Crimes Against Persons

Crimes against persons typically refer to crimes which are committed that have direct physical force or harm applied by another person. These offenses can be divided into categories such as: fatal offenses (murder or manslaughter), sexual offenses, and non-fatal non-sexual offense (assault, battery, wounding, poisoning and inflicting grievous bodily harm). Within each category, these offenses can further be classified as assaults or injuries. Crimes against people are also considered for their aggravations and degrees and further distinguished by whether the action was intentional or criminally negligent. Each state has their own penal law, however they all can be traced back to English common law.

Brief Historical Background

Criminal law was derived from common law. It was created at the federal level however, each state now has jurisdiction over criminal law. Most of the common law crimes that once existed have been replaced by statutes that recognize common law crimes when there is no similar statutory crime that exists. Each individual state has its own penal codes. The Model Penal Code, MPC, has been adopted by most of the states. In states that have not been adopted, it is common to be cited a persuasive authority.

In the offense of murder (and with many other criminal offenses), states have created at least two degrees of murder, as degrees of murder does not exist in common law. American law reformed the old common law practices, especially that concerning “one size fits all”.  American law created lesser sentences and categorized levels of punishment.

Precedent Setting Cases

One precedent setting case regarding criminal law is that of United States versus Hudson and Goodwin from 1812. The final ruling in this case came from the United States Supreme Court.

This case was key in American legal history as it decided that common law crimes at the federal level were to be discontinued and therefore most states abolished common law crimes. From this case, it was ruled that lower federal courts in the U.S. do not have jurisdiction in criminal cases unless the Congress has established ac act to be criminal, has attached a penalty to the charge and has granted jurisdiction.

A very well-known criminal case is that of Miranda versus Arizona (1966). In this case, the United States Supreme Court ruled that statements that are made when being interrogated by police can only be admissible if there is proof that the defendant was told of his/her right to have an attorney present, both before as well as during questioning. The defendant must also be aware of his or her right again of self-incrimination. The defendant must understand these rights plus voluntarily waive them for interrogation to proceed. From this case came the “Miranda Rights” that are read to the accused upon arrest.

Defenses

Defenses to offenses of crimes against a person can be divided into two categories: justification defenses and excuse defenses. Justification defenses are those that are full defenses and society tells the defendant that he or she did nothing wrong considering the circumstances. Self defense is a common justification defense and is typically raised in defense of battery or homicide.

Excuses on the other hand do not suggest that the defendant did nothing wrong but that society will not punish him or her considering the circumstances. An example of this is intoxication, with the law discriminating between involuntary and voluntary intoxication. Mistake, of either fact or law, can serve as a mistake defense.

Other defenses of crimes against people include the defense of another person, law enforcement and lastly, necessity.