Legal Unit 1 AOS 2

• Criminal law


  A body of law that protects the community by establishing crimes(offences) and establishing sanctions for people who commit crimes
• Crime


  An act or omission(failing to undertake an action) that is against an existing law, harmful both to an individual and to society and punishable by law(by the state)
• Purposes of criminal law(JIPS)


  • Protecting individuals
  • Protecting property
  • Protecting Society
  • Protecting justice
• Presumption of innocence


  The right for all accused persons to be presumed innocent until it is proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that they are guilty
• How presumption of innocence is protected


  • The burden of proof is on the prosecution
  • The standard of proof is beyond reasonable doubt
  • The accused has the right to silence
  • The accused has the right to apply for bail
  • The accused has the right to a fair trial
  • Prior convictions are not revealed during trial
  • Police require reasonable grounds to arrest
  • The accused must be informed of charges and evidence against them
• Exceptions to presumption of innocence

  • Must be in jail to protect society and community from harm because of these such serious cases;
  • Murder
  • Treason
  • Aggravated Home Invasion
  • Aggravated Carjacking
  • Serious drug offences e.g. trafficking in commercial quantity of drug of dependence
  • Terrorism offences
• Burden of proof

  The obligation (responsibility) of a party to prove a case. The burden of proof rests with the prosecution in a criminal case.
• Standard of proof


  The degree or extent to which a case must be proved in a court beyond reasonable doubt
• Actus reus


  The physical element of the crime. The accused must have the guilty act
• Mens rea


  The mental element. They must have the intention or a guilty mind
• Strict liability


  Offences that do not require the mens rea element of a crime to be proven for the offender to be found guilty. The act is enough.
• Honest and reasonable mistake of fact


  This is a defence to strict liability. Having an honest and reasonable mistake as to a set of facts can make a defendant's act innocent, providing vindication for doing what would otherwise be a criminal offence.
• Crime statistics agency


  Information collected by the authorities and analysed to track the level of crime or offending in the community. Crime statistics also track the types of levels of sentences given to convicted offenders.
• Types of crime


  • Crimes against the person
  • Crimes against property
• Other types of crime

  • Cyber-crime(using computers or other devices)
  • Prejudice motivated crime(prejudice, intolerance & bias towards a group)
  • Organised crime(planned & ongoing manner by organised gangs)
  • Juvenile crime(undertaken by youth 10-18)
  • White-collar crime(work in government or in businesses)
• Summary offences


  Minor criminal offences are usually heard by a magistrate in a Magistrates' Court and there is no jury.
• Indictable offences


  Serious criminal offences are usually heard by a judge or jury in the County Court or Supreme Court(trial division).
• Indictable offences heard summarily


  Some offences in the Crimes Act are classified as 'indictable offences to be heard and determined summarily.' They are heard in the Magistrates' court in a similar manner to a summary offence(no jury).
• Advantages of indictable offences heard summarily


  • Cheaper and quicker
  • Maximum term of imprisonment 2yrs for 1 offence, 5yrs for multiple
  • No trial by jury
• Principal(person) offenders


  The individual who actually commits the offence(actus reus), and/or is directly involved in the commission of the offence. In addition any person involved in a crime is considered a principal offender.
• Accessories


  A person who does an act to help another person who has committed a serious indictable offence(principal offender) to avoid being apprehended, prosecuted, convicted or punished.
• Homicide offences


  • Murder
  • Manslaughter
  • Infantcide
  • Child homicide
  • Culpable driving causing death
  • Homicide by firearm
• Manslaughter


  The unintentional killing of a person due to a reckless, dangerous act or negligent behaviour
• Infantcide


  The killing by a mother of a child under 2 years of age while suffering a mental condition caused by the effects of that child's death
• Child homicide


  The killing of a child under six years of age in circumstances that would normally be manslaughter
• Culpable driving causing death


  The act of causing the death of another person while driving a motor vehicle in a negligent or reckless manner or under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Homicide by firearm


  The killing of a person by discharging a firearm(gun) in circumstances that would normally be manslaughter(e.g unintentionally killing a person by recklessly or negligently firing a gun)
• Elements of murder


  • The killing was unlawful
  • The accused's acts were voluntary
  • The accused committed acts that caused the victim's death
  • The accused acted with intent to kill or cause serious harm
• Possible defences to murder


  • Bringing evidence to show that you were not at the scene
  • Self defence
  • Duress
  • Sudden or extraordinary emergency
  • Intoxication
  • Automatism
  • Mental impairment
  • Accident
• Sanction


  A penalty(e.g a fine or prison sentence) imposed on a person guilty of a criminal offence.
• According to the Sentencing Advisory Board from 2017-2022 97 people were sentenced to murder in the Supreme Court.
• Between 1 July 2016 & 30 June 2021, approximately 91% of those convicted with murder were male and approximately 73% of offenders were aged between 25-54 years.
• In NSW, the three non-parole periods for murder are 20 years for murder-general, 25 years for murder-victim occupation category, and 25 years for murder of a child.
• Possible impacts of murder


  • Impacts on victim + family & friends
  • Impacts on the community
  • Impacts on the offender