answer the following questions in the attached file

Support /Counter each response

1. Define and Describe ex post facto laws.

“Latin for ‘from a thing done afterward’”, ex post facto keeps from the laws being changed in a way that violates rights to an accused individual (Cornell Law School, para. 1). Under three principles, it prohibits the changings to occur at both the state and federal level. It protects the individual if the act committed was innocent at the time, but then made criminal under changing statutes and laws.

The first principle is when a person commits a crime, they are entitled to know what violation took place at the time of act. If an act is not criminal when committed, there is no punishment. The second principle is if a punishment for a crime has increased after the crime is committed, the accused is only needed to be punished with the maximum amount at the time the act was committed. For example, Essentials of Criminal Law used Fred who committed Grand Larceny was given the amount to serve of 5 years. However, the amount increased to 10 years right before his trial. “Any application of the more severe penalty” would be considered “ex post facto because it affects his substantial rights” (Chamelin & Thomas, 2012, pg. 15).

The third and last principle involved decreasing the burden of proof. If within a time period, a crime is committed and there is only a certain number of criteria needed to find someone guilty, they cannot decrease that criteria amount. “In Carmell v. Texas, the defendant was convicted on 15 counts of sexual offenses against his stepdaughter between 1991 and 1995 when she was between 12 and 16 years old. The Texas sexual offense statute specifies that a victim's testimony about a sexual offense cannot support a conviction unless it is corroborated by other evidence” (Reinhart, 2000, para. 1). In the following two years, they decreased the burden of proof down to just the testimony of the victim. However, for the crimes committed in 1991 to 1992, those need to have both the testimony as well as evidence to support it.

In all of these instances, any of these were reversed, the defendant would benefit and would not be found in violation. As well, if an act is repealed, meaning it is no longer a crime, the proceedings for the defendant would be dropped.

1. Junior and Fred, both adults are arrested for robbery. They are brought before magistrate who happens to be the judge of the juvenile court in that city. Both Junior and Fred request the trial to be held in juvenile court and the prosecutor agrees. Can the trial be held in that court? Why or why not?

There are three different types of jurisdictions; territorial, personal, and subject matter. In the case of Junior and Fred, subject matter jurisdiction is the superior option. According to courts.ca.gov., subject matter is divided into three branches. The first is general jurisdiction which has the ability to review cases of various types. Limited jurisdiction is like its name; has limited cases it can view. For example, “Small claims court is a court of limited jurisdiction. It can only hear and decide cases that claim damages of $10,000 or less” (para. 9). The last branch is exclusive jurisdiction. This if for only certain courts to make decisions. Bankruptcy can only be filed at the federal level. The state court has no jurisdiction.

In Fred and Juniors case, under subject matter, the juvenile court has no jurisdiction; unless juvenile age can be proven at the time of the crime. Under Florida statute 958.0301, “the jurisdiction of any child who is alleged to have committed a delinquent act or violation of law is obtained, the court shall retain jurisdiction to dispose of a case, unless relinquished by its order, until the child reaches 19 years of age, with the same power over the child which the court had before the child became an adult” (leg.state.fl.us, 1995-2021, bullet 5a).

Chamelin, N. C., & Thomas, A. (2012). Essentials of criminal law. 11th edition. Pearson. Online EBook. Accessed 08 September, 2021.

Reinhart, C. (2000). Summary of Carmell vs. Texas. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2000/rpt/2000-R-0583.htm. Accessed 08 September, 2021.