ADMJ 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Statutory Law, Mens Rea, Actus Reus
Document Summary
Foundational issues: criminal law and categories of crime. Two bodies of law: statutory law: written down laws created by legislature, case ( common ) law: rules that result from judicial decisions. Composed of both statutory (i. e. , penal code) and case law. (for this class, we mostly care about this type) Statutory law: written or codified law - law on the books - enacted by government body or agency. Two types: substantive criminal law: describes what constitutes particular crimes and specifies appropriate punishment for each offense, procedural law: body of rules that determine proceedings by which legal rights are enforced. Case/common law: body of judicial precedent, historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws. Represent accumulated wisdom of trial and appellate courts. Stare decisis requires courts to follow earlier decisions when handling subsequent cases on similar issues of law and fact.
