As the common-law evolves and changes we gain deeper understandings of crime, the motivation of crime, and rehabilitation of criminals. ... " , and criminal as "a person who has committed crime or crimes." Black's Law Dictionary purports a crime to be, " social harm that the law makes punishable; the breach of a legal duty treated as the subject matter of a criminal proceeding" and criminal law as, "the branch or division of the law which treats of crimes and their punishments." ... This was in an era were punishment was the sole means of a criminal sentence. ... Punishment and se...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

But there are some cases were the crime is serious and the judge should feel the weight of the responsibility that have been put in his hands. ... Right here we can see the basic step in determining the best sentence for a defendant, but the case still have to be examine in range of ethical questions that include punishment, responsibility and justice. ... The process of sentencing is a much complicated effort but the goal is to provide a punishment that fits the crime, usually called just desert. The goal is approach with the idea that if a person commits a crime the society is the foremost...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Today, many of these punishments may seem antiquated, but the basic scope of the protection remains the same. ... Inmates have the right to be free from sexual crimes, including sexual harassment. ... The Eighth Amendment has been the topic of much controversy mostly concerning the death penalty, but it also covers the treatment of those convicted of crimes. It is thought that the Eighth Amendment was written to eliminate torture which had been used in dealing with those convicted of crimes. ... The framers of the Constitution did not give us specific instructions on what was to be considered ...

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These motives involved items dealing with pressure from the prosecutor, acceptance of responsibility for the crime, pragmatic reasons, etc. ... Pressure from the prosecutor came in a variety of forms including direct external pressure, intimidating the defendant with several crimes, and severe punishment [Bor851]. Indirect pressure factors such as getting a severe punishment if the defendant refused the plea bargain played a major role, likewise the belief that a guilty verdict was inevitable, and concern of the individual's family [Bor851]. Bordens and Bassett reached the conclusion that...

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FACTS Mr Praveen Singh, the accused was charged with three offences. He was charged with two statutory offences and one common law offence. All these offences took place on the night of August 20, 2000. He pleaded guilty with regards to the charges of reckless or negligent driving in contravention of s 63 (1) of the National Road traffic Act . Mr Singh was driving on a public road and whilst doing this he unlawfully and negligently passed a vehicle in front of him. ...

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For these two are the only reasons why one man may lawfully do harm to another, which is that we call punishment. ... I doubt not but this will seem a very strange doctrine to some men; but before they condemn it, I desire them to resolve me by what right any prince or state can put to death or punish an alien for any crime he commits in their country? ... Besides the crime which consists in violating the laws, and varying from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human nature and to be a noxious creature, there is co...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

For instance, the International Bar Association defined the rule of law as "Independent, impartial judiciary, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair and public trial without undue delay; a rational and proportionate approach to punishment; a strong and independent legal profession; strict confidential communications between lawyer and client; equality of all before the law; these are all fundamental principles of the rule of law"17. ... The Rome Statute also gives jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court (ICC)22 over war crime issues, genocide and crimes against hu...

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Austin: Positivist Identity of law: what makes the law the law Law (is) = Rules + (issued by a) Sovereignty. Rules = General Commands A command is an expression of a wish backed by a threat to inflict an evil (=sanction, like telling the child to get the toy is not a command unless it is backed by a threat) in case the wish is not fulfilled, issued by someone who is willing and able to act on the threat. All commands impose obligations. But only the general rules and commands. Eg: Prohibition of importation of corn is a rule, but one that prohibits the importation of a specific shipment of ...

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This is consistent with the belief that crimes have to be punished regardless of the personal and public merits of the criminal. "No ordered republic would all the demerits of its citizens to be cancelled out by their merits; but, having prescribed rewards for a good deed and punishments for a bad on and having rewarded someone for doing well, if the same person afterwards does wrong, it punishes him, regardless of any of the good deeds he has done" . ... In consonance with the strict observance of the rule of law, Machiavelli stresses that the administration of justice and punishment must b...

• Word Count: 4508
• Approx Pages: 18
• Grade Level: Undergraduate