Bus-115 (Business Law): Chapter 5 Guide
Learning Objective
After reading this chapter, students should be able to accomplish the following objectives:
- Explain the purpose of criminal law.
- Enumerate the various categories and classes of crimes.
- Describe the nature of an act within the concept of criminal liability.
- Identify the four mental states to be found in the criminal code.
- Explain the nature of corporate criminal liability.
- Explain the various theories of punishment within criminal law.
- Enumerate and explain the elements of several key crimes.
- Define and explain the nature of cybercrimes.
- Explain the standards for the insanity defense in criminal law.
- Outline the requirements of entrapment as a defense in criminal law.
Major Concepts
5-1 Definition and Classes of Crimes
A crime is an offense against the public at large. As such, a crime threatens the peace, safety, and well-being of the entire community. For this reason, crimes are punishable by the official governing body of a nation or state. A felony is a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in a federal or a state prison for a term exceeding one year. Some felonies are also punishable by fines. A misdemeanor is a less serious crime that is generally punishable by a prison sentence of not more than one year.
5-2 Elements of a Crime
The two elements necessary to create criminal liability are (1) an act and (2) the requisite state of mind. Generally speaking, a crime cannot be committed unless the criminal act named in the statute is performed with the requisite state of mind. Many state criminal codes include four possible states of mind: (1) purpose, (2) knowledge, (3) recklessness, and (4) negligence. Establishing motive may help investigators pinpoint the guilty party, but proving an evil motive is not necessary for a criminal conviction. Conversely, establishing the existence of a good motive will rarely absolve a defendant of criminal liability.
5-3 Specific Crimes
Crimes against people include but are not limited to first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, battery, and assault. A more recent addition to this list involves hate speech. Crimes against property include but are not limited to burglary; breaking and entering; trespass; aggravated arson; arson; aggravated robbery; robbery; and theft, fraud, and related offenses.
Crimes involving business include embezzlement, forgery, criminal simulation, passing bad checks, and defrauding creditors. RICO offenses also involve business crime. Crimes against justice include bribery, theft in office, and dereliction of duty. Others, such as intimidation, are committed against a public official or public servant. Still others, such as obstruction of justice, resisting arrest, perjury, and tampering with evidence are committed against the justice system itself.
5-4 Cybercrimes
Cybercrimes include cyber-trespass, which involves any conventional crime committed with a computer. Cybercrimes that focus on the use of a computer include cyber-extortion, cyber-stalking, cyber-harassment, cyber-assault, cyber-bullying, cyber-spoofing, phishing, smishing, and vishing. Crimes that target computers include cyber-terrorism, identity theft, cyber-vandalism, and cyber-germ warfare.
Federal cybercrimes include Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), the Economic Espionage Act (EEA), the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA), and the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (ITADA).
5-5 Defenses to Criminal Liability
Because criminal liability relies on the two essential elements of act and requisite mental state, a logical defense aims at eliminating one or both of those elements. Most defenses attempt to do just that. The most common defenses are insanity, entrapment, justifiable force, and mistake.
