Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Legal Statute Questions for South Dakota Now Answered, Insanity Test Questions and a Crime Report....





In the state of South Dakota Rape is defined as the following:

An act of sexual penetration accomplished with any person under any of the following circumstances:

1. If the victim is less than thirteen years of age; or

2. Through the use of force, coercion, or threats of immediate and great bodily harm against the victim or other persons within the victim’s presence, accompanied by apparent power of execution; or

3. If the victim is incapable, because of physical or mental incapacity, or giving consent to such act; or
4. If the victim is incapable of giving consent because of any intoxication, narcotic, or anesthetic agent or hypnosis; or

5. If the victim is thirteen years of age, but less than sixteen years of age, and the perpetrator is at least three years older than the victim.
According to Introduction to Criminal Justice, by Larry J. Siegel (pg. 150-151),
Rape is defined as “the unlawful sexual intercourse within a female without her consent.” One of the main similarities between these two definitions is that they both involve the act of sexual intercourse, and that they are both done unwillingly. Although the general concepts of both definitions are similar the distinct detail allows for differences. Unlike the book definition, the definition that South Dakota defines is much more in depth. For instance the South Dakota statute holds limitation on age specifying that victims under the age of thirteen or victims having sexual intercourse with a person at least three years older than them between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, are all considered rape. There is also a distinction on who the victim is. The book states that rape is unlawful sexual intercourse within a female. The South Dakota definition does not specify a gender, but generalizes it to a “victim”. Also the South Dakota definition goes much more into depth on the phrase “without consent”. They give specific situations such as mental incapacity, intoxication, and harm against other people within the victim’s presence.

A Misdemeanor in South Dakota could includes a Simple Assault. In the state of South Dakota a Simple Assault is defined as the following:

A Simple Assault—misdemeanor-felony for subsequent offenses. Any person who:

1. Attempts to cause bodily injury to another and has the actual ability to cause the injury;
2. Recklessly causes bodily injury to another;
3. Negligently causes bodily injury to another with a dangerous weapon;
4. Attempts by physical menace or credibly threat to put another in fear of imminent bodily harm, with or without the actual ability to harm the other person; or
5. Intentionally causes bodily injury to another which does not result in serious bodily injury;
is guilty of a simple assault.

According to Introduction to Criminal Justice, by Larry J. Siegel (pg. 150-151), an assault is defined as “intentional placing of another in fear of receiving an immediate battery.” Once again the similarities are apparent. They both include the intention of causing bodily harm to a victim. They are also vastly different. While the book definition states that a victim is placed into fear of receiving a battery, it does not state that any actual harm must occur. In the South Dakota definition this crime can still be classified an assault if bodily injuries occur. This definition is also much more descriptive on circumstances within a simple assault. This definition also states that the ability to actually cause harm to another person is not necessary, and that factors such as weapons, and negligence also play into effect.

The
Insanity Test:

The insanity test used in South Dakota is the “Right/Wrong” M’Naughten Test. In this test it states that a person is legally insane if a person cannot distinguish between right and wrong (History of Insanity Defense). The insanity test means that at the time that the crime was being committed was made impossible for the person to have necessary "mens rea" to satisfy the legal definition of the crime (Page 151). When the person is claiming the insanity plea, it will then be up to the psychiatric testimony to prove the wrongful actions and therefore was legally sane or was mentally incapable of forming intent (Page 151). The verdict that the state of South Dakota hands down is ‘Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity’ (History of Insanity Defense). Since this is the verdict for the state of South Dakota the person is required by law to receive treatment (History of Insanity Defense).

Summary of 2007 South Dakota Crime Report:

Recently the Internet Crime Report was released revealing that South Dakota was ranked 50th in the nation for the total number of perpetrators that were thought to live in the state. The ICR received a total of 297 complaints from South Dakota; the most complaints were claiming Auction Fraud with 44% of the total number of complaints. Individuals who claimed Auction Fraud and Monetary loss averaged a loss of about $330. Among the complaints identity theft and check, computer, or credit card fraud were also listed. The majority of referrals by monetary loss were between $100-$999.99 with 40.3%. The greatest claim of monetary amount was said to be $205,000 from confidence fraud. 66.9% of the complaints listed the perpetrator to be male; leaving only 33.1% of them to be women. Complainant demographics list them to be most likely female (51.% of complainants listed themselves as female) and between the ages of 20-29 (24.2%). Complainants listing themselves as 60 years of age or older had the highest amount of loss per referred complaint with $2559.95.

Citations:

Citation for Photograph in Blog:

Picture: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/images/capitol.png (south Dakota legis. capitol building)Link: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/ (south Dakota statues)

Citations for South Dakota Rape and Misdemeanor Section:

(2009). In South Dakota Legislature : South Dakota Codified Laws 22-18-1. Simple assault. (chap. 22). Retrieved Sept. 21, 2009, from http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Statute=22-18-1&Type=Statute
2009). In South Dakota Legislature : South Dakota Codified Laws 22-22-1: Rape (chap. 22). Retrieved Sept. 21, 2009, from http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Statute=22-22-1&Type=Statute

Citations for South Dakota Insanity Test Section:

Larry J. Siegel. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 2010, 2008. Page 151.
A Brief History of Insanity Defense. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/crime/trial/history.html#mn. September 19, 2009.

Citations for Summary of 2007 South Dakota Crime Report:

2007 South Dakota Crime Report obtained from The Internet Crime Complaint Center at: http://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreports.aspx












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