Week Five Discussion Institutional Affiliation Student’s Name Course Name/Number Instructor’s name Date Submitted
Week Five Discussion
Institutional Affiliation
Student’s Name
Course Name/Number
Instructor’s name
Date Submitted
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• Define the criminal justice legal term of lesser included offense.
A lesser included offense is a crime whose components are encircled by a greater crime. A lesser included offense contains some, but not all, of the components of a greater criminal offense. Thus, the greater offense cannot be perpetrated without also committing the lesser offense (Barnett, 1972).
• Assess how courts determine whether a crime is a lesser included offense
When an offense has been done, and the court is unable to prove whether the crime has been committed, the lesser included offense will be utilized to charge the person. For instance, battery is a lesser included offense of rape, and infraction is a lesser included of a Burglary.
• Explain whether someone can be convicted of multiple crimes for one act
Someone can be convicted of multiple crimes for one act depending on what the act/crime was (Rowe, 1997). For instance, if someone has been consuming alcohol, then hits and kills another driver on the road or a pedestrian, he or she can be convicted of a DUI and also with involuntary manslaughter.
• Evaluate how lesser included offenses do not violate the double jeopardy clause of the 5th amendment
The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens against double jeopardy. This provision, identified as the Double Jeopardy Clause, forbids federal and state governments from charging persons for the same crime on more than one occasion or imposing more than one punishment for one offense (Poulin, 1992). The Fifth Amendment asserts that the protection against double jeopardy only extends to cases that threaten “life and limb.” However, the right to double jeopardy applies to all misdemeanors, felonies, and juvenile-delinquency adjudications, despite the applied punishment.
• Examine the material elements of crimes and how they can vary to allow for multiple prosecutions for the same acts or similar offenses. Provide specific examples to support your answer
Proceedings that are regarded as non-threatening to life and limb and are not protected against the double jeopardy clause are regarded as “lesser included offenses.” Lesser included offenses occur as a result of a greater crime being committed. For instance, homicide is a lesser included offense of murder. Therefore, the prosecution is allowed to charge the greater and lesser offense together; however, the accused cannot be declared guilty for both offenses since both offenses are part of the same crime (Thomas III, 1985). Yet, should the accused be declared innocent of murder, then the prosecution can retry the defendant in a separate proceeding under manslaughter since the charge is a lesser crime resulting from the same crime.
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References
Barnett, J. H. (1972). The Lesser-Included Offense Doctrine: A Present Day Analysis for Practitioners. Conn. L. Rev., 5, 255.
Poulin, A. B. (1992). Double Jeopardy Protection Against Successive Prosecutions in Complex Criminal Cases: A Model. Conn. L. Rev., 25, 95.
Rowe, D. C., & Farrington, D. P. (1997). The familial transmission of criminal convictions. Criminology, 35(1), 177-202.
Thomas III, G. C. (1985). The Prohibition of Successive Prosecutions for the Same Offense: In Search of a Definition. Iowa L. Rev., 71, 323.
