C/P Flashcards
Generally, a state has jurisdiction over a crime if:
- Any act constituting an element of the offense was committed in
the state - An act outside the state caused a result in the state
- The crime involved the neglect of a duty imposed by the law of
the state - There was an attempt or conspiracy outside the state plus an act
inside the state, or - There was an attempt or conspiracy inside the state to commit an
offense outside the state
Generally, there is no merger of crimes in American law. However, a
person who solicits another to commit a crime may
not be convicted
of both the solicitation and the completed crime (if the person
solicited does complete it).
Similarly, a person who completes a crime
after attempting it may not be convicted of both the attempt and
the completed crime.
Conspiracy, however, does not merge with the
completed offense (so, for example, a person can be convicted of
both robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery).
A crime almost always requires proof of:
A physical act (actus reus)
A mental state (mens rea), and
A concurrence of the act and mental state
A crime may also require proof of a result and causation (meaning the
act caused the harmful result).
A defendant must have either performed a voluntary physical act or
failed to act under circumstances imposing a legal duty to act. An act
is a bodily movement.
Examples of bodily movements that do not qualify for criminal liability
include:
Conduct that is not the product of the person’s own volition
A reflexive or convulsive act
An act performed while unconscious or asleep
The failure to act gives rise to liability only if:
There is a legal duty to act (see below)
The defendant has knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty
to act; and
It is reasonably possible to perform the duty
A legal duty to act can arise from one of five circumstances:
(1) By statute (for example, the requirement to file a tax return)
(2) By contract (for example, a lifeguard or nurse has a legal duty to
act)
(3) The relationship between the parties (for example, a parent/
spouse has a duty to protect a child/spouse from harm)
(4) The voluntary assumption of care by the defendant for the victim
(5) The defendant created the peril for the victim
A crime may require not only the doing of an act, but also the doing
of it with a specific intent or objective. The existence of a specific
intent cannot be conclusively imputed from the mere doing of the
act, but the manner in which the crime was committed may provide
circumstantial evidence of intent. The importance of specific intent
crimes is that they will qualify for additional defenses not available for
other types of crimes. The major specific intent crimes and the intents
they require are as follows:
- Solicitation: Intent to have the person solicited commit the crime
- Conspiracy: Intent to have the crime completed
- Attempt: Intent to complete the crime
- First degree premeditated murder: Premeditated intent to kill
- Assault: Intent to commit a battery
- Larceny: Intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest
in the property taken - Embezzlement: Intent to defraud
- False pretenses: Intent to defraud
- Robbery: Intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest
in the property taken - Burglary: Intent to commit a felony in the dwelling
- Forgery: Intent to defraud
Specific intent crimes mnemonic: Students Can Always Fake A
Laugh, Even For Ridiculous Bar Facts.
malice
reckless disregard of obvious or high risk that particular harmful result will occur
murder
arson
General intent is the big catch-all category. All crimes not so far
mentioned are general intent crimes unless they qualify for strict
liability. General intent means
the defendant has an awareness of all
factors constituting the crime; in other words, the defendant must
be aware that they are acting in the proscribed way and that any
required attendant circumstances exist.
strict liability
no mens rea req
d guilty from committing act
(MPC JX)When a statute requires that the defendant act purposely,
knowingly,
or recklessly, a _____standard is used.
subjective
A person acts purposely when their conscious object is to
engage in ___
certain conduct or cause a certain result.
knowingly
aware conduct is of particular nature or certain circumstances exist
recklessly
consciously disregard substantial and unjustifiable risk
negligently
fail to be aware of substantial and unjustifiable risk (objective)
transferred intent
d intended harm to different victim or object
applies to homicide battery and arson
The defendant must have had the intent necessary for the crime at
the time they committed the act constituting the crime, and the intent
must have
prompted the act.
principals in the first degree
persons who engage in act that constitutes the crime
principals in the second degree (accomplice)
persons who aid advise or encourage and are present
accessories before the fact
persons who assisted or encouraged but were not present
accessories after the fact
persons who w knowledge other committed felony assisted them escape arrest or punishment
In order to be convicted of a substantive crime as an accomplice,
the accomplice must have
(1) the intent to assist the principal in the
commission of a crime; and (2) the intent that the principal commit
the substantive offense
When the substantive offense has recklessness or negligence as its mens rea, most jurisdictions would hold that
the intent element is satisfied if the accomplice
(1) intended to facilitate the commission of the crime; and (2) acted with recklessness or
negligence (whichever is required by the particular crime).
In the absence of a statute, most courts would hold that _____ that a crime will result is not enough for accomplice
liability, at least where the aid given is in the form of the sale of
ordinary goods at ordinary prices
mere knowledge
An accomplice is responsible for the crimes they did or counseled
and for any other crimes committed in the course of committing the
crime contemplated to the same extent as the principal, as long as
the other crimes ____
were probable or foreseeable.
A person who effectively withdraws from a crime before it is
committed cannot be held guilty as an accomplice. Withdrawal must
occur before the crime becomes unstoppable.
If the person encouraged the crime, the person must repudiate
the encouragement.
If the person aided by providing assistance to the principal (such
as giving materials), the person must do everything possible to attempt to neutralize the assistance (such as attempting to retrieve
the materials).
Notifying the police or taking other action to prevent the crime is
also sufficient.
elements of conspiracy
(1) an agreement between two or more persons; (2) an
intent to enter into the agreement; and (3) an intent by at least two
persons to achieve the objective of the agreement. The object of
the conspiracy must be criminal or the achievement of the lawful
object by criminal means. Unlike the common law, a majority of states
require an overt act, but an act of mere preparation will suffice.
The parties must agree to accomplish the same objective by mutual
action. However, the agreement need not
be express; it may be
inferred from joint activity.
The modern trend follows the M.P.C.’s “unilateral” approach to
conspiracy, which requires that
only one party have genuine
criminal intent.
At common law, a conspiracy requires at least
two “guilty
minds,” that is, persons who are actually committed to the illicit plan.
Conspiracy is a specific intent crime. Parties must have
(1) the intent
to agree and (2) the intent to achieve the objective of the conspiracy.
overt act for conspiracy; At common law, the conspiracy was complete when
the agreement
with the requisite intent was reached. The majority rule, followed by
most states, is that an act in furtherance of the conspiracy must be
performed
The point at which a conspiracy terminates is important because acts
and statements of co-conspirators are admissible against a conspirator only if they were done or made in furtherance of the conspiracy.
A conspiracy usually terminates
upon completion of the wrongful
objective.
A conspirator may be held liable for crimes committed by other
conspirators if the crimes
(1) were committed in furtherance of the
objectives of the conspiracy and (2) were foreseeable.
(NOT) defenses to conspiracy
1) factual impossibility
2) withdrawal from conspiracy (may be defense to crimes committed in furtherance of conspiracy; conspirator must perform affirmative act that notifies co conspirators of withdrawal in time for them to abandon plans
Conspiracy and the completed crime are distinct offenses; there is no
merger. A defendant may be convicted of and punished for both.
Solicitation consists of
asking, inciting, counseling, advising, urging,
or commanding another to commit a crime, with the intent that
the person solicited commit the crime. It is not necessary that the
person solicited agree to commit the crime
It is not a defense that the person solicited is not convicted, nor that
the offense solicited could not in fact have been successful (factual
impossibility). In most jurisdictions, it is not a defense that the solicitor renounces or withdraws the solicitation. The M.P.C. recognizes
renunciation as a defense if the defendant prevents the commission of the crime, such as by persuading the person solicited not to commit the crime. However, it is a defense that
the solicitor could
not be found guilty of the completed crime because of a legislative
intent to exempt them (for example, a minor female cannot be guilty
of solicitation of statutory rape by urging an adult male to have intercourse with her, because she could not be guilty of the completed
crime).
If the person solicited commits the crime solicited, both that
person and the solicitor can be held liable for that crime.
If the person
solicited commits acts sufficient to be liable for attempt, both parties
can be liable for attempt.
If the person solicited agrees to commit
the crime, but does not even commit acts sufficient for attempt, both
parties can be held liable for conspiracy.
However, under the doctrine
of merger, the solicitor
cannot be punished for both the solicitation
and these other offenses.
ttempt is an act, done with intent to commit a crime, that falls short
of completing the crime. Attempt requires
(1) specific intent plus (2) an
overt act in furtherance of the crime.
act and obtain a result that, if achieved, would constitute a crime.
Regardless of the intent necessary for the completed offense, an
attempt always requires
a specific intent (that is, the intent to commit
the crime).
overt act for attempt
act beyond mere prep
traditional/proximity test: dangerously close to completion
modern/majority test: substantial step in course of conduct
defenses of attempt
abandonment- not defense at common law; defense under mpc if fully voluntary and complete
legal impossibility- not a crime
factual impossibility-not a defense !
A defendant charged only with a completed crime may be found
guilty of the completed crime or an attempt, but a defendant charged
only with attempt may
not be convicted of the completed crime
common law murder
unlawful killing of a human being w malice aforethought
malice aforethought
intent to kill
intent to inflict great bodily injury
reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life
intent to commit a felony