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Exercise: Social Harm and Results
Criminal law largely prohibits harmful conduct. Sometimes a statute expressly states the harm--usually as a result element. Other times, we must infer the social harm that the statute seeks to prevent. In other words, we must infer who we are trying to protect and from what harm.
In the first situation, the prosecution must prove that the harm stated in the statute, the result element, has been met beyond a reasonable doubt. In the second situation, the prosecution need not prove the social harm--she must merely prove the elements of the statute.
Finally, some statutes seem to serve functions other than preventing social harm, as you will also see below.
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