Our course begins with understanding wh
Our course begins with understanding what a crime is, scholars.
Among the most heinous of crimes is homicide in its various forms. I am going to link you (Click the PIN or link!) to a search result page from the United States Code. Focus on 18 United States Code and its various chapters to better understand various forms of homicide as one type of crime. Please ignore the other Titles and Chapters that appear and focus on Title 18 as you see its various chapters appear in a vertical column on the left.
How important is it that a crime is fully articulated in legislation so that it can be completely understood by the public, scholars?
Within the U.S. Code and within various State Codes (and Statutes), general crimes are often classified into specific Titles. For organizational purposes, this makes sense right? Yet a modern trend is to include crimes in other areas of law (and other Titles/Chapters). A good example of this disorganized approach often manifests in crimes such as environmental crimes where the crime itself is often published within an environmental Title rather than the Title that covers crimes in general.
Search the term Common Law Felonies. What are they? How do these felonies currently manifest in state and federal laws? Share the links to OFFICIAL GOVERNMENTAL RESOURCES that articulate the Common Law Felonies within this Discussion. How many can you find?
If you are able to find a common law articulation, how much different is that articulation than a modern articulation in state or federal law?
http://uscode.house.gov/search.xhtml?searchString=homicide&pageNumber=1&itemsPerPage=100&sortField=CODE_ORDER&action=search&q=aG9taWNpZGU%3D%7C%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A%3Afalse%3A%7C%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A%3A%3Afalse%3A%7Cfalse%7C%5B%3A%3A%3A%3A%3
As you scholars examine the U.S. Constitution, one very important question to ask is upon whom are limits placed? Are there limitations upon governmental actions articulated there? Upon private parties/persons? Why is this an important question and distinction?
Welcome to the course, Scholars! One of the more important aspects of the construct of criminal law is the limitations placed upon criminality. Does the U.S. Constitution articulate rights that may not be infringed? If so, are there some rights that outweigh the ability of government to restrict protected activities? What Constitutional rights can we identify that restrict lawmaking and/or regulatory powers?