Blacks Law Dictionary - 4th Edition
Crime
CRIME. A positive or negative act in violation
of penal law; an offense against the State. Wilkins
v. U. S., C.C.A.Pa., 96 F. 837, 37 C.C.A. 588;
People v. Williams, 24 Mich. 163, 9 Am.Rep. 119.
"Crime" and "misdemeanor," properly speaking,
are synonymous terms; though in common usage
"crime" is made to denote such offenses as are of
a deeper and more atrocious dye. 4 Bl.Comm. 5;
People v. Schiaffino, 73. Cal.App. 357, 238 P. 725;
Guetling v. State, 199 Ind. 630, 158 N.E. 593, 594;
McIntyre v. Commonwealth, 154 Ky. 149, 156 S.
W. 1058, 1059; Commonwealth v. Smith, 266 Pa.
511, 109 A. 786, 788, 9 A.L.R. 922; Ex parte Brady,
116 Ohio St. 512, 157 N.E. 69, 70; An act committed
or omitted in violation of a public law.
City of Mobile v. McCown Oil Co., 226 Ala. 688,
148 So. 402, 405. Crimes are those wrongs which
the government notices as injurious to the public,
and punishes in what is called a "criminal
proceeding," in its own name. 1 Bish.Crim.Law,
§ 43; In re Jacoby, 74 Ohio App. 147, 57 N.E.2d
932, 934, 935. A crime may be defined to be any
act • done in violation of those duties which an
individual owes to the community, and for the
breach of which the law has provided that the
offender shall make satisfaction to the public.
Bell. A crime or public offense is an act committed
or omitted in violation of a law forbidding
or commanding it, and to which is annexed, upon
conviction, either of the following punishments:
(1) Death; (2) imprisonment; (3) fine; (4) removal
from office; or (5) disqualification to hold
and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit in
this state. Pen.Code Cal. § 15. "Crime" is strictly
a violation of law either human or divine; in
present usage the term is commonly applied to
grave offenses against the laws of the state. Van
Riper v. Constitutional Government League, 1
Wash.2d 635, 96 P.2d 588, 591, 125 A.L.R. 1100.
A crime or misdemeanor shall consist in a violation
of a public law, in the commission of which
there shall be a union or joint operation of act
and intention, or criminal negligence. Code Ga.
1882, § 4292, Pen.Code 1910, § 31.
Synonyms
According to Blackstone, the word "crime" denotes
such offenses as are of a deeper and more
atrocious dye, while smaller faults and omissions
of less consequence are called "misdemeanors."
But the better use appears to be to make crime
a term of broad and general import, including
both felonies and misdemeanors, and hence covering
all infractions of the criminal law. In this
sense it is not a technical phrase, strictly speaking,
(as "felony" and "misdemeanor" are,) but a
convenient general term. In this sense, also, "offense"
or "public offense" should be used as synonymous
with it.
The distinction between a crime and a tort or
civil injury is that the former is a breach and
violation of the public right and of duties due to
the whole community considered as such, and
in its social and aggregate capacity; whereas the
latter is an infringement or privation of the civil
rights of individuals merely. Brown.
A crime, as opposed to a civil injury, is the
violation of a right, considered in reference to the
evil tendency of such violation, as regards the
community at large. 4 Steph.Comm. 4.
Varieties of Crimes
Capital crime. See Capital, adj.
Common law crimes
Such crimes as are punishable by the force of
the common law, as distinguished from crimes
created by statute. Wilkins v. U. S., C.C.A.Pa.,
96 F. 837, 37 C.C.A. 588; In re Greene, C.C.Ohio, 52
F. 111. These decisions (and many others) hold
that there are no common-law crimes against
the United States.
Constructive crime
See Constructive Crime.
Continuous crime
One consisting of a continuous series of acts,
which endures after the period of consummation,
as, the offense of carrying concealed weapons. In
the case of instantaneous crimes, the statute of
limitations begins to run with the consummation,
while in the case of continuous crimes it only
begins with the cessation of the criminal conduct
or act. U. S. v. Owen, D.C.Or., 32 F. 537.
Crime against nature
The offense of buggery or sodomy. State v.
Vicknair, 52 La.Ann. 1921, 28 So. 273; Ausman v.
Veal, 10 Ind. 355, 71 Am.Dec. 331. The strict common-
law meaning has been greatly enlarged by
statute. Borden v. State, 3G Okl.Cr. 69, 252 P.
446, 447; State v. Murry, 136 La. 253, 66 So. 963,
964; State v. Long, 133 La. 580, 63 So. 180; Frazier
v. Grob, 194 Mo.App. 405, 183 S.W. 1083, 1084;
State v. Griffin, 175 N.C. 767, 94 S.E. 678, 679. See
Bestiality; Sodomy.
At common law the term "crime against nature"
embraced both sodomy and "bestiality", defined as a connection
between a human being and a brute of the opposite
sex. State v. Poole, 59 Ariz. 44, 122 P.2d 415, 416. Within
the statute it is the perverted act of uniting the mouth of
one participant with the sexual organ of the other, with a
view of gratifying the sexual desire, and a mere kiss or
lick of the private organ, even though lewdly done, is not
a "copulation" within the statute. People v. Angier, 44
Cal.App.2d 417, 112 P.2d 659, 660.
Crime against the other (husband or wife)
As used in 22 Okl.St.Ann. 702, providing that
neither husband nor wife shall be a witness
against the other except in a prosecution for a
"crime committed against the other," the phrase
denotes a public offense by husband or wife that
is a direct violation of the rights of the other.
Hunter v. State, 10 Okl.Cr. 119, 134 P. 1134, 1136,
L.R.A. 1915A, 564. It does not make the wife a
competent witness in a prosecution against the
husband for incest. Lacey v. State, 27 Okl.Cr. 42,
224 P. 994, 995.
Murder by wife of husband's child, O'Loughlin v. People,
90 Colo. 368, 10 P.2d 543, 546. Rape against stepdaughter.
State v. Goff, 64 S.D. 80, 264 N.W. 665, 666.
Crimes mala in se
"Crimes mala in se" embrace acts immoral or
wrong in themselves, such as burglary, larceny,
arson, rape, murder, and breaches of peace. Coleman
v. State ex rel. Carver, 119 Fla. 653, 161 So.
89, 90.
Crimes mala prohibita
"Crimes mala prohibita" embrace things prohibited
by statute as infringing on others' rights,
though no moral turpitude may attach, and constituting
crimes only because they are so prohibited.
Coleman v. State ex rel. Carver, 119 Fla.
653, 161 So. 89, 90.
High crimes
High crimes and misdemeanors are such immoral
and unlawful acts as are nearly allied and
equal in guilt to felony, yet, owing to some technical
circumstance, do not fall within the definition
of "felony." State v. Knapp, 6 Conn. 417, 16
Am.Dec. 68. They are the more serious or aggravated
misdemeanors; those more nearly allied
and equal in guilt to felony, but which do not fall
within its definition. Firmara v. Gardner, 86
Conn. 434, 85 A. 670, 672.
Infamous crime
A crime which entails infamy upon one who
has committed it. Butler v. Wentworth, 84 Me.
25, 24 A. 456, 17 L.R.A. 764. The term "infamous"
e., without fame or good report—was applied
at common law to certain crimes, upon the conviction
of which a person became incompetent to
testify as a witness, upon the theory that a person
would not commit so heinous a crime unless
he was so depraved as to be unworthy of credit.
These crimes are treason, felony, and the crimen
_Nisi. Abbott. A crime punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison or penitentiary, with or
without hard labor, is an infamous crime, within
the provision of the fifth amendment of the constitution
that "no person shall be held to answer
for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless
on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury."
Mackin v. U. S., 117 U.S. 348, 6 S.Ct. 777, 29 L.
Ed. 909; Brede v. Powers, 263 U.S. 4, 44 S.Ct. 8,
68 L.Ed. 132. It is not the character of the crime
but the nature of the punishment which renders
the crime "infamous." Weeks v. United States,
C.C.A.N.Y., 216 F. 292, 298, L.R.A. 1915B, 651. But
see Drazen v. New Haven Taxicab Co., 95 Conn.
500, 111 A. 861, 864. Whether an offense is infamous
depends on the punishment which may be
imposed therefor, not on the punishment which
was imposed. United States v. Moreland, 258 U.S.
433, 42 S.Ct. 368, 370, 66 L.Ed. 700; De Jianne v.
U. S., C.C.A.N.J., 282 F. 737, 740; Le Clair v. White,
117 Me. 335, 104 A. 516, 517. Under the constitution
of Rhode Island, a crime, to be "infamous,"
must come within the "crimen falsi," such as forgery,
perjury, subornation of perjury, offenses affecting
the public administration of justice, or
such as would affect civil or political rights, disqualifying
or rendering a person incompetent to
be a witness or juror. State v. Bussay, 38 R.I.
454, 96 A. 337, 339. By the Revised Statutes of
New York the term "infamous crime," when used
in any statute, is directed to be construed as including
every offense punishable with death or
by imprisonment in a state prison, and no other.
Quasi crimes
This term embraces all offenses not crimes or
misdemeanors, but that are in the nature of
crimes,—a class of offenses against the public
which have not been declared crimes, but wrongs
against the general or local public which it is
proper should be repressed or punished by forfeitures
and penalties. This would embrace all
qui tarn actions and forfeitures imposed for the
neglect or violation of a public duty. A quasi
crime would not embrace an indictable offense,
whatever might be its grade, but simply forfeitures
for a wrong done to the public, whether voluntary
or involuntary, where a penalty is given,
whether recoverable by criminal or civil process.
Wiggins v. Chicago, 68 Ill. 375. Also, offenses for
which some person other than the actual perpetrator
is responsible, the perpetrator being presumed
to act by command of the responsible party.
Sometimes, injuries which have been unintentionally
caused. Torts. McCaleb v. Fox Film
Corporation, C.C.A.La., 299 F. 48, 50.
Statutory crimes
Those created by statutes, as distinguished from
such as are known to, or cognizable by, the common
law.
of penal law; an offense against the State. Wilkins
v. U. S., C.C.A.Pa., 96 F. 837, 37 C.C.A. 588;
People v. Williams, 24 Mich. 163, 9 Am.Rep. 119.
"Crime" and "misdemeanor," properly speaking,
are synonymous terms; though in common usage
"crime" is made to denote such offenses as are of
a deeper and more atrocious dye. 4 Bl.Comm. 5;
People v. Schiaffino, 73. Cal.App. 357, 238 P. 725;
Guetling v. State, 199 Ind. 630, 158 N.E. 593, 594;
McIntyre v. Commonwealth, 154 Ky. 149, 156 S.
W. 1058, 1059; Commonwealth v. Smith, 266 Pa.
511, 109 A. 786, 788, 9 A.L.R. 922; Ex parte Brady,
116 Ohio St. 512, 157 N.E. 69, 70; An act committed
or omitted in violation of a public law.
City of Mobile v. McCown Oil Co., 226 Ala. 688,
148 So. 402, 405. Crimes are those wrongs which
the government notices as injurious to the public,
and punishes in what is called a "criminal
proceeding," in its own name. 1 Bish.Crim.Law,
§ 43; In re Jacoby, 74 Ohio App. 147, 57 N.E.2d
932, 934, 935. A crime may be defined to be any
act • done in violation of those duties which an
individual owes to the community, and for the
breach of which the law has provided that the
offender shall make satisfaction to the public.
Bell. A crime or public offense is an act committed
or omitted in violation of a law forbidding
or commanding it, and to which is annexed, upon
conviction, either of the following punishments:
(1) Death; (2) imprisonment; (3) fine; (4) removal
from office; or (5) disqualification to hold
and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit in
this state. Pen.Code Cal. § 15. "Crime" is strictly
a violation of law either human or divine; in
present usage the term is commonly applied to
grave offenses against the laws of the state. Van
Riper v. Constitutional Government League, 1
Wash.2d 635, 96 P.2d 588, 591, 125 A.L.R. 1100.
A crime or misdemeanor shall consist in a violation
of a public law, in the commission of which
there shall be a union or joint operation of act
and intention, or criminal negligence. Code Ga.
1882, § 4292, Pen.Code 1910, § 31.
Synonyms
According to Blackstone, the word "crime" denotes
such offenses as are of a deeper and more
atrocious dye, while smaller faults and omissions
of less consequence are called "misdemeanors."
But the better use appears to be to make crime
a term of broad and general import, including
both felonies and misdemeanors, and hence covering
all infractions of the criminal law. In this
sense it is not a technical phrase, strictly speaking,
(as "felony" and "misdemeanor" are,) but a
convenient general term. In this sense, also, "offense"
or "public offense" should be used as synonymous
with it.
The distinction between a crime and a tort or
civil injury is that the former is a breach and
violation of the public right and of duties due to
the whole community considered as such, and
in its social and aggregate capacity; whereas the
latter is an infringement or privation of the civil
rights of individuals merely. Brown.
A crime, as opposed to a civil injury, is the
violation of a right, considered in reference to the
evil tendency of such violation, as regards the
community at large. 4 Steph.Comm. 4.
Varieties of Crimes
Capital crime. See Capital, adj.
Common law crimes
Such crimes as are punishable by the force of
the common law, as distinguished from crimes
created by statute. Wilkins v. U. S., C.C.A.Pa.,
96 F. 837, 37 C.C.A. 588; In re Greene, C.C.Ohio, 52
F. 111. These decisions (and many others) hold
that there are no common-law crimes against
the United States.
Constructive crime
See Constructive Crime.
Continuous crime
One consisting of a continuous series of acts,
which endures after the period of consummation,
as, the offense of carrying concealed weapons. In
the case of instantaneous crimes, the statute of
limitations begins to run with the consummation,
while in the case of continuous crimes it only
begins with the cessation of the criminal conduct
or act. U. S. v. Owen, D.C.Or., 32 F. 537.
Crime against nature
The offense of buggery or sodomy. State v.
Vicknair, 52 La.Ann. 1921, 28 So. 273; Ausman v.
Veal, 10 Ind. 355, 71 Am.Dec. 331. The strict common-
law meaning has been greatly enlarged by
statute. Borden v. State, 3G Okl.Cr. 69, 252 P.
446, 447; State v. Murry, 136 La. 253, 66 So. 963,
964; State v. Long, 133 La. 580, 63 So. 180; Frazier
v. Grob, 194 Mo.App. 405, 183 S.W. 1083, 1084;
State v. Griffin, 175 N.C. 767, 94 S.E. 678, 679. See
Bestiality; Sodomy.
At common law the term "crime against nature"
embraced both sodomy and "bestiality", defined as a connection
between a human being and a brute of the opposite
sex. State v. Poole, 59 Ariz. 44, 122 P.2d 415, 416. Within
the statute it is the perverted act of uniting the mouth of
one participant with the sexual organ of the other, with a
view of gratifying the sexual desire, and a mere kiss or
lick of the private organ, even though lewdly done, is not
a "copulation" within the statute. People v. Angier, 44
Cal.App.2d 417, 112 P.2d 659, 660.
Crime against the other (husband or wife)
As used in 22 Okl.St.Ann. 702, providing that
neither husband nor wife shall be a witness
against the other except in a prosecution for a
"crime committed against the other," the phrase
denotes a public offense by husband or wife that
is a direct violation of the rights of the other.
Hunter v. State, 10 Okl.Cr. 119, 134 P. 1134, 1136,
L.R.A. 1915A, 564. It does not make the wife a
competent witness in a prosecution against the
husband for incest. Lacey v. State, 27 Okl.Cr. 42,
224 P. 994, 995.
Murder by wife of husband's child, O'Loughlin v. People,
90 Colo. 368, 10 P.2d 543, 546. Rape against stepdaughter.
State v. Goff, 64 S.D. 80, 264 N.W. 665, 666.
Crimes mala in se
"Crimes mala in se" embrace acts immoral or
wrong in themselves, such as burglary, larceny,
arson, rape, murder, and breaches of peace. Coleman
v. State ex rel. Carver, 119 Fla. 653, 161 So.
89, 90.
Crimes mala prohibita
"Crimes mala prohibita" embrace things prohibited
by statute as infringing on others' rights,
though no moral turpitude may attach, and constituting
crimes only because they are so prohibited.
Coleman v. State ex rel. Carver, 119 Fla.
653, 161 So. 89, 90.
High crimes
High crimes and misdemeanors are such immoral
and unlawful acts as are nearly allied and
equal in guilt to felony, yet, owing to some technical
circumstance, do not fall within the definition
of "felony." State v. Knapp, 6 Conn. 417, 16
Am.Dec. 68. They are the more serious or aggravated
misdemeanors; those more nearly allied
and equal in guilt to felony, but which do not fall
within its definition. Firmara v. Gardner, 86
Conn. 434, 85 A. 670, 672.
Infamous crime
A crime which entails infamy upon one who
has committed it. Butler v. Wentworth, 84 Me.
25, 24 A. 456, 17 L.R.A. 764. The term "infamous"
e., without fame or good report—was applied
at common law to certain crimes, upon the conviction
of which a person became incompetent to
testify as a witness, upon the theory that a person
would not commit so heinous a crime unless
he was so depraved as to be unworthy of credit.
These crimes are treason, felony, and the crimen
_Nisi. Abbott. A crime punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison or penitentiary, with or
without hard labor, is an infamous crime, within
the provision of the fifth amendment of the constitution
that "no person shall be held to answer
for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless
on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury."
Mackin v. U. S., 117 U.S. 348, 6 S.Ct. 777, 29 L.
Ed. 909; Brede v. Powers, 263 U.S. 4, 44 S.Ct. 8,
68 L.Ed. 132. It is not the character of the crime
but the nature of the punishment which renders
the crime "infamous." Weeks v. United States,
C.C.A.N.Y., 216 F. 292, 298, L.R.A. 1915B, 651. But
see Drazen v. New Haven Taxicab Co., 95 Conn.
500, 111 A. 861, 864. Whether an offense is infamous
depends on the punishment which may be
imposed therefor, not on the punishment which
was imposed. United States v. Moreland, 258 U.S.
433, 42 S.Ct. 368, 370, 66 L.Ed. 700; De Jianne v.
U. S., C.C.A.N.J., 282 F. 737, 740; Le Clair v. White,
117 Me. 335, 104 A. 516, 517. Under the constitution
of Rhode Island, a crime, to be "infamous,"
must come within the "crimen falsi," such as forgery,
perjury, subornation of perjury, offenses affecting
the public administration of justice, or
such as would affect civil or political rights, disqualifying
or rendering a person incompetent to
be a witness or juror. State v. Bussay, 38 R.I.
454, 96 A. 337, 339. By the Revised Statutes of
New York the term "infamous crime," when used
in any statute, is directed to be construed as including
every offense punishable with death or
by imprisonment in a state prison, and no other.
Quasi crimes
This term embraces all offenses not crimes or
misdemeanors, but that are in the nature of
crimes,—a class of offenses against the public
which have not been declared crimes, but wrongs
against the general or local public which it is
proper should be repressed or punished by forfeitures
and penalties. This would embrace all
qui tarn actions and forfeitures imposed for the
neglect or violation of a public duty. A quasi
crime would not embrace an indictable offense,
whatever might be its grade, but simply forfeitures
for a wrong done to the public, whether voluntary
or involuntary, where a penalty is given,
whether recoverable by criminal or civil process.
Wiggins v. Chicago, 68 Ill. 375. Also, offenses for
which some person other than the actual perpetrator
is responsible, the perpetrator being presumed
to act by command of the responsible party.
Sometimes, injuries which have been unintentionally
caused. Torts. McCaleb v. Fox Film
Corporation, C.C.A.La., 299 F. 48, 50.
Statutory crimes
Those created by statutes, as distinguished from
such as are known to, or cognizable by, the common
law.