Legal Studies Syllabus Summary

Legal Studies Syllabus Summary
Topic 2: Crime

Legal Studies Syllabus Summary
Focus Study – Crime
Definition: Crime- An act committed or an omission of duty, injurious to the public welfare, for which punishment is prescribed by law, and imposed in a judicial preceding usually brought in the name of the state.
  1) Key Legal Concepts and Features of the Legal System
      a. Types of Crime:
        i. Offences against the person: Common feature of these crimes is that either result or the intended aim of the crime is to cause injury to another person. Accounts for 7-8% of offences committed. Three broad categories:
            1. Homicide: A person being unlawfully killed constitutes a homicide; some exceptions include self-defence and killing an enemy during wartime. Judge must determine that there is casual relationship between the actions of the accused and the death.   Four classifications of homicide:
              a. Murder:   Murder is most feared crime in society and gives the impression it is a common crime but it is really one of the least common. For prosecutor to prove a successful conviction one of the following must be proved:
                  i. An act took place with a deliberate intention to kill
                  ii. There was a deliberate act designed to cause serious harm, during which death occurred
                  iii. There was a reckless indifference to human life, resulting in death.
              b. Manslaughter: Unlawful killing, but a defence for the actions involved in killing. Three types of manslaughter:
                  iv. Involuntary Manslaughter, where the accused did not want to kill but acted in a negligent way, causing death
                  v. Voluntary Manslaughter, when the accused did intend to cause death but there are mitigating circumstances
                  vi. Constructive Manslaughter, when the accused did not want to kill but did so accidentally during the commission of a crime....