The Statutory Basis of Crim Law

The Statutory Basis of Crim Law:
- Rule of Lenity: construing penal statutes most favorably to D as the language and circumstances
of application may reasonably allow. Contrast with…
- Fair Import: reading a statute in accordance with its plain or common meaning.
- Formalism: extracts statutes’ elements, compares the facts to these in a rigorous, piece-by-piece
manner. See Keller.
- Instrumentalism (aka functionalism): seeks to discern statutes’ purpose, intent, or function,
reasoning inductively or by analogy, so the outcome depends on whether the facts are such that
the statute was meant to apply to them.
- Strict construction: approach followed by many juris that a crim statute is to be read narrowly,
so as to avoid criminalizing any conduct by too-broad interpretation. Relates to the rule of lenity.
- Crim law is statutory: if a statute can’t be read to prohibit a certain action, it’s not usually a
crime, no matter how wrong it seems. The legislature defines what’s a crime and what’s not.
o Statutes usually confine cts’ reasoning more narrowly v. more flexible common law.
o However, historically our crim law originated in the UK under the common law and
statutes today continue to use common law terminology.
o MPC 1.05: no conduct constitutes an offense unless it’s a crime or violation under this
code or another state statute.
o Statutes must be read word for word, and since the law depends on relatively few words,
there can be great disagreement re: what they mean.
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- Keller v. Superior Court (CA Sup Ct, 1970): jealous D purposefully beat up ex-wife, killed her
in-utero, but very viable, fetus, but was acquitted of murder b/c the statute defined it with
reference to a “human being.” Held that an infant is not a human being and therefore cannot be
the subject of murder as it is defined by statute. Rule: where the language and historical intent
of a statute are clear, that statute can’t be enlarged b/c to do so would deny Ds DP. Lays
down the rule of lenity. Dissent looks at historical concept of quickening, definitions of “human”
and “being,” says D knew this was murder and there’s no justice in letting him off easy.