INTRODUCTION
The huge body of the law can be broken down to according to various classifications. Three of the most important distinctions are those between (1) civil law and criminal law, (2) felonies and misdemeanors, and (3) crimes mala in se and mala prohibita (Gaines and Miller, 2013, pg. 69).
CIVIL LAW AND CRIMINAL LAW
Civil law includes all types of law other than criminal law. It deals with the disputes between individuals, organizations, or between the two, in which compensation is awarded to the victim. The purpose of civil law is to deal with the disputes between individuals, organizations, or between the two, in which compensation is awarded to the victim ("Civil Law vs Criminal Law."). This type of cases is filed under private party and the judge decides if the candidate is liable or not. The party who brings up the suit is known as a platiff, and the party who is accused of the harm is known as a defendant. Compensation (usually financial) for injuries or damages, or an injunction in nuisance is a result of punishment. Examples of a civil law would include Landlord/tenant disputes, divorce proceedings, child custody proceedings, property disputes, personal injury, etc("Civil Law vs Criminal Law.").
Criminal law is consisted of offences against society as a whole. That means that even though one person might murder another person, murder itself is considered an offense to everyone in society. Accordingly crimes against the state are prosecuted by the state, and the prosecutor not the victims files the case in court as a representative of the state. If it were civil case then the wronged party would file it (Reuters, 2014). Violation of a statue that prohibits some type of activity is known as the wrongful act. The...
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Under federal law and in most states, any crime that is not a felony is considered a misdemeanor. Misdemeanors are crimes punishable by a fine or by confinement for up to a year. If imprisoned, the guilty party goes to a local jail instead of a penitentiary. Disorderly conduct and trespassing are common misdemeanors. Like felonies, misdemeanors are graded by a level of seriousness. In Illinois for example, misdemeanors are either Class A (confinement for up to a year), Class B (not more than 6 months), and Class C (not more than 30 days), (Gaines and Miller, 2013, pg. 70). . According to the state of California department of justice, there statistics from 2009 showed that there were 970,221 arrest made in California for misdemeanor offences (“Arrest Statistics.").
Infractions are the least serious form of wrong doing and it is punishable by only a small fine.
Common Law vs. Political Law vs. Scientific Law Americans are no longer aware that there are two kinds of legal systems, political and scientific. America was founded on principles of scientific law. But these principles have now been submerged in today's legal system. What is taught today as law is political law. To understand the difference between a scientific legal system and a political one, it is necessary to know that scientific law developed in the absence of any legislature or Congress or Parliament whatever.
Culpable Homicide is the illegal killing of a person with or without an intention to kill. Criminal Homicide is when someone take the life of another, regardless of intent or other details surrounding the incident (Moreland, 125). Homicide is not always charged as a crime. There Justifiable Homicide, this when killings are authorized by the law, like execution. There is also Excusable Homicide, the killing in a case of self defense. Homicide ranges from involuntary manslaughter to first degree murder. Homicide and Murder differ from each other based off the force of the offender.
... small acts know as status offenses, such as curfew and runaway behaviors. Often the minor offenses escalate into much more serious crime and this can create repeat offenders or more aggravated type criminal acts.
Legal codes in the judicial system is the key distinction between the civil law and common law tradition. It is the supreme source of justice in a society and is meant to provide the common good for a society. Whether or not a country is governed by a civil or common law code greatly influences the role of the judiciary system. Including the presence and role of judicial review. Given these points, civil law clashes with the theory of individualism, therefore this tradition could not work in the American system. Civil law is markedly inflexible because it is difficult to update common law to change with the times. Until relevant criminal charges are laid out or relevant civil action is initiated, there is not an opportunity for these laws and precedents to be changed.
Misdemeanors are crimes that are typically punishable by no more than one year of local county jail time and have no more than a $1,000 fine. Misdemeanors can range from very minor to very severe. Misdemeanors are less severe Crimes that are considered misdemeanors include DUI’s, petty theft, driving with a suspended license, vandalism, prostitution, possession of drugs, not allowing an officer to search or inspect, failure to stop if law enforcement is trying to pull you over, refusing to show your license to a police officer, causing injury with a motor vehicle when driving with a suspended or revoked license, hit and run, driving in the wrong direction, drag racing, throwing an object at another vehicle on a freeway, failing to install a court ordered ignition interlock device within the 30 day grace period, and reckless driving. Misdemeanors typically proceed with an arrest, an arraignment, a pretrial and then a court or jury trial. During the arrest stage you will be taken to jail. The jail will do one of three things, either you will be let out of jail with no charges fil...
Within the Federal Government there are three main branches; “the Legislative, the Judicial, and Executive” (Phaedra Trethan, 2013). They have the same basic shape and the same basic roles were written in the Constitution in 1787.
The Criminal Law state at the age of 7, any young child that are engaged in a criminal behavior can be prosecuted in the Family Court of Law. Additionally, juveniles can also be arrested for curfews violations, refusal to obey parents, running away, skipping school, and underage alcohol consumption. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that roughly half of all youth arrested are charged with theft, simple assaults, drug abuse, disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. OJJDP statistics confirms that theft is the greatest cause of youth arrests. (Martin, 2011) When they are prosecute and after the judge made there verdict, they become Juvenile Delinquent. A Juvenile Delinquent is a youth between the age of 7 and 18 who commits the act of a crime. The law also follows a specific term placement, which is:
Tort, one of the crucial subjects of study when analyzing common law jurisdictions. Tort, is an action which causes another person or party to suffer harm or loss []. The person who has committed a tortious act is called the tortfeasor while the person who suffered harm or loss from such act is called the injured party or the victim. Although crimes may be torts, torts may not be crimes [] simply because a tort may not have broken a law. In fact, one must understand that the key idea of tort is not to punish the tortfeasor(s) but rather to compensate the victim(s).
and remedies applied by courts of law in civil proceedings giving the plaintiff or claimant relief
Crime is seen as deviant behaviour that violates prevailing norms which are the cultural standards prescribing how humans ought to behave normally. This violation of a law;-offences against the person, violent offences, sexual offences and offences against property, causes injury to the public or an individual and a term in jail or prison, and/or a fine are possible penalties.#
Crime is some action/omission that causes harm in a situation that the person/group responsible ‘ought’ to be held accountable and punished irrespective of what the law book of state say.
This is where the individuals exercise their rights to seek compensations for damages or injuries. Also this is a law that is not controlled by the judges based on previous things that had happen in the past.
Criminal and Civil Law – Criminal law is the law through which public commitment of crimes are prosecuted by governing bodies, whereas civil law is the law through which private parties may bring lawsuits against one another for real or imagined wrongdoings. E.g. criminal law would deal with the prosecution of a crime such as one person hitting another with their car, and civil law would deal with the lawsuit, as the person hit would sue the driver of the car for monetary compensation.
Law is a tool in society as it helps to maintain social control, promoting social justice. The way law functions in society and its social institution provide a mechanism for solutions. There are many different theories of the function of law in relation to society in considering the insight they bring to different socio-legal and criminological problems. In the discussion of law’s role in social theory, Leon Petrażycki and Eugen Ehrlich share similar beliefs in the jurisprudence of society. They focused their work on the experience of individuals in establishing meaning in their legal relations with others based on the question of what it means to be a participant in law. Jürgen Habermas presents a relationship between law and morality. From a certain standpoint, law is a key steering mechanism in society as it plays an educational role in promoting conducts, a mean of communication and it
Legal crimes are an act that violates the law in itself but is considered legal given the situation. For example; killing someone in self defense violates the law, however; murder in itself is a crime, but protecting one's life if threatening by bodily harm or injury is legal. Therefore, killing in self defense is a legal crime. Legal crimes are acts that are not harmful to another person, however; these acts are defined as crimes by society because of the influence these crimes have on those who are in authority. Legal crimes are less serious because they cause less harm, are not as frequent and are not as widespread. People who commit assault, fraud, embezzlement, vandalism, prostitution, and disorderly conduct are committing legal crimes. Legal crimes are not an obvious crime and do not have an obvious victim. However, not all crimes are reported to the police, therefore crimes are classified by the degree of harm caused, how frequent they occur, and how pervasive the crimes are throughout the country. Crimes can be distinguished by degree or severity of the crime by dividing the crimes into groups; felonies for severe crime and misdemeanors for less severe crimes. Another way to distinguish crime is between mala in se which is rape or murder or mala prohibita, which is trespassing, gambling, or prostitution. Once the public understands that the balance is the goal of "justice" the next step is to understand the difference between a natural crime and a legal crime.