Liberally, criminal law is the branch of law which defines and regulates criminal conduct. It encompasses the elements or ingredients of crimes, the prescribed penalties and the rationale of punishment. Criminal Law Kutztown PA is however not applied in a vacuum. It takes effect in the light of certain core principles or minimum guidelines if you like. Some of the main principles of criminal law are:
1. Nullam crimen sine lege
This
Latin maxim means – no crime without law. The effect of this cardinal
principle of law is that no one should be punished for a crime except
that the offense was prescribed under the law at the time of commission.
That is the law. No penal laws should contravene this rule which is
meant to guard against the injustice that would be occasioned if people
were punished on grounds of committing non-existent offenses. In a
nutshell, for an action to amount to a crime, it must be prescribed
under the law.
2. Mens rea
This Latin phrase refers to the guilty mind. It basically stipulates that for an action to amount to criminal conduct, the doer must have a guilty mind. Proof of an act without the guilty mind or intention does not suffice to impose criminal liability. For liability under Criminal Law in Kutztown PA to be levied on someone, the intention to commit the crime must be manifest. It is however worthy to note that this principle is not applied in isolation. Mens rea may be implied when someone is negligent or reckless. Also, strict liability offenses do not generally have the requirement of a guilty mind.
3. Actus reus
This principle is
the major requirement for criminal liability. It signifies the actual
conduct constituting a crime. If the crime is stealing, then the actus
reus would be the taking of the goods of another person without
authority. Of significant note is that actus reus may be an action or an
omission. An example of an omission amounting to a criminal act would
be failure to pay your taxes.
4. Presumption of innocence
Criminal law also reckons the principle that all persons are deemed innocent unless adjudged guilty by a court of law. This therefore implies that the arrest of a person does not impose criminal liability on him/her. It will only take the opinion of a court of competent jurisdiction to construe the status of the accused person – whether guilty or innocent. Police officers upon effecting an arrest should therefore uphold this principle by respecting the rights of the accused persons. This rule is the major justification for the granting of bail after an arrest.
Other principles of criminal law include causation, the rule against double jeopardy and the need to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt.
