In the US, we have both civil law and criminal law. Both of these types of law deal with disputes between individuals or businesses. However, the difference between them is that in criminal law, the government is responsible for deciding whether someone should be punished for committing an act or not.
Types of Criminal Law
The term “criminal” refers to any action that is illegal in the United States. This includes any crime that is punishable by fines or imprisonment. The US government determines which crimes are felonies and which are misdemeanors, and both federal and state laws have specific penalties for each.
Statutes are written by the legislatures in the US. They are based on agreed-upon social and moral values. They are also enacted by local governments, such as cities and counties. In some cases, a written law is not considered a statute because it is only a general rule, such as the prohibition of jaywalking in certain areas.
Ordinances are similar to statutes, except that they are voted into law by citizens in local governments. They are generally aimed at improving the quality of life in a community or addressing safety issues. In some cases, an ordinance may be considered a crime if it violates an existing law, such as jaywalking in a city or county.
Mala in Se are crimes that are only considered offenses if they are not permitted by statutes. They include traffic tickets, tax evasion, and theft.
The federal government has codified a number of different federal crimes in Title 18 of the U.S. Code, including arson, counterfeiting, embezzlement, espionage, and kidnapping. In order to prosecute an individual for these crimes, they must be tried in the federal courts.
When a person is charged with a crime, they are usually investigated by law enforcement and their backgrounds are evaluated to see if they pose a threat to the public. If they do, they will be held in jail until trial.
Once the court finds them guilty, they are sentenced by a judge. This could involve incarceration, probation, a fine, or even restitution to the victims of the crime.
Some of the basic legal rights that a defendant has are guaranteed in the Constitution, which is a document that protects our civil rights and gives the people of this country the freedom to live their lives freely. These rights include the right to remain silent, the right to a public trial, and the right not to be tried twice for the same crime.
Defendants have the right to a fair trial, but they have many legal defenses that can help them win their case. They can also use their mistakes or failure to prove an element of the offense as a defense in court.
The Burden of Proof is a crucial part of any case in criminal law. Lawyers must prove that the person in question committed a crime and that they had the intent to do so. This requires proving Actus Reus and Mens Rea, two Latin words that mean guilty act and guilty mind.