Criminal Conduct and Criminal Law

Criminal Conduct and Criminal Law

LEG 320

Criminal Conduct and Criminal Law

When it relates to criminal law, there are an array of rules that coincide with a criminal offense. An illegal offense encompasses two parts: physical and mental (Gardner, 2012). Mens rea… Mens rea is having a criminal intent or state of mind. It is a particular part of criminal law. Actus rea…Actus rea is a criminal act. This is considered the physical part of criminal law.

Criminal law regulates human conduct and, also, tell people what they can and cannot do.

When intent is coupled with an actual criminal crime then a conviction is feasible.

It is understandable to accept the fact that a person can only be convicted of a felony if he/she are inexcusably held for the actions of the criminal act. For instance, if an individual does a criminal act without intentionally committing that crime then they are believed to not be liable for the crime, and they should not be held accountable. Intent is an essential element to a crime, so prosecutors are instructed to legitimize mens rea. In this case, a conviction is not feasible when an alleged perpetrator does not have the required mens rea, but has engaged in the actus rea.

An assembly of constitutional freedom that warrants foreign legislators to have an existing support is called diplomatic immunity. Diplomatic immunity is one of the oldest principles of international law, which dates back to the ancient governments of Greece and Rome (Rudd, 2008). This views them as being not vulnerable to trial under the country’s legislation. In addition, they are dismissed. As of now, susceptibility guards the developments of political discussions by releasing lawmakers so they can perform their obligations with value, free will, and safety. Diplomatic missions are traditionally the principal communication link between the country that sends them and the host country (Rudd, 2008). Legislative immunity is not necessarily in place to help negotiators. However, its intent is to certify that agents of outside nations can finish their commitments. Legislative immunity is a statute that prevents legislators from being sued for his/her actions made in the course of serving in the government. This law does not keep the legislators from being prosecuted for criminal activities, neither does it take away accountability for his/her actions. Legislative immunity is important for Americans. Negotiators need flexibility because detainment could possibly become a major problem, definitely for nations where the United States is not in agreement.

Competency should always be considered when making a decision whether to use the standard sentencing guidelines. In order for any defendant to stand trial, competency is required (Hoge, 2016). There is a legal requirement of adjudicative competency as serving three purposes: preserving the dignity of the criminal process, reducing the risk of erroneous convictions, and protecting defendants’ decision-making autonomy (Hoge, 2016). The defendant should be able to determine the nature and purpose of the charges against him/her. Likewise, they must be able to efficiently and effectively plan with legal representative in his/her defense. In any given situation, the defendant must possess the ability to understand the charges against them and the penalties that lie before them if found guilty. In retrospect, courts should hold a defendant of full competency to the standard sentencing guidelines.

In the regulating of human conduct also known as criminal law, penalties are used on offenders who feel they can break the law or take the law into their own hands. The four objectives of criminal law are consequences, retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation.

Consequences are presented to enforce various degrees of criminal offense (Duff, 2017). It is a serious outcome for the offenders who don’t comply. Retribution is a punishment that is rendered in return for wrong being committed. Deterrence is a theory of criminal law that forces punishments that hopefully deters criminals from engaging in criminal activities (Gardner, 2012). This act of criminal law has affected society with preventing others from committing similar crimes. Incapacitation keeps criminals away from society. This is an act of criminal law that protects society from the dangers of criminals.

In conclusion, it is important to note that criminal law regulate human conduct. There is a distinct difference between diplomatic immunity and legislative immunity. The four goals of criminal law are consequences, retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation.

References

Duff, R. A. (2017). A CRIMINAL LAW WE CAN CALL OUR OWN?. Northwestern

University Law Review, 111(6), 1491-1506.

Gardner, T. J., & Anderson, T. M. (2012). Criminal law. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Hoge, S. K. (2016). Competence to stand trial: An overview. Indian Journal of Psychiatry,

58S187-S190.

Rudd, J. L. (2008). Diplomatic Immunity. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 77(2), 25-32.