BLE-214 Lecture 7: Chapter 7 Notes
Document Summary
The purpose of criminal law is to punish an offender for causing harm to public health, safety, or morals. In a criminal trial, society is seen as the victim, and the government files charges against the defendant. In contrast, in a civil trial there is an individual victim or victims, and an individual person or corporation can file a suit. Criminal laws usually define criminal behavior and set guidelines for punishment: government must demonstrate the two elements of a crime: Wrongful behavior, that, actus reus or a guilty act. Wrongful state of mind, also known as mens rea or a guilty mind. First, a defendant can purposely commit a crime by engaging in a specific wrongful behavior to bring about a specific wrongful result. Second, a defendant can knowingly commit a wrongful act if the person knows the act is wrongful or believes so yet does nothing to confirm or disconfirm this belief.
