U.S. Criminal Law and Its Role in Criminal Cases

U.S. criminal law is a very broad topic which encompasses how crimes are classified, charged, judged and punished in the country. There are several different types of offenses that an individual may be charged with, and many more types of defense strategies that criminal attorneys employ in the court of law. In the U.S., an accused individual is assumed innocent until proven guilty. In criminal cases, this burden falls on the prosecutor, who attempts to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is a guilty party. Following are some of the classifications of offenses, defense strategies and punishments exercised within the confines of criminal law in the U.S.

Criminal Offenses and Their Classifications

Offenses which classify as criminal, unlike civil cases, are those which are committed against another individual or specific property, and the offender becomes a threat to public safety. These offenses include theft, assault, rape, drunk driving, murder and possession of drugs. Furthermore, these may be classified as either misdemeanor or felony charges, which are largely determined by local laws. Essentially, felony charges carry a possible jail sentence of one year or more in addition to fines, community service and probation requirements. Misdemeanor charges carry jail sentences of less than one year.

Jurisdiction of these cases may be federal or state, depending upon where the offense occurred and the type of act committed. Generally, capital offenses that fall under federal jurisdiction carry stiffer penalties. Some cases may carry concurrent jurisdiction, where several states and/or state and federal laws apply to the crime.

Defining a Criminal Act

In order to be a criminal act by definition, an offense must fulfill two requirements. It must first contain an actus reus, or guilty act. Second, there must be a mens rea or guilty mind. The court of law is implemented in order to determine guilt or innocence of a charged party.

Criminal Offenses and Defenses

Criminal offenses may be classified as fatal offenses, personal offenses, property offenses or participatory offenses. Fatal offenses include murder, personal offenses include battery, property offenses include theft, and participatory offenses include aiding and abetting.

When charged with a criminal act, many defenses may apply in certain cases. These defenses may include insanity, automatism, intoxication, mistake of fact, necessity, lawful capacity of office, self defense and duress.

Criminal Punishments

Depending upon the severity of the crime committed and level of involvement by the guilty party, criminal punishments can vary greatly. The most common types of criminal punishments include jail time in either a county, state or federal facility, probation, fines, and even the death penalty in capital murder cases. These punishments may lessen with admission of guilt or entering into some other type of plea agreement with the prosecution.