Comparison Of Us And Uk Criminal Law. Charles Vatter. Professor

The criminal justice system has evolved over numerous decades. Punishable crimes were only considered exceedingly serious actions. As time went on; post World War 1, laws were enacted and punishments were enforced to deter crimes from occurring and to protect the public (Gardner and Anderson, 2012). Whitey Bulger and Al Capone were both well-known criminals who seemed to live without proper punishment for what we would consider today. The government changed how laws were passed and laws can be determined by not only the federal government, but state governments, and local governments, as well. These laws are put in place based on what laws are believed to help the community and society (Gardner and Anderson, 2012).

Mens rea, actus reus, and concurrence are all elements to a crime. These elements must be present to charge a person with a crime. The guilty mind is known as the mens rea being that a person has the intent to commit the crime with the mental capacity. The “actus reus” of an

Criminal statutes are enacted by federal and local governments in order to deter criminal behaviors and activities in order to protect citizens. Laws and statutes were developed in order to ensure that citizens act in an appropriate manner or face the consequences of their actions. They also reflect expectations of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors that have been set for local, state, and federal governments.

Crimes all have two fundamental elements that must be present in order for an act or omission of duty to be classified as a criminal act. This involves the concept of actus reus or ‘guilty act’ in Latin and mens reus or ‘guilty mind’ in Latin. It is the role of the prosecution to prove that these elements are present to charge a person with a criminal act.

The idea of blame, defined as, “A particular kind of response (e.g. emotion), to a person, at fault, for a wrongful action,” plays a significant role in the study of crime, with respect to degrees of “fault.” In most modern societies, “criminal culpability,” or degrees of wrongdoing, makes a difference between the kinds of punishment one receives for his action(s). To be culpable for a crime, there must be a guilty act (Actus Rea), and a guilty mind (Mens Rea). Degrees of culpability often depends on the kind of mental state, (Mens Rea), one brings to the act in which he engaged. How much one is blameworthy for wrongful conduct depends in part on the state of mind in relation to the wrongful conduct. One’s mental state while engaging in wrongful conduct, which in a legal sense is determined by legislators, is characterized by the following terms: purposely, knowingly, recklessly and negligence.

This essay will argue that the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales doesn’t provide justice for all. In particular, the institutionally racist nature of the police and courts towards Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) will be addressed. The ‘Lammy Review’ has been instrumental in outlining the disproportionate representation of BAME groups within the CJS. In a letter addressed to the Prime minister, David Lammy reports the findings from his review. 51% of UK-born individuals from BAME backgrounds believe that the CJS discriminates against certain groups and individuals (Lammy,2016). In comparison, only 35% of the white population born in the UK believe the same statement (Lammy, 2016). Thus, choosing to focus on the

The legal definition of crime is “an act of violation of a criminal law for which a punishment is prescribed; the person committing it must have intended to do so and must have done so without legally acceptable defence or justification” (Walsh & Hemmens 2008:2). Alternatively, deviance is any social behaviour which departs from that regarded as ‘normal’ or socially acceptable within a society or social context (Jary & Jary 1991:160). The underlining focus of my essay is The Criminal Justice System in England and Wales which is a key public service consisting of various bodies and individuals including: the Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty’s Court Service, National Offender Management Services (Probation and Prisons) and Youth Justice Board.

The second supporting argument that Parliament imposes the judiciary to place too much emphasis on incarceration is characterized by the reduction of credit for pre-sentence custody credit. Fortunately, this was amended in 2014. The Truth in Sentencing Act, one of the government’s early “tough on crime” laws was passed in 2009, but became operative on Feb. 22, 2010. This Act contributed to the changes regarding the credit offenders received for pre-sentence detention or “dead-time,” that does not count towards any parole or early release eligibility. This curbed judge’s ability to give a break on sentencing when a convicted offender has spent lengthy time in pre-trial jail custody. This discount in sentencing had evolved to recognize that

There are two distinct types of models that are found in the English criminal justice system. These are the crime control model and the due process model. They vary in their characteristics and are considered to take divergent objectives. Basing on their evident differences, one of them is actually considered being more effective than the other if the new wave and rate of crime being witnessed in the society is anything to go by. This paper therefore seeks to identify some of the differences between these models and point out that which is considered as effective in dealing with rate of crime in our current society.

Within the Criminal Justice system, comes a structure of both practices as well as organizations that main role is to uphold not only social jurisdiction, but to discourage and diminish criminal activity. The Criminal Justice system also sanctions those who violate the laws of the land with penalties and reintegration of the criminals into society. In the United States, our policy has been guided by the 1967 President 's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, which issued a ground-breaking report 'The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society ' (President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice [Presidents Commission], 1967).

The differences between legal rules and other kinds of rules is that criminal law refers to the consequences associated with breaking them. As the substantive law meaning that it is the law of crimes, referring that Criminal law is the code conduct that all in the society need to follow the rule, and the prohibitions on murder, assault, and burglary. Meaning that if an individual violates or commits these crimes they are going to be treated as a criminal by punishing act from the state. Civil law is refers to procedural law to follow the rule of the state from someone that has committed a crime. Which it is divided into 5 categories, for example torts, property, contract, family, and juvenile law.

Actus reus is the behavior that the criminal law intends to punish. It is either an act of commission such as stealing, or an act of omission such as failing to file a tax return. Whether a person commits an act of commission or an act of omission, they are still doing something that is against the law. Mens rea is only punishable for voluntarily actions such as holding a gun and choosing to pull the trigger. When one

The modern American judicial system was founded upon the morals and ideals brought forth in the Age of Reason and aided in providing legal protection to defendants on trial. As a nation with such strong religious ties, the Age of Reason brought forth new ideas and beliefs about government and lawmaking. Judiciary historical blunders such as the Salem Witch Trials paved the pathway for reform and aided in the formation of a new nation based on a set of written laws, customs, and regulations. The trials at Salem was founded upon the basis of the English Common Law system and the principles of the Age of Reason, and therefore affected our American Constitution and governmental practices.

On the other hand, positive law is forced by the government for everyone to obey. In order for the law to be a positive law it must be formed and applied so that it is acceptable by most people .Common law is geared toward custom and usage for instance, nonstatutory customs, ways of life and examples that help steer the decisions of the judicial system The purpose of criminal law is to catch those individual’s that break the law and may harm other people. Not only does criminal law show individuals what they have done wrong but it also states what the punishment will be if the law is broken. Criminal law not only punishes the accused but it also offers protection through the judicial system that punishes and controls (http://www.hg.org/crime.html, 2012).

n criminal law, the mens rea refers to the defendant's state of mind at the time of their crime and there are several levels reflecting the need to have a particular mens rea for the offence committed. For example, in murder or a S:18 offence in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the mens rea present must be that of specific intent, which is where the defendant desired that particular outcome of their actions. However, it was held in R v Cunningham 1982, that the intention to cause serious harm was enough to satisfy the mens rea for murder. This shows that, where murder cases are concerned, that it is relatively easy to prove the required mens rea and in doing so the concept of fault is often satisfied. This is once again shown in oblique