Criminal Law

Sue Titus Reid (JD, PhD) is Professor in the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University.

• PREFACE; ABOUT THE AUTHOR; CHAPTER 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL LAW; THE EMERGENCE OF LAW; CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LAW DISTINGUISHED; THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF CRIMINAL LAW; Criminal Law as Punishment; Retribution; > Incapacitation; > Deterrence; > Reformation or Rehabilitation; Criminal Law and Morality; U.S. LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR GOVERNMENT; The Judicial Branch of Government; U.S. Court Systems; THE MODEL PENAL CODE AND CRIMINAL LAW REFORM; ENGLISH COMMON LAW AND ITS IMPACT; SOURCES OF CRIMINAL LAW; Statutory Law; Constitutions; Judicial Decisions and Customs; Administrative Law; DISCRETION AND CRIMINAL LAW; CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES AND RELATED OFFENSES; Grade of Offense; Moral Turpitude; Other Classifications; THE LIMITATIONS ON CRIMINAL LAW; Void for Vagueness; Ex Post Facto Laws and Bills of Attainder; Repeal or Amendment of a Statute; Cruel and Unusual Punishment; Due Process and Equal Protection; The Right of Privacy; THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GUILT; The Adversary System; The Burden of Proof; Determining Criminal Culpability: The Judge and the Jury; HOW TO READ AND INTERPRET A CASE; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 2: ELEMENTS OF A CRIME; THE ELEMENTS OF A CRIME; A Criminal Act; > The Exclusion of Involuntary Conduct; > Proof of an Act; > Possession as an Act; > Criminal Failure to Act; A Criminal Intent; > Problems of Interpretation; > Proving Criminal Intent; The Concurrence of a Criminal Act and a Criminal Intent; Causation; ATTENDANT CIRCUMSTANCES; LIABILITY WITHOUT FAULT; Strict Liability; Vicarious Liability; Enterprise Liability; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 3: ANTICIPATORY OFFENSES AND PARTIES TO CRIMES; SOLICITATION; Elements of Solicitation; Defenses to Solicitation; ATTEMPT; Elements of Attempt; Defenses to Attempt; The Spread of AIDS: An Attempt Crime?; CONSPIRACY; The Problem of Definition; Elements of Conspiracy; > The Act or Agreement: The Problem of Multiple Agreements; The Requirement of an Act Plus an Agreement; > The Intent; Limitations on Parties to Conspiracy; Defenses to Conspiracy; Other Issues in Conspiracy; PARTIES TO CRIMES; Elements of Accomplice Liability; Other Issues of Accomplice Liability; > The Wharton Rule; > Defenses to Accomplice Liability; > The Scope of Accomplice Liability; PROSECUTING ANTICIPATORY OFFENSES AND PARTIES TO CRIMES; Federal RICO Statutes; State RICO Statutes; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 4: DEFENSES TO CRIMINAL CULPABILITY; THE BURDEN OF PROOF AND PRESUMPTIONS; Major Court Decisions; The Element of Intent; The Burden of Proof and Self-Defense; The Burden of Proof and the Insanity Defense; TYPES OF DEFENSES; Ignorance or Mistake; Duress or Necessity; Infancy; Insanity; > The M'Naghten Rule; > The Irresistible Impulse Test; > The Durham Rule; > The Substantial Capacity Test; > Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI); > Constitutional Challenge to the Insanity Defense; > Abolition of the Insanity Defense; Diminished Capacity or Partial Responsibility; Automatism; Entrapment; Outrageous Government Conduct; Defense of Persons and Property; Law Enforcement; Intoxication; Domestic Authority; Consent, Condonation, and Victim's Conduct; Syndrome and Stress Disorder Defenses; > The Battered Person Syndrome; > Extreme Emotional Disturbance Syndrome; > Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): The Combat Stress Syndrome; Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS); Postpartum Depression (PPDD) Syndrome; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 5: CRIMINAL HOMICIDE; AN OVERVIEW OF VIOLENT CRIMES; HOMICIDE; General Definitional Issues; > Another Human Being Requirement; > The Definition of Death; Causation; > The Year-and-a-Day Rule; > Multiple Causation; Corpus Delicti; MURDER; Elements of Murder; Common Law Murder; Types of Murder; > Intent to Kill; > Intent to Inflict Great Bodily Harm; > Depraved Heart; > Intent to Commit a Felony; > Murder for Hire; Degrees of Murder; Lesser Included Offenses; PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE (PAS); MANSLAUGHTER; Types of Manslaughter; > Voluntary Manslaughter: Heat-of-Passion Manslaughter; Manslaughter in Domestic Relations; The Reasonable Person Standard; > Involuntary Manslaughter: Misdemeanor or Negligent Manslaughter; Vehicular and DUI Manslaughter; Failure-to-Act Manslaughter; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 6: ASSAULT, ROBBERY, RAPE, AND OTHER SERIOUS CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON; ASSAULT; Simple Assault; Aggravated Assault; Reckless Assault; Mayhem; ROBBERY; The Elements of Robbery; Home Invasion Robbery; FORCIBLE RAPE; Data on Forcible Rape; Focus on Forcible Sodomy; The Elements of Forcible Rape and Sodomy; > Gender of the Actor and of the Victim; > The Requirement of Penetration; > Lack of Consent; DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; Intimate Partner Violence (IPV); Date Rape; Marital Rape; Child Abuse; > Nonsexual Abuse and Neglect; > Sexual Abuse: Statutory Rape; Incest; ELDER ABUSE; FALSE IMPRISONMENT AND KIDNAPPING; HATE CRIMES; STALKING; BULLYING; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 7: PROPERTY AND RELATED CRIMES; SERIOUS PROPERTY OFFENSES; Larceny Theft; > Common Law Larceny-Theft: Trespassory Taking; A Carrying Away; Personal Property of Another; With the Intent to Steal; > Modern Theft Codes; Burglary; > Common Law Burglary; > Statutory Burglary; Motor Vehicle Theft; Arson; > Common Law Arson; > Statutory Arson; LESS SERIOUS PROPERTY OFFENSES; Embezzlement; Fraud; > Fraud Against the Elderly; > Mortgage Fraud; > Mail and Wire Fraud; > Health Care Fraud; > Securities Fraud; False Pretense; Stolen Property: Buying, Receiving, Possessing; Malicious Mischief; Trespass; Extortion or Blackmail; COMPUTER CRIMES; Identity Theft; Controlling Computer Crimes; CARJACKING; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 8: CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND PUBLIC DECENCY; CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER; Breach of the Peace; Fighting Words; Disorderly Conduct, Vagrancy, and Loitering; Alcohol and Drug-Related Offenses; > Public Intoxication and Drug Incapacitation; > Driving Under the Influence (DUI); > Alcohol Offenses and Minors: Sale of Alcohol to Minors; Minors in Possession; Unlawful Assembly, Rout, and Riot; Weapons Offenses; Obstructing a Highway or Public Passage; Animal Abuse; Harassment; CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC DECENCY; Obscenity, Lewdness, and Indecency; Sodomy; Seduction and Fornication; Adultery; Bigamy; Prostitution; > Statutory Provisions; > Trafficking; Pornography; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 9: CRIMES AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT AND TERRORISM; CRIMES AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT; Perjury; Bribery; Official Misconduct in Office; Obstruction of Justice; Contempt of Court; Treason; TERRORISM; The Problem of Definition; > The Federal Criminal Code; > Examples of State Terrorism Statutes; The Categories of Terrorism; Terrorism Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics; Terrorism Victims; Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD); > Chemical Agents; > Biological Agents; > Nuclear Devices; Cyberterrorism; THE CONTROL OF TERRORISM; The National Level; > The 9/11 Commission; > The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; > The USA Patriot Act; > The Department of Homeland Security (DHS); > The Transportation Security Administration (TSA); > The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002; > The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act of 2002; > The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004; The State Level; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 10: DRUG ABUSE AND DRUG TRAFFICKING; DRUG ABUSE; The Problem of Definition; Alcohol Prohibition and Regulation; Controlled Substances; > Possession of Controlled Substances; > Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; > The Manufacture, Prescription, and Sale of Drugs; The Nature and Extent of Drug Abuse; The Impact of Drug Abuse; > Drugs and Crime; > Health and Other Problems; > Club Drugs, Alcohol, and Campus Crime: Federal Laws and Club Drugs; State Laws and Club Drugs; Education about Club Drugs; > Fetal Abuse; The Economic Cost of Drug Abuse; The Impact of Drugs on Criminal Justice Systems; > Impact on the Courts; > Influence over Law Enforcement Officials; > Prison and Jail Overcrowding; DRUG TRAFFICKING; The Dynamics of Drug Trafficking; Money Laundering; > Federal Statutes; > State Statutes; THE CONTROL OF DRUG ABUSE AND DRUG TRAFFICKING; The Federal Level; > The U.S. War on Drugs: The Background; > Recent White House Drug Policies; The State Level; > Rockefeller and Other Harsh Laws; > Substance Abuse and Treatment; > Drug Courts; LEGALIZING MARIJUANA FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; CHAPTER 11: SENTENCING AND THE CRIMINAL LAW; DETERMINING SENTENCES; Sentence Models; Presumptive Sentencing; Sentencing Guidelines; > State Sentencing Guidelines; > Federal Sentencing Guidelines; > Litigation Concerning Sentencing Guidelines; > Critique of Sentencing Guidelines; RECENT SENTENCING REFORM MEASURES; Three Strikes and You're Out Legislation; Truth in Sentencing Legislation; The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010; CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES IN SENTENCING; Execution of the Mentally Challenged; Right to a Trial by Jury; Equal Protection; Proportionality; Cruel and Unusual Punishment; > The Execution of Juveniles; > Life Without Parole and Juveniles; SEX OFFENDER LAWS; Registration and Related Laws; Civil Commitment Procedures; ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; APPENDIX A: SELECTIONS FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES; APPENDIX B: HOW TO READ A COURT CITATION; GLOSSARY; CASE INDEX; NAME INDEX; SUBJECT INDEX

"This book exceeds expectations. It is logically assembled and should allow students to comprehend the material without any trouble. The author's style is precise, accurate, and easy to understand."--Michael T. Stevenson, University of Toledo"A well-written book--with excellent pedagogical features--about recent criminal law topics that will keep students interested and informed."--Kimberly M. Tatum, University of West Florida"This textbook flows very well. The 'For Debate' and 'Internet Activity' sections are great tools to stimulate discussion both in class and online."--Judith L. Fitzgerald, Bowie State University