7. According to the law, crimes are statutory offenses; this essentially means t

Question

7. According to the law, crimes are statutory offenses; this essentially means that:

A. courts may assess punitive damages in order to punish the wrongdoer.

B. the prevention of crime should include deterrence and rehabilitation.

C. it must be proved that the crime is dangerous or detrimental to society

D. a behavior is not a crime unless a state legislature has criminalized it.

E. individuals do not approve of the action being criminalized.

8. Charlie and Don went on a road trip through the Southwest. While driving on the highway, Charlie suddenly had a severe pain in his chest and lost control of the car. They were hit by a passing car. The doctor had earlier warned Charlie that he had a heart condition that would cause him to experience occasional pains. Don sued Charlie for negligence. Will he succeed?

A. No, because Charlie did not intend to cause an accident.

B. Yes, because Charlie could reasonably foresee severe pain that might lead to accidents.

C. Yes, because Charlie caused the accident.

D. No, because he should have sued the driver of the passing car which hit them.

E. No, because everyone has occasional pains that cause accidents.

Explanation / Answer

7. The answer is "D" - a behavior is not a crime unless a state legislature has criminalized it.

Statutory offenses are those criminal offenses that have been declared as a criminal offense by statute. Such offenses are known as statutory crimes. So, if the state legislature has not criminalized an act or a behavior it will not be a crime or a statutory offense.

8. In this case Charlie was warned by his doctor regarding his heart condition which will result in occasional pains. Now the pains in case of a heart condition is severe and can make a person immobile for sometime during and after the pain. Charlie was aware of this and still he went on the road trip and drove the car. Thus it was Charlie's actions that caused the accident. Charlie had a duty to drive the vehicle carefully and he breached the duty.

Thus Charlie was negligent. The answer is "B" - Yes, because Charlie could reasonably foresee severe pain that might lead to accidents.

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