CRIMINAL LAW. SUMMARY

A crime ia an act which can be punished by the state.
The meening of a crime differs in each state, because in one the act can be thought as unlawful and in other the same act can be thought as legal. All states have statutes which show how to prove one's guilty or innocence. There are two elements of a crime - Actus Reus and Mens Rea. The first one happens when the criminal intends to commit a crime and the second when a crime is considered lawful. A criminal has the right of a defense in oder to make court to excuse his act. There are three types of defense - duress, commiting a crime because of threats, insanity, commiting a crime because of mental ilness, self-defense, commiting a crime to protect one's life.
Criminal law is one of the fastest growing areas of the law, because of the technical change and the increased number of commited crimes.