CRIMINAL LAW

The Criminal law of United State of America

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to study the criminal law of United States of America. Initially I have explained criminal law and defined legal definition of crimes. The paper further included the types of crimes and the reasons behind criminal activities. Furthermore, it covers the general legal proceeding in criminal justice system of America. Then I have described the secondary methods of research used by for this research paper and finally I have given the results and conclusion that are identified in this research.

Table of Contents

Thesis statement4

Introduction4

Crimes5

Types of crimes5

1.Blue collar crime5

2.Corporate crime5

3.White collar crimes6

4.Juvenile crime6

5.Organized crime6

6.Political crime7

7.Public order crime7

8.Victimless crime7

Causes of crimes8

Criminal procedure in US:9

Constitutional criminal procedure9

Statutory criminal procedure9

Burden of proof9

Penalty phase10

Appealing the ruling to a higher court10

Method used for research10

Results11

Conclusion11

Criminal law

Thesis statement

Criminal law of United States is explained along with the types of crimes and their causes. Also, criminal procedure of US, methodology of research and results are also discussed.

Introduction

The most common definition of criminal law is that it has three elements: crime, prosecution and defense. On the whole, it deals with the rules and regulations set by state legislators and Congress and compliance to those rules. It also deals with penalties and charges for people breaking the rules or causing harm to the general public. The main purpose of enforcing criminal law is to make sure that safety and order is maintained in the country. The decisions made by appellate courts define general procedure in the case where clear legislated rules are absent.

As defined by HG legal directories, (2010) “Criminal law envelops the criminal procedure employed when charging, trying, sentencing and imprisoning defendants convicted of crimes, as well as regulation concerning how suspects are investigated, charged and tried”. State has the primary responsibility to enforce the law. Criminal law also covers the areas of criminal justice, criminal procedure and substantial criminal law.

In this research paper, I am going to talk about Substantive criminal law which identifies and classifies crimes according to their “substance” and tells what should be the procedure and penalties. It also identifies courts which are responsible for prosecuting those crimes also takes into account constitutional rights of individual like, their right to silence, speedy trial etc.

Crimes

Crime is any act of breaching or violating rules defined by state, congress or legal institutions. The definition and categories of crimes differ in different parts of the world depending on the legal, social and moral values of that place. The governing or regulatory authority is responsible for prescribing convictions according to the intensity of that crime.

Types of crimes

The types of crimes vary not only according to their substance but also according to their potential harm and exploitation (Cole & Smith, 2006).

Blue collar crime

Blue collar crimes are committed by a person of lower social status against a person of higher social status. These crimes generally involve offenses such as thefts, kidnapping and damage to the property.

Corporate crime

Corporate crime is conducted by any legal business entity or ...