CH 5: Mens Rea, Concurrence, Causation

Question 1

causation

Answer 1

there must be a connection between an act w/ the resulting prohibited harm

Question 2

cause in fact

Answer 2

the defendant must be shown to be the “but for” cause of the harm or injury

Question 3

circumstantial evidence

Answer 3

evidence that indirectly establishes that the defendant possessed a criminal intent or committed a criminal act

Question 4

coincidental intervening acts

Answer 4

A defendant’s criminal act results in the victim being at a particular place at a particular time & impacted by an independent intervening act. The defendant is responsible for foreseeable acts.

Question 5

constructive intent

Answer 5

Individuals who act in a gross and wantonly reckless fashion are considered to intend the natural consequences of their actions & are guilty of willful and intentional battery or homicide.

Question 6

concurrence

Answer 6

a criminal intent must trigger & coincide w/ a criminal act

Question 7

crimes of cause and result

Answer 7

the intent to achieve a specific result

Question 8

general intent

Answer 8

an intent to commit an actus reus

Question 9

intervening cause

Answer 9

a cause that occurs between the defendant’s criminal act and a social harm

Question 10

knowingly

Answer 10

awareness that conduct is practically certain to a cause a result

Question 11

mens rea

Answer 11

the mental element of a crime

Question 12

negligently

Answer 12

A failure to be aware of a substantial & unjustifiable risk that constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor’s situation

Question 13

proximate cause

Answer 13

the legally responsible cause of a criminal harm; may involve policy considerations

Question 14

public welfare offenses

Answer 14

regulatory offenses carrying fines that typically do not require a criminal intent

Question 15

purposely

Answer 15

a conscious intent to a cause a particular result

Question 16

recklessly

Answer 16

Conscious disregard of a substantial & unjustifiable risk that constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a law-abiding person would observe in the defendant’s situation

Question 17

responsive intervening acts

Answer 17

A defendant’s criminal act leads to an act undertaken by the victim in reaction to the threat. An unforeseeable & abnormal responsible act limits the defendant’s criminal liability

Question 18

scienter

Answer 18

guilty knowledge

Question 19

specific intent

Answer 19

a mental determination to accomplish a specific result

Question 20

strict liability

Answer 20

a crime that does not require a criminal intent

Question 21

transferred intent

Answer 21

what occurs when the intent to harm one individual is transferred to another

Question 22

willful blindness

Answer 22

knowledge is imputed to individuals who consciously avoid awareness in order to avoid criminal responsibility

Question 23

year-and-a-day rule

Answer 23

Common law requirement being abandoned by many states that prevents a defendant from being held liable for murder when the victim dies a year and a day or more after the event that caused the injury