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53-447: Defense lawyer Craig Carlson buys a pistol at a pawn shop and deposits it in his office desk drawer with a file folder. He dictates a message into a tape recorder for district attorney Ray Willis, revealing that he expects to be murdered within an hour, and he begins to tell his story in extended flashbacks . The memories begin with Craig's explanation to his friend Joe Leeds that he is having an affair with Leeds' wife Myra, who wants

106-471: A police officer , federal agent , or judge believes probable cause exists that a person committed a crime . Since an arrest is usually made by law enforcement , the arrest often is for a criminal charge that has not been levied or verified by an attorney or judge. Criminal defense lawyers also deal with the substantive issues of the crimes with which their clients are charged. Criminal defense lawyers may also help clients before charges have been filed by

159-552: A prosecuting attorney : this is done when someone believes he or she is being investigated. The accused may hire a criminal defense lawyer to help with counsel and representation dealing with police or other investigators, perform his or her own investigation, and at times present exculpatory evidence that negates potential charges by the prosecutor. Criminal defense lawyers in the United States who are employed by governmental entities such as counties , state governments , and

212-448: A criminal defense attorney is similar to becoming a lawyer practicing in any other legal practice area. To become a criminal defense lawyer, a person will typically complete their undergraduate degree , and then attend and graduate from a law school . After graduating law school and passing the bar examination for that particular state or jurisdiction, the new lawyer will be sworn in as a member of that bar and can then begin practicing in

265-464: A criminal defense lawyer must understand each of these rights. Initial work on any criminal case involves review of the charges and the claimed facts, and analysis of constitutional violations, the prima facie burden of the prosecution, defenses, and affirmative defenses ; as well as potential sentence and sentencing issues. Early stages of a criminal case may involve a grand jury or preliminary hearing to determine if there exists probable cause for

318-1070: A criminal venture or involvement in criminality that does not actually come to fruition. Some examples are aiding, abetting, conspiracy , and attempt. However, in Scotland, the English concept of Aiding and Abetting is known as Art and Part Liability . See Glanville Williams, Textbook of Criminal Law, (London: Stevens & Sons, 1983); Glanville Williams, Criminal Law the General Part (London: Stevens & Sons, 1961). While crimes are typically broken into degrees or classes to punish appropriately, all offenses can be divided into 'mala in se' and 'mala prohibita' laws. Both are Latin legal terms, mala in se meaning crimes that are thought to be inherently evil or morally wrong, and thus will be widely regarded as crimes regardless of jurisdiction. Mala in se offenses are felonies, property crimes, immoral acts and corrupt acts by public officials. Mala prohibita , on

371-531: A danger (though he did not) is tantamount to erasing intent as a requirement. In this way, the importance of mens rea has been reduced in some areas of the criminal law but is obviously still an important part in the criminal system. Wrongfulness of intent also may vary the seriousness of an offense and possibly reduce the punishment but this is not always the case. A killing committed with specific intent to kill or with conscious recognition that death or serious bodily harm will result, would be murder, whereas

424-439: A dangerous situation. On the other hand, it was held in the U.K. that switching off the life support of someone in a persistent vegetative state is an omission to act and not criminal. Since discontinuation of power is not a voluntary act, not grossly negligent, and is in the patient's best interests, no crime takes place. In this case it was held that since a PVS patient could not give or withhold consent to medical treatment, it

477-484: A day to life. Government supervision may be imposed, including house arrest , and convicts may be required to conform to particularized guidelines as part of a parole or probation regimen. Fines also may be imposed, seizing money or property from a person convicted of a crime. Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the criminal law by punishments : retribution , deterrence , incapacitation , rehabilitation and restoration . Jurisdictions differ on

530-539: A defendant acted negligently , rather than intentionally or recklessly . In offenses of absolute liability , other than the prohibited act, it may not be necessary to show the act was intentional. Generally, crimes must include an intentional act, and "intent" is an element that must be proved in order to find a crime occurred. The idea of a "strict liability crime" is an oxymoron. The few exceptions are not truly crimes at all – but are administrative regulations and civil penalties created by statute, such as crimes against

583-626: A defendant's rights at trial. It guarantees a defendant the opportunity to confront and cross-examine witnesses, in addition to the right to be represented by counsel. The Sixth Amendment also allows a defendant to know the nature of the accusation against them . All of the Amendments to the United States Constitution are guaranteed to the criminal accused against the states via the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus,

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636-495: A divorce. Joe asks Craig to allow him time to consider the matter. Days later at his office, Joe finishes writing a letter and gives it to his business partner Lou Kazarian to mail. Joe phones Myra telling her that he will be home soon to discuss something. There, he confronts Myra in their bedroom, where a door is closed and a gunshot is heard. Police investigate Joe's death. Myra explains that Joe became irate and threatened her physically, forcing her to shoot him in self-defense. Craig

689-447: A friendship with Holt, even employing him to paint a portrait to delay Myra and Holt's departure to Europe to marry. Craig taunts Myra that he will reveal all of the evidence to Holt and let him decide if he wishes to marry a murderess. Craig meets socially with Willis, discussing Myra's case, and lets Myra see them together. Craig concludes his story that he has dictated into the tape recorder by saying that he has arranged to meet Myra at

742-464: A handkerchief, she hangs up the phone and wipes her fingerprints from the gun, which she puts in Craig's hand. She finds that the file contains only blank sheets of paper. When Willis arrives, she explains that Craig has shot himself. After checking that Craig is in fact dead, Willis learns that Myra had an appointment with Craig for 12:30, then tells her that Craig had invited him to come at 12:40. He finds

795-410: A killing effected by reckless acts lacking such a consciousness could be manslaughter. On the other hand, it matters not who is actually harmed through a defendant's actions. The doctrine of transferred malice means, for instance, that if a man intends to strike a person with his belt, but the belt bounces off and hits another, mens rea is transferred from the intended target to the person who actually

848-471: A less serious charge), sentencing agreements (involving a lesser sentence), or both. Criminal defense lawyers are typically defending people with misdemeanor or felony charges. A misdemeanor generally refers to criminal activity that is punishable by one year or less in the local jail. A felony typically refers to criminal activity that is punishable by more than one year in the prison system. Many states have "wobblers", which refers to criminal activity that

901-414: A tactic. Craig later confronts Myra with Joe's letter and his talk with Holt. She admits that she intends to continue on with Holt now that she is free. Accusing her of costing him his best friend, the love of his life and his profession all at once, Craig tells Myra that she will pay for her crime because he will force her to murder him. Myra is incredulous, but Craig soon puts a plan in motion and develops

954-438: A victim is particularly vulnerable. This is known as the thin skull rule . However, it may be broken by an intervening act ( novus actus interveniens ) of a third party, the victim's own conduct, or another unpredictable event. A mistake in medical treatment typically will not sever the chain, unless the mistakes are in themselves "so potent in causing death." Mens rea is another Latin phrase, meaning "guilty mind". This

1007-456: Is a legal duty to act. For example, the act of A striking B might suffice, or a parent's failure to give food to a young child also may provide the actus reus for a crime. Where the actus reus is a failure to act, there must be a duty of care . A duty can arise through contract , a voluntary undertaking, a blood relation with whom one lives, and occasionally through one's official position. Duty also can arise from one's own creation of

1060-405: Is a lesser variety of killing committed in the absence of malice , brought about by reasonable provocation , or diminished capacity . Involuntary manslaughter , where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness. Settled insanity is a possible defense. Many criminal codes protect the physical integrity of the body. The crime of battery

1113-405: Is also on the scene, having arrived before the police and acting as Myra's lawyer. In the ensuing trial, Willis allows the police to present their evidence that a physical struggle did not occur as she had claimed. Willis notes that Myra was unemployed when she first met Joe, a successful businessman with substantial life insurance . In her defense, Craig attributes Myra's inconsistencies regarding

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1166-416: Is charged as a felony, but has a possibility of being reduced to a misdemeanor. In matters involving a wobbler, many times a reputable lawyer can either have the felony reduced to a misdemeanor or have the felony appear to be a misdemeanor so that the felony can be reduced to a misdemeanor at a later date, which may be good strategy since the typical felony cannot be expunged . The initial process of becoming

1219-448: Is composed of criminal elements . Capital punishment may be imposed in some jurisdictions for the most serious crimes. Physical or corporal punishment may be imposed such as whipping or caning , although these punishments are prohibited in much of the world. Individuals may be incarcerated in prison or jail in a variety of conditions depending on the jurisdiction. Confinement may be solitary. Length of incarceration may vary from

1272-428: Is more on dispute resolution and victim compensation, rather than on punishment or rehabilitation . Criminal procedure is a formalized official activity that authenticates the fact of commission of a crime and authorizes punitive or rehabilitative treatment of the offender . The first civilizations generally did not distinguish between civil law and criminal law . The first written codes of law were designed by

1325-513: Is the body of law that relates to crime . It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property , health , safety , and welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law is established by statute , which is to say that the laws are enacted by a legislature . Criminal law includes the punishment and rehabilitation of people who violate such laws. Criminal law varies according to jurisdiction , and differs from civil law , where emphasis

1378-453: Is the mental element of the crime. A guilty mind means an intention to commit some wrongful act. Intention under criminal law is separate from a person's motive (although motive does not exist in Scots law). A lower threshold of mens rea is satisfied when a defendant recognizes an act is dangerous but decides to commit it anyway. This is recklessness . It is the mental state of mind of

1431-400: Is traditionally understood as an unlawful touching, although this does not include everyday knocks and jolts to which people silently consent as the result of presence in a crowd. Creating a fear of imminent battery is an assault , and also may give rise to criminal liability. Non-consensual intercourse , or rape , is a particularly egregious form of battery. Property often is protected by

1484-741: The Sumerians . Around 2100–2050 BC Ur-Nammu , the Neo-Sumerian king of Ur , enacted written legal code whose text has been discovered: the Code of Ur-Nammu although an earlier code of Urukagina of Lagash ( 2380–2360 BC ) is also known to have existed. Another important early code was the Code of Hammurabi , which formed the core of Babylonian law . Only fragments of the early criminal laws of Ancient Greece have survived, e.g. those of Solon and Draco . In Roman law , Gaius 's Commentaries on

1537-569: The Twelve Tables also conflated the civil and criminal aspects, treating theft ( furtum ) as a tort . Assault and violent robbery were analogized to trespass as to property. Breach of such laws created an obligation of law or vinculum juris discharged by payment of monetary compensation or damages . The criminal law of imperial Rome is collected in Books 47–48 of the Digest . After

1590-644: The United States , criminal defense lawyers deal with the issues surrounding an arrest , a criminal investigation , criminal charges , sentencing , appeals , and post-trial issues. Criminal defense lawyers strive to minimize the harsh consequences of an arrest and deliver quality legal representation to persons accused of committing a criminal offense. They could work for the local, state, or federal government or they could work for private law firms. The defense lawyers could also have their own practice and handle multiple criminal cases. An arrest simply means

1643-469: The mens rea or guilty mind . As to crimes of which both actus reus and mens rea are requirements, judges have concluded that the elements must be present at precisely the same moment and it is not enough that they occurred sequentially at different times. Actus reus is Latin for " guilty act " and is the physical element of committing a crime. It may be accomplished by an action, by threat of action, or exceptionally, by an omission to act, which

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1696-565: The Piedmontese lawyer and statesman Giulio Claro (1525–1575). The development of the state dispensing justice in a court clearly emerged in the eighteenth century when European countries began maintaining police services. From this point, criminal law formalized the mechanisms for enforcement, which allowed for its development as a discernible entity. Criminal law is distinctive for the uniquely serious, potential consequences or sanctions for failure to abide by its rules. Every crime

1749-529: The act itself. For this reason, it can be argued that offenses that are mala prohibita are not really crimes at all. Public international law deals extensively and increasingly with criminal conduct that is heinous and ghastly enough to affect entire societies and regions. The formative source of modern international criminal law was the Nuremberg trials following the Second World War in which

1802-480: The case to continue. A violation of the Fourth or Fifth Amendment, or other illegally obtained evidence could result in evidence being inadmissible at trial . Accordingly, a criminal defense lawyer often spends a considerable amount of time reviewing all documentation to determine if the case can be won on constitutional grounds due to illegal conduct by the government. If there are no constitutional violations, much of

1855-558: The criminal law. Trespassing is unlawful entry onto the real property of another. Many criminal codes provide penalties for conversion , embezzlement , and theft , all of which involve deprivations of the value of the property. Robbery is a theft by force. Fraud in the UK is a breach of the Fraud Act 2006 by false representation, by failure to disclose information or by abuse of position. Some criminal codes criminalize association with

1908-602: The federal government are often referred to as public defenders or court-appointed attorneys. A considerable aspect of this work requires the US criminal defense lawyer to have a clear understanding of the United States Constitution , and specifically the Fourth Amendment against unlawful searches and seizures. The Fifth prescribes a defendant's right to remain silent . The Sixth relates to

1961-579: The field of criminal law. However, many reputable criminal defense attorneys spend some time after being admitted to the bar working under the mentor-ship of an experienced attorney, often in a prosecutors office or a public defenders office. In the United Kingdom, criminal defense lawyers require an undergraduate law degree and authorisation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority . Criminal law Criminal law

2014-404: The microphone and recorder and then stops and rewinds the tape. As he begins to play Craig's recording, Myra starts crying, defeated. Defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers ) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity . Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by

2067-646: The night in question to post-traumatic hysteria. In his closing argument, Craig claims that the financial motive in Willis' case is invalid because Myra was in love with another man—a revelation that could inspire Joe to cause Myra premeditated harm. Craig then reveals that he himself is Myra's lover. The jury finds Myra not guilty. She and Craig throw a party to celebrate with friends,and while celebrating they discuss their plans to marry and travel to Europe on their honeymoon. Lou Kazarian arrives and reveals privately to Craig that he had forgotten to mail Joe's letter, which

2120-411: The office at 12:30 a.m. Hearing a knock at the office door, Craig leaves the recorder running and hides the microphone before admitting Myra. He shows her the file that he claims is full of evidence that he has compiled against her, and he then rests the pistol on the desk. He starts to make a phone call to Holt. Myra, driven to desperation, takes the gun and shoots Craig, who falls to the floor. Using

2173-437: The other hand, refers to offenses that do not have wrongfulness associated with them. Parking in a restricted area, driving the wrong way down a one-way street, jaywalking or unlicensed fishing are examples of acts that are prohibited by statute, but without which are not considered wrong. Mala prohibita statutes are usually imposed strictly, as there does not need to be mens rea component for punishment under those offenses, just

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2226-419: The patient would die. An actus reus may be nullified by an absence of causation . For example, a crime involves harm to a person, the person's action must be the but for cause and proximate cause of the harm. If more than one cause exists (e.g. harm comes at the hands of more than one culprit) the act must have "more than a slight or trifling link" to the harm. Causation is not broken simply because

2279-417: The person at the time the actus reus was committed. For instance, if C tears a gas meter from a wall to get the money inside, and knows this will let flammable gas escape into a neighbour's house, he could be liable for poisoning. Courts often consider whether the actor did recognize the danger, or alternatively ought to have recognized a risk. Of course, a requirement only that one ought to have recognized

2332-540: The requirement of an actus reus or guilty act . Some crimes – particularly modern regulatory offenses – require no more, and they are known as strict liability offenses (E.g. Under the Road traffic Act 1988 it is a strict liability offence to drive a vehicle with an alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit). Nevertheless, because of the potentially severe consequences of criminal conviction, judges at common law also sought proof of an intent to do some bad thing,

2385-690: The revival of Roman law in the 12th century, sixth-century Roman classifications and jurisprudence provided the foundations of the distinction between criminal and civil law in European law from then until the present time. The first signs of the modern distinction between crimes and civil matters emerged during the Norman Invasion of England. The special notion of criminal penalty, at least concerning Europe, arose in Spanish Late Scholasticism (see Alfonso de Castro ), when

2438-561: The theological notion of God's penalty (poena aeterna) that was inflicted solely for a guilty mind, became transfused into canon law first and, finally, to secular criminal law. Codifiers and architects of Early Modern criminal law were the German jurist Benedikt Carpzov (1595–1666), professor of law in Leipzig , and two Italians, the Roman judge and lawyer Prospero Farinacci (1544–1618) and

2491-463: The traffic or highway code. A murder , defined broadly, is an unlawful killing. Unlawful killing is probably the act most frequently targeted by the criminal law. In many jurisdictions , the crime of murder is divided into various gradations of severity, e.g., murder in the first degree , based on intent . Malice is a required element of murder. Manslaughter (Culpable Homicide in Scotland)

2544-432: The value to be placed on each. Many laws are enforced by threat of criminal punishment , and the range of the punishment varies with the jurisdiction. The scope of criminal law is too vast to catalog intelligently. Nevertheless, the following are some of the more typical aspects of criminal law. The criminal law generally prohibits undesirable acts . Thus, proof of a crime requires proof of some act. Scholars label this

2597-424: The various jurisdictions with criminal courts for appointment to represent indigent persons; the latter are generally called public defenders . The terminology is imprecise because each jurisdiction may have different practices with various levels of input from country to country. Some jurisdictions use a rotating system of appointments, with judges appointing a private practice attorney or firm for each case. In

2650-453: The work of a criminal defense attorney then turns to trial preparation. Any proposed settlement agreement must be compared to the best judgment about the outcome after trial. A criminal defense lawyer will usually discuss potential plea bargains with the prosecuting attorney, as an alternative to exercising the defendant's trial right and other rights. Plea agreements, when made, can be characterized as either charge agreements (often involving

2703-649: Was addressed to Craig. Joe discloses in the letter that Myra did indeed marry him for his money, but that she was actually in love with an artist, not with Craig. Joe had decided to ask her to stay married, in part to save Craig from her. Craig then remembers Myra mentioning that an "old friend," an artist named Carl Holt, had visited her in jail during the trial. Craig visits Holt, who explains his long relationship with Myra, interrupted by her marriage to Joe, and states his gratitude and admiration for Craig in his defense work in Myra's trial, especially for posing as Myra's lover as

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2756-451: Was for the doctors to decide whether treatment was in the patient's best interest. It was reasonable for them to conclude that treatment was not in the patient's best interest, and should therefore be stopped, when there was no prospect of improvement. It has always been illegal to take active steps to cause or accelerate death, although in certain circumstances it was lawful to withhold life sustaining treatment, including feeding, without which

2809-495: Was struck.[Note: The notion of transferred intent does not exist within Scots' Law. In Scotland, one would not be charged with assault due to transferred intent, but instead assault due to recklessness. Strict liability can be described as criminal or civil liability notwithstanding the lack of mens rea or intent by the defendant. Not all crimes require specific intent, and the threshold of culpability required may be reduced or demoted. For example, it might be sufficient to show that

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