Criminal Law - Essay Example

According to the online HG.org worldwide directories, “criminal law which is often called penal law, involves prosecution by the government of a person for an act that has been classified as a crime.” On the other hand, a crime is further defined as, “any act or (commission of an act) in violation of a public law forbidding it.” In this regard, theft or property crime fall under criminal law and it can be argued that a close analyses of court cases highlighted below point to the effect that the sole purpose of theft law is to prevent interference with property rights. Criminal law is often considered as the most effective technique that can be used to combat certain wrongful acts of conduct according to the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. In the US, theft is classified as a criminal law. Theft can be loosely referred to as taking without permission or stealing other people’s property. Theft comes in many different forms that include fraud, larceny, and embezzlement among other different forms. This study is going to briefly analyse some of the court cases and their outcomes in view of the statutory framework with regards to theft laws and prevention of property rights. In the case of the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit (2007), the defendant Juan Carlos Elizade has been convicted as an “aggravated felony” for joyriding and was subsequently sentenced to a one year suspended sentence. According to INA 101(a)(43)(g), the term “aggravated felony” includes “a theft offense (including the receipt of stolen property) or burglary offense for which the term of imprisonment is at least one year.” However, a broad definition of theft offense shall be applied as a way of interpreting the court’s application of the term with reference to interference with owner’s property rights. The case of United States v. Vasquez Flores, 265F.3d 1122 (10thCircuit 2001) states that: . . . the modern, generic, and broad definition of the entire phrase "theft offense (including receipt of stolen property)" is a taking of property or an exercise of control over property without consent with the criminal intent to deprive the owner of rights and benefits of ownership, even if such deprivation is less than total or permanent. Id. at 1125 (alteration in original) (quoting Hernandez-Mancilla v. INS, 246 F.3d 1002, 1009 (7th Cir. 2001)). In this court case, the defendant is arguing that joyriding involves so limited deprivation that it falls outside the generic definition above as it does not consider whether a minor or temporary deprivation of property is considered as theft. However, a close analysis of the mentioned case above in view of the generic definition highlighted in the court interpretation of the phrase “theft offense,” it can be noted that it is a criminal offence to deprive the owner his right to his property. In other words, it is criminal to take something without the owner’s consent, be it on temporary basis or otherwise. Emphasis is mostly on the need to safeguard other people’s property. Any form of action that translates into the deprivation of the owner’s right to his property is categorised as criminal in nature which warrantees a sentence for a certain term of months which however, may be wholly suspended in certain circumstances. Accordingly, the generic definition of theft offense is often broadly used, though in some instances it may not include the exhaustive list of all crimes deemed to constitute the category of theft. Therefore, the broad interpretation of the generic definition often leads to the conclusion that even minor cases with the intent of temporarily depriving the owner of his property rights constitute a criminal offense. Ray Moses (2008) quotes the French Philosopher, Voltaire who in his essay on Manners in 1756 said, "All men have equal rights to liberty, to their property, and to the protection of laws." He further argues that the criminal law has since expanded and grown in its role as a protector of private property. For instance, in the American system, property rights are given due cogniscense as a way of safeguarding the individuals’ belongings which broadly defines their life. In attempting to protect the rights to property, criminal laws were promulgated that put more emphasis on property rights against any form of theft or intrusion that may result in the loss of that property or deprivation of the owner to enjoy his right to what he is entitled to own. Thus, Moses (2008) posits that, “criminal laws protecting property have been used as a device to keep mans greed and avarice in check and to provide the property-owning public with a feeling of security.” Various interpretations of theft laws with reference to property rights allude to the effect that prevention of property is at the core of court proceedings. Ownership of property is seen as the source of happiness and livelihood in the people’s entire lives. Thus, the right to own property is enshrined in the 14th amendment of The Federal Bill of Rights of the United States of America. The fourteenth amendment, ratified in 1869 posits that, “…no state shall make law or enforce any law which deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,” Palko v Connecticut 302 U.S 319 (1937). As clearly stipulated in the bill of rights of the American Constitution, virtually all federal laws are based on the premise that property ownership and rights are constitutionally guaranteed rights hence most court interpretations are biased towards the prevention of property rights. In view of the above argument, it can be noted that theft laws are more often treated as synonymous with interference of owners’ property rights. As enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution, property ownership is a guaranteed right that is overly protected by the law hence any offence deemed to be in violation of this right is subject to a penal sentence. It can thus be concluded that the purpose of the law of theft is to a greater extent to prevent interference with the owner’s property rights. References Criminal law-Penal law-Guide to criminal and Penal Law Accessed from: http://www.hg.org/crime.html 06 February 2009. Ray Moses (2008) ,Silver bullets iv Property Crimes Retrieved from http://stclguns.homestead.com/SilverBullets4.html [06 Feb. 09] Ray Moses (2001), CCJA’s Guide to Federal and Texas Bill of Rights and other Individual Freedoms http://stclguns.homestead.com/BillofRights.html [Accessed 06 Feb. 09] United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 20 June 2007 Accessed from: http://ca10.washburnlaw.edu/cases/2007/06/06-4143.htm 06 February 2009 Read More