Criminal Lawyer

Criminal Lawyers are lawyers or solicitor that practice criminal law. Criminal law is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. Criminal law in most jurisdictions, both in the common and civil law traditions, is divided into two fields: Criminal procedure which regulates the process for addressing violations of criminal law and Substantive criminal law which details the definition of, and punishments for, various crimes.

Functions of criminal law

Criminal law is intended to enforce social control by discouraging behaviour that is harmful to societal well-being, as well as behaviour that challenges the government's authority and legitimacy. Criminal law and punishments are designed to serve as a deterrent, helping to restrain behaviour . While some crimes (malum in se) are outlawed nearly universally, such as murder, other crimes (malum prohibitum) reflect society's social attitudes and morality, such as laws prohibiting use of marijuana. Criminal law establishes procedure for punishing offenders, with punishment handled by the state and not the victim who might otherwise seek revenge.

Criminal law process

The criminal justice process begins with an alleged crime. A complainant makes an accusation, which is investigated by the police. A formal charging document called a complaint or an indictment brought by a grand jury is filed with a court in the appropriate jurisdiction. The interests of the state are represented by a prosecuting attorney, while the interests of the defendant are represented by his defense attorney or by the defendant acting as his own attorney. The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees a criminal defendant the right to a speedy and public trial, in both state and federal courts, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime was committed, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Criminal statutes spell out the exact behaviors, mental states, results and circumstances which constitute a particular crime. These required parts of a crime are known as the elements of the offense. Unless all the elements are proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecuting authority, the defendant is not guilty of the offense. There are four kinds of elements: the act itself, the actus reus, guilty act; the requisite culpable mental state, the mens rea, guilty mind; the result, and the attendant circumstances. At common law, all crimes required, at a minimum, both a guilty act and a guilty mind. In modern American jurisprudence, the minimum requirement is that there be an act element. Today, a crime may or may not require a culpable mental state, a result, or a circumstance. If a culpable mental state is required, the prosecution must prove it existed at the time of the required act, and, generally, that the accused had the same culpable mental state with respect to all the required elements. If a result is required, the prosecution must prove that it was caused by the required act. As an example, the common law definition of burglary was as follows: unlawful entry into a dwelling house at night with the intent to commit a felony therein. It is the duty of the prosecution therefore, to prove not merely the act (unlawful entry), and the mental state (the intent to commit a crime therein), but all the attendant circumstances (that it was a dwelling house, and that it was at night). Most modern criminal statutes have modified the elements, changing the "dwelling house" to a more general structure, and eliminating the "at night" element.

In defense, the accused could argue that he had no intent to commit a crime inside the house, that it occurred during the day, or that his entry was lawful. He could also, of course, argue that the incident never happened, or that someone else committed the offense. As the burden of proving the crime occurred and was committed by the defendant rests exclusively on the prosecutor, the defendant might choose to put on no case at all, counting on the prosecution to fail in its efforts to convince the jury, or the judge in a bench (non-jury) trial.

Criminal law distinguishes crimes from civil wrongs such as tort or breach of contract. Criminal law has been seen as a system of regulating the behavior of individuals and groups in relation to societal norms whereas civil law is aimed primarily at the relationship between private individuals and their rights and obligations under the law. Although many ancient legal systems did not clearly define a distinction between criminal and civil law, in England there was little difference until the codification of criminal law occurred in the late nineteenth century. In most U.S. law schools, the basic course in criminal law is based upon the English common criminal law of 1750 (with some minor American modifications like the clarification of mens rea in the Model Penal Code). In civil cases, the Seventh Amendment guarantees a defendant a right to a jury trial in federal court, but that right does not apply to the states (in contrast with criminal cases).