In Addition to Homicide, Essay Example

I have chosen to write about the crime of Assault and Battery which is very common in the Commonwealth of Virginia and any state and union across the world. In the Commonwealth the criminal code is 18.2-57 and encompasses any “person who intentionally selects a person because of his national origin, race, conviction or color’ to assault or batter. Bodily injury has to occur for a crime to take place. This is a Class 1 misdemeanor in most instances. However, in the instance that a person commits this crime with the intention of inflicting harm because of a person’s religious practices this will move the charge up to a Class 6 felony. The penalty for a Class 1 misdemeanor is a minimum of 30 days in jail and a maximum of six months. There shall be a minimum confinement period of six month on a Class 6 conviction.

As per section 53.1-1 and section 65.2-102 if a “person knowingly commits this crime against a judge, lawyer or police officer including a firefighter there shall be a minimum confinement in jail of six months.” The Commonwealth of Virginia tends to model its penal code system by the common law codes of the United Kingdom which represent Offenses against the Act where the heinous crimes are separated from the misdemeanor like crimes with respect to the penalty phase.

References

Oyez Pocket Justice Virginia Code Retrieved May 28, 2010 from, http://law.justia.com/virginia/codes/toc1802000/18.2-57.html

Jefferson, T. (2010) The Declaration of Independence. Retrieved May 28, 2010 from The Library of Congress Website
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/DeclarInd.htmls

Davenport, A.U. (2009). Basic criminal law: The constitution, procedure, and crimes (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson. ISBN: 0536781168. [package ISBN includes text and welcome letter]

Justia US Laws (2010) Retrieved May 28, 2010 from, http://law.justia.com/louisiana/codes/146/78478.html