John Marlow and Laura Zippel ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL LAW P rosecution has to prove ALL the elements of that crime The level of proof that is required is BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT M ost criminal laws require that the accused had some level of INTENTION purpose knowledge or re ID: 699286
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Slide1
CRIMINAL LAW:ELEMENTS in Washington
John Marlow and Laura
ZippelSlide2
ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL LAW
P
rosecution has to prove ALL the elements of that crime. The level of proof that is required is “BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.”
“
M
ost” criminal laws require that the accused had some level of INTENTION (purpose, knowledge, or recklessness) to commit the crime. This MENTAL element is called the
Mens Rea
.
(On the following slides the
Mens Rea
element will be highlighted in Yellow)
All crimes require an
Actus Reus
as well. That is, a criminal act requires some act or omission of an act on the part of the defendant. (On the following slides the
Actus Reus
elements will be left in White)Slide3
Some More Key Points
Each state has its own laws that define the specific elements, sentences, defenses, etc. for EACH crime.
Many crimes are divided into different “degrees”
These represent levels of seriousness based on the particular circumstances of that crime.
For example:
I
n Washington, a robbery will become “First Degree Robbery” if it involves (a) a deadly weapon, (b) a display of what appears to be a deadly weapon, or (c) the infliction or bodily injury.Slide4
FIRST DEGREE ARSONRCW: 9A.48.020
ELEMENTS:
Knowingly
AND maliciously
causing a fire or explosion
Which is manifestly dangerous to any human life;
OR which damages a dwelling;
OR in any building in which there is at the time a human being who is not a participant in the crime;
OR on property valued at $10,000.00 or more with the intent to collect insurance proceeds
.
NOTES: “
Dwelling”
means any building or structure that
is
occupied
or
is designed
or intended for occupancy
as
a
residence.
RCW 49.60.040
.Slide5
FIRST DEGREE ASSAULTRCW 9A.36.011(1)
ELEMENTS:
A
person acts
with
intent to inflict great bodily
harm
and either:
Assaults another with a deadly weapon or by force
likely
to produce great bodily harm
; OR
A
dministers
, exposes, or transmits to another person, or causes another person to
take
poison, the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV),
or any other destructive
substance; OR
A
ssaults
another and inflicts great bodily harm
.
NOTES
Under RCW 9A.36 “assault” basically means to cause physical harm
.Slide6
FIRST DEGREE BURGLARYRCW 9A.52.020(1)
ELEMENTS:
A person enters or remains in a building, other than a vehicle or a dwelling;
With intent to commit a crime against a person or property
within
;
And while entering or fleeing, he or she (or another participant in the crime)
is armed with a deadly weapon
OR assaults any person
NOTES:
Under RCW 9A.36 “assault” basically means to cause physical harm.Slide7
CRIMES OF HOMICIDE
Broadly, the
killing of a human being by the act or omission of another, with death occurring at any time.
Washington establishes five classifications of
homicide. For Example:
Murder (1
st
and 2
nd
Degree)
Manslaughter
(1
st
and 2
nd
Degree)
NOTES
:
“Omission”
is defined as not including or doing something (
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
2014
).Slide8
FIRST DEGREE MURDERRCW 9A.32.030(1)
ELEMENTS: (Three Separate Ways to Commit)
(ONE) Killing
with premeditated intent
;
OR
(TWO) Causing
a death by conduct which creates a grave risk of death, under circumstances manifesting an
extreme indifference to human life
; OR
(THREE)
Killing in the course of and in furtherance of or in immediate flight from
committing
or
attempting
to
commit another 1
st
or 2
nd
degree felony:
The
victim cannot be a participant in any of
these felonies
(NO MENS REA REQUIREMENT
HERE
)
NOTES:
Premeditate: consideration or planning of an act
beforehand
(
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
2014).
RCW 9A.32.020:
P
remeditation
must involve “more than a moment in point of time
.”Slide9
FIRST DEGREE MANSLAUGHTERRCW 9A.32.060(1)(a)
ELEMENTS:
Recklessly
C
ausing
a death
NOTES:
A reckless person is aware of and disregards a substantial risk that harm will result.
If
a motor vehicle is involved, the crime is vehicular homicide under RCW 46.61.520
.Slide10
CONSPIRACYRCW 9A.28.040(1)
ELEMENTS:
A person,
acting with intent to engage in conduct that would constitute a crime
,
Agrees with someone else to engage in or cause that conduct.
One of the conspirators must then take a substantial step to further the agreement
NOTES:
RCW
69.50.407 indicates that the maximum punishment for conspiracy
can be set as
the same
for
underlying offense.
REMEMBER: None of the elements for a conspiracy require that the crime ACTUALLY be carried out, just that the agreement
AND a
“substantial step” to do so occur.Slide11
SEATTLE CRIMINAL Law MYSTERY game
Who Can
S
olve
T
he Mystery Crime?Slide12
SCENARIO
The Buzz in the Seattle underground is that something big has just gone down. A HORRIBLE crime has just happened and all the “Seattle Mob Bosses” are talking about it. However, the police have not caught on. One thing is for sure though: None of the Bosses wants to get blamed when the police figure things out. Here is where you come in!
Your team members and you are all part of a private investigator firm that is highly competitive with other firms in the Seattle area. Your firm prides itself on being able to find anyone or solve any case before anyone else.
Each of your firms has been approached by a different “Mob Boss” who wants you to get all the information on this crime first so they can go to the police and see if they can clear their own name and get on the Fuzz’s good side (or use the information as leverage).Slide13
Getting Started
D
raw your confidential client cards and share them ONLY amongst your team members. These cards will include:
Mob Boss Card: The mobster who has offered you a handsome fee. They will provide you with their alibi, showing that they could not have committed the mystery crime.
Neighborhood Information Card: Your client has “eyes” around certain neighborhoods and can offer some special information what has been happening in one of those neighborhoods.
Crime “Tipster” Cards: Anonymous tipsters can help supply information about crimes that helps to narrow the investigation. Your “Mob Boss” has supplied you with two such tips (Either the
Actus Reus
or
Mens Reus
elements of a crime).Slide14
RULES OF THE GAME
The moderators have the confidential case file which contains the ACTUAL identity of the responsible Mob Boss, the exact crime, and the location where it took place with them. THAT means all the game cards that have been distributed to the various teams indicate the persons, locations, and crimes that are NOT part of the solution to this mystery case. As you gain information each round based on your own cards AND tips you learn from other teams, you should cross those answers out on your
G
ame Sheet.
The first team to completely narrow down the possible suspects, neighborhood, and crime
brings
their worksheet to the moderator. If they have ALL the information correct, the moderator will end the game. If not, the moderators will not say anything
and continue the rounds.
Each
individual on a team
should be assigned
BEFORE the investigation starts to go “undercover” and infiltrate one of the competing Private Eye Firms. Slide15
RULES CONTINUED
Each
round teams send 1
member to meet up with
his or her
assigned
undercover firm
(starting with the nearest
moving
clockwise around the room
). The rest of the team remains. While
“undercover”
the “informant” member makes
a guess
about the solution to the game that
includes 3
PIECES
of information. Each piece of
info
can
be EITHER
(
1) who they think committed the crime
, OR
(
2) where the crime was committed,
OR
(
3) which crime was committed
(CONSIDER CONSPIRACY SEPARATELY
from the underlying
crime).
Guesses do not need to include one of each of these and can include any variation of the three.
If
the
responding firm has
a card
with information about ANY
part of the “undercover”
member’s
guess, they
MUST quietly SHOW
that individual
1 of the cards.
T
he firm needs to ONLY show the undercover person
1
card. If the firm possesses NO information about any of the guesses, they only need to say “
S
orry, we don’t have that information.” The
informant
then returns to their team updates
their
worksheets.Slide16
RULES CONTINUED
After
everyone has had the chance to be an
informant
and
returned
to their
own
firm,
the moderators will
quickly ask the class a
trivia question based on past
StreetLaw
lessons. The first team to raise their hand and provide a CORRECT answer will get to see one of the extra game cards that the moderators
are holding.
After the trivia question, the next round will start and the “Private Eye” firms will send off their next informant.
TEAMS WILL NOW DRAW THEIR GAME CARDS.
Each
person has a game worksheet by now and each group should discuss their strategies and game cards prior to starting. Each person should be independently filling out their worksheet as the rounds progress and
MAKING SURE THAT OTHER FIRMS
DO NOT
SEE THAT INFORMATION WHILE MOVING AROUND.Slide17
Some Motivationhttp://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz4-aEGvqQM
Quickly strategize and wait for the
moderator to start the
first round.