Write a short essay in response to each of the five prompts below. The bolded text is the CLO for the prompt. Each essay must be between one and one and a half pages, for a total of 5 – 7.5 pages, not including title and reference pages. Submit all essays in one document, inserting a page break between each one.
Describe the basic concepts of criminal law.
Explain the differences between the mental state or intent of the defendant and the physical actions that are required to commit the offense. For the crimes of theft, assault and battery, and murder, write a fact pattern that would satisfy the mental state and physical actions of the defendant that the prosecutor would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to get a conviction.
Analyze the balance between constitutional rights with the need for public order. Watch the TED Talk video from the beginning of this course. Discuss how what the officer talks about demonstrates the balance of the individual’s constitutional rights with the need for public order.
- Video: Mcmillan, T. (2017). Policing the bridge [Video file]. TEDx Talks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz7fva4OQzo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz7fva4OQzo
Differentiate between the categories of crimes. Differentiate between crimes against the person and crimes against property and give three examples of each of those categories of crimes.
Discuss the role and significance of due process. In Lesson 1 of Module 1, we discussed the following: “Due process of law in criminal law means that law enforcement and the court system followed the rules, respected the rights of the suspect or accused, and treated the defendant fairly. When a person’s constitutional rights get violated or there is misconduct by the police, investigators, prosecutor, or judge, the defendant has an argument that they did not receive due process. For example, a defendant has a right to a fair trial, to see and hear the evidence against them, to present evidence in their defense, to cross-examine witnesses, and to request the judge to suppress evidence that was obtained improperly. The purpose of due process is to balance the government’s goals of maintaining public order with the individual’s rights.” Write a scenario in which the facts include 5 violations of a defendant’s due process rights and identify each of those due process violations.
Describe the elements of evidentiary and criminal procedures. Criminal procedure involves the rules that govern how criminal activity is investigated and prosecuted and how the police and the courts do their work on criminal cases. Evidentiary rules state how the evidence the prosecutor or defense want to present at court must have been obtained, authenticated, and handled before the jury gets to see or hear the evidence. Write a hypothetical criminal case in which some of the prosecution’s evidence gets suppressed because of errors in the investigation or prosecution of the case and explain how these evidentiary and criminal procedures try to strike a balance between the constitutional rights of the accused and the need to protect public order.
References: Support your assignment with at least 5 scholarly resources (minimum 1 per essay prompt).
The completed assignment should address all the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards.