LAW AND CRIME

I.                   Many types / sources of law
    A.     Judge-made-law
    B.     Precedent
    C.     Multiple sources of law
        1.                  constitution
        2.                  statutes
        3.                  administrative regulations
        4.                  judicial decisions

II.                American system - an adversary system
    A.     Safeguards
    B.     Presumption of innocence and burden of proof on government
C.     Rights of the accused
        1.                  Due Process
        2.                  Bill of Right
 

III.       Civil law - a means for settling disputes / correcting private wrongs
    A.                 Basis for filing a suit
    B.                 Remedies
        1.                  monetary judgment
        2.                  declaratory judgment
        3.                  injunction
    C.                 Civil law and criminal justice systems interact
        1.                  civil remedies to fight crime
        2.                  civil liability of criminal justice officials

IV.       Criminal courts - enforce substantive criminal law
    A.                 Two basic types of crimes, but no national uniform standards
        1.                  felonies
        2.                  misdemeanors
    B.                 Elements of a crime (corpus delicti)
        1.                  guilty act (actus reus)
        2.                  guilty intent (mens rea)
        3.                  fusion of guilty act and guilty intent
        4.                  attendant circumstances
        5.                  results
        6.                  legal defenses

V.        The law impacts criminal courts operations
    A.        Criminal law and inconsistencies
    B.        Criminal law and plea bargaining
    C.        Criminal law and sentencing 

VI.       The law on the books does not always reflect the law in action
    A.                 Must understand both
    B.                 Law on the books vs. law in action
        1.                  law on the books ins abstract
        2.                  law in action is concrete

VII.     Crime, law, courts and society
    A.                 As society changes, crime changes, and the criminal law changes
    B.                 Courts respond and change as law, society and crime change