibly prevents someone from leaving)

· Of another

· Without consent

Bound man with his mouth taped.

states do not recognize the crime of spousal rape . Jurisdictions that recognize spousal rape nonetheless require the accuser to have objectively manifested to the defendant that the marriage has ended before the act; otherwise, the accuser is considered to have given implied consent because they are married.

A

from personal harm. Criminal statutes define a variety of crimes against persons, including assault, battery, rape, and kidnapping. Each of these offenses results in a degree of injury to the victim, and the type of specific offense charged is based on the elements of the act.code is devoted to protecting persons from personal harm. Criminal statutes define a variety of crimes against persons, including assault, battery, rape, and kidnapping. Each of these offenses results in a degree of injury to the victim, and the type of specific offense charged is based on the elements of the act.