Crim Law Flashcards
Forgery
1) creating or altering;
2) a document of legal significance;
3) to be false;
4) with intent to defraud.
First Degree Murder
Killing of another that is deliberate and premeditated.
2nd degree murder
All other murders that do not meet the criteria for first degree murder.
Common law murder
Unlawful killing of another with malice aforethought.
Malice aforethought
May be determined in four ways 1) intent to kill; 2) intent to inflict great bodily injury; 3) reckless disregard of an extreme risk to human life (depraved heart), and 4) felony murder.
FMR
A felony murder is a killing that is committed during the course of a dangerous felony, to include, burglary, rape, robbery, arson and kidnapping.
Voluntary murder
Intentional killing with adequate provocation.
Adequate provocation occurs when
if the defendant was provoked (sudden intense passion causes them to lose control), a reasonable person would have been provoked, there was not enough time to cool off and the defendant did not cool off.
Involuntary manslaughter
Two types: a killing caused by criminal negligence or recklessness (criminal negligence requires a greater deviation from the reasonable person standard than what is required for civil liability), or if caused by an unlawful act, including in the course of a misdemeanor or in the course of a felony that does not qualify for a felony murder case.
M’Naghten test
a mental disease exists where the defendant is a) unable to know the physical nature or quality of their acts or b) unable to understand their act was morally wrong.
MPC Insanity test
mental disease where the defendant is a) unable to appreciate the criminality of conduct or b) unable to conform his actions to law. (M’Naghten and Irresistible Impulse Combined)
Irresistible impulse test
defendant’s mental illness made them a) unable to control their actions or b) unable to conform their actions to the law.
Durham test
unlawful conduct was the product of mental illness.
Confessions with mental diseases
A confession will be deemed voluntary even if the defendant who confesses suffers from a mental disease. Mental illness does not render a confession involuntary under the 14th Amendment.
Kidnapping
1) unlawful; 2) confinement of a person; 3) against that person’s will; 4) coupled with either movement or hiding of that person.
Solicitation
consists of enticing, counseling, advising, inducing, urging, or commanding another to commit a crime with the specific intent that the person solicited commits the crime. The offense is complete at the time the solicitation is made. It is not necessary that the person solicited agree to commit the crime or do anything in response.
Attempt
A person had the specific intent to commit a crime and took a substantial step sufficiently beyond mere preparation, however, fails to complete the crime. MPC requires a “substantial step.” Merges with the underlying crime.
Rape
The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without their consent.
4A
Under the 4th Amendment applicable to the states via the 14th, government action shall not violate people’s right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. Acts by private individuals are not protected by the 4th Amendment.
4A reasonable expectation of Privacy
A person has a reasonable expectation to privacy where there is a physical intrusion by the government into a constitutionally protected area to obtain information. There is no reasonable expectation to privacy in things held out to the public, such as conversations. Courts have held that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that of which they own or possess. Overnight guests have this right to privacy. Owners of highly regulated industries have a lower expectation of privacy.
Seizure
Under the 4th Amendment a person is granted protection from unlawful government searches and seizures. A seizure is when a reasonable person believes they’re not free to leave.
Auto check points
Police may setup roadblocks to stop cars without reasonable suspicion when: 1) stops are made based on a neutral, articulable standard; 2) stops are designed to serve purposes related to a particular problem pertaining to automobiles and their mobility.
Government actions
The 4th Amendment limits government action, not the acts of a private party, unless the private party acts as an instrument or agent of the government.
Stop and Frisk
A police officer may stop and question a person if they have reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. This allows only a brief detention for questioning.
Stop and Frisk- a police officer may only stop and frisk a person if the police officer
1) has reasonable articulable suspicion; 2) that criminal activity is afoot; and 3) that the person is suspected of having a weapon. Under the plain feel doctrine, a police officer may only seize items he reasonably believes are contraband or a weapon during the frisk.
Reasonable suspicion
The minimum level of justification for detention, where an officer can show articulable facts that a crime has been or is being committed.
Probable cause
Exists if there are sufficient facts to lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime was committed and that the defendant committed the crime.
Search warrants
The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Thus, a police officer requires a warrant to conduct a search and to seize items, unless a valid exception applies.
Warrant requirements
Issue of a search warrant requires probable cause. The warrant must state with particularity the place to be searched and the items seized, and it must have been issued by a neutral and detached magistrate. There is no warrant required when arresting someone in a public place.
Warrant exceptions - Champed ASS SCAT
Community care taking
hot pursuit
Auto
Minor intrustion
Plain View
Exigency / Destruction of evidence
Seizure warrants
Arrest, Stop and Frisk, Seizure by deadly force
Search and Seizure
SILA, Consent, Admin, Terry stop
Tempoary detention
If police have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or involvement in a completed crime, supported by articulable facts, they may stop a person for investigatory purposes.
Frisk
If police have reasonable suspicion a detainee is armed and dangerous, they may frisk detainee for weapons.
SILA
Police may search the person and area within their wingspan where a detainee could reach a weapon or destroy evidence.
Plain View- - Warrant exception
Police may seize evidence if observed in plain view, from a place the officer is lawfully permitted to be, and probable cause exists to believe the item is evidence of a crime or contraband.
Consent - Warrant exception
A defendant’s voluntary and intelligent consent to a search allows the search to be conducted without a warrant or probable cause.
Auto - - Warrant exception
The 4th Amendment does not require police to obtain a warrant to search any compartment of a vehicle if they have probable cause to believe it contains evidence of criminal activity.
Exigent Circumstances - - Warrant exception
A warrantless search is authorized when there is reasonable apprehension the delay required to obtain a warrant will result in immediate danger of evidence destruction, the safety of the officer or public, or a defendant is likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained. This allows for hot pursuit, where police can chase a suspect into a private dwelling.
Administrative Inventory Search- - Warrant exception
– A search of an arrestee’s property/impounded car after lawful arrest is valid as long as it is performed according to standardized criteria.
5A and Miranda
The 5th Amendment, as applicable to the states via the 14th, provides that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against themselves. A statement obtained during a custodial interrogation may not be used against a suspect unless the police inform the suspect of their Miranda Rights.
Exception to 5A and Miranda
Public Safety Exception
Public Safety exception
limited interrogation without Miranda warnings is allowed when police officers ask questions reasonably prompted by a concern for public safety or the safety of the officer.