Criminal Justice Complete Unit 2
1.
Only in technical and ideal sense, all the seven elements of the crime are to exist for a crime to take place. Drug use, prostitution, and gambling do not constitute all the elements, but they are crimes, all listed as mala prohibita. These crimes are called “victimless” because there is no harm produced to other people. It can be the reason for a dispute because it is impossible not to admit the harm caused for families of the condemned and people around. Drug use, prostitution, and gambling are prohibited by law, so they are illegal. Mens rea confirms to a guilty state of mind, and all these crimes are conducted knowingly, so this clause is obeyed. Actus Reus of prostitution is sexual activity or hire, for gambling – operating illegal gambling business and transmission of it within the wire means of communication. Actus Reus for drug offenses is transporting, usage, and distribution of drugs. According to the fifth element of an ideal crime, causation, none of the named above crimes is really causing harm simultaneously, but the harm caused by such actions is sometimes also very strong and impossible to overcome. The sixth, concurrence point, is present, when it is about gambling, prostitution, and drug use as well as the seventh element of the ideal crime – punishment. All these crimes have the punishment according to the current legislation (Bohm, & Haley, 2012).
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Therefore, not all of the seven elements of the ideal crime are present, when the subjects are drug use, prostitution, and gambling. Nevertheless, these crimes cause a lot of harm, not only to the persons who commit them, but to many people around as well. Spread of diseases, violent behavior, murder, robbery, burglary – it is only the beginning of the list of the crimes that can be the consequence of these crimes also known as “victimless” crimes. They also can be combined – and women start working as prostitutes in order to feed their drug abuse, other can come to drugs when they have problems with gambling. These crimes are the disease of modern society and governments should do a lot to reduce the spread of them.
2.
“Legal precedent” is a short form used for “stare decisis” that completes a Latin maxim is “stare decisis et non quieta movere” (Farnsworth, 2010). These two terms are used interchangeably. In legal practice, the concept of “legal precedent” and “stare decisis” is a distinctive feature of the tradition of the Common Law and is practically the most important precedent. It means that the decisions of the higher court on their jurisdiction must be obligatory obeyed by the lower courts. At the same time, the higher courts should depart from their own decisions made prior to questions of law only when there are serious reasons for such acts (Peak, 2014). It applies both for the decisions interpreting positive law and to the decisions about customary rules of law. In the cases when the lower court fails to follow the precedent of the “stare decisis”, it is very likely that this current decision will be reversed on appeal (Farnsworth, 2010).
3.
The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments protect the rights of an accused person or of a suspect, of convicted criminals and of criminal defendants. Their aim is to safeguard a person from abuse in the criminal process and to limit the ability of the Government to prosecute in an unjust way (Kmiec, 2004). Each Amendment covers its own field.
The Fourth Amendment protects the right to be free from unreasonable arrest and from unexplained searches. According to it, the search can be done only after the judge has issued a warrant that authorizes law officers to search for and seize evidence that will prove the existence of the criminal activity. It is important that the warrant can only be issued when there is a probable cause. In addition, the Fourth Amendment protects persons from warrantless searches where a person has a legitimate right to expect privacy. However, it is also permitted by Court to search a car there is information that there are illegal things in it (Peak, 2014).
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The Fifth Amendment covers a rank of procedural concerns that also includes the multiple trials for the same criminal offense, which is called Double Jeopardy, the death penalty, Self-Incrimination, and the right to Due Process. The most important part of the Amendment is Self-Incrimination. This protection was extended in 1966 after the case of Miranda v. Arizona. According to Miranda, the suspects have to know their rights. Only after they have heard a policeman advise them to remain silent, according to the constitutional right, after they were told that everything they say can be used against them in the court, after they were advised to have an attorney or the state can provide them one – only after this, information given by the suspect can be turned into evidence (Bohm, 2012).
The Sixth Amendment turns to the procedures required at trial. Everyone has the right to a public and speedy trial, the right to be informed of the nature of the accusation, the right to confront the whiteness from the opposing side, the right for compulsory legal process to obtain desired whiteness, the right to an impartial jury of the state and district where the crime took place, and the right to counsel (Kmiec, 2004).
The Eighth Amendment states that the punishment can not be cruel, the fines are not to be excessive and the punishment must be fair. The Supreme Court has seldom used this provision, approving the punishment generally, according to the legislature, and when the punishment was imposed by jury or the judge (Kmiec, 2004).