Crim Law

Question 1

3 elements of a criminal offense

Answer 1

Actus Reus
Mens Rea
Cause

Question 2

Actus Reus

Answer 2

Defendant engaged in 1 or more specific acts. An act can be an affirmative action or the omission of an action that the defendant had a legal duty to.

Question 3

Mens Rea

Answer 3

Acting with the specific intent or awerness required of the crime. There are 5 levels of Mens rea:
1) Purposefully: with the specific intent to do the crime or the specific intent to act without intending the result
2) Knowingly: defendant knows of a specific set of facts or circumstances while engaging in prohibited act, regardless of knowledge they are intending the results
3) Recklessly: conscious disregard for substantial or unjustifiable risk that the act will have a result
4) Negligently: should have been aware but wasn’t of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of causing something prohibited by law
5) Strict Liability; generally presumed against unless there is clear legislation in support of the public welfare.

Question 4

Mens Rea of Specific Intent crimes

Answer 4

Specifically intended the result. Versus the general intent to act but not specifically commit the crime.

Question 5

Causation

Answer 5

Actual proximate cause of an unlawful event. The event must be the foreseeable probable consequence. Any intervening causes must not be reasonably foreseeable.

Question 6

2 Types of Criminal Defenses

Answer 6

Ones that negate the Mens Rea and Affirmative Defenses

Question 7

Defenses that negate the Mens Rea

Answer 7

Mistake of fact or law: available for specific intent crimes where a reasonable mistake stops the defendant having the appropriate mens rea. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse unless knowledge of the crime is an element.

Impossibility: defendant intends to commit the crime but facts make it impossible

Intoxication: some specific intent crimes, usually only valid if the intoxication was not caused by the defendant, must show that the defendant was tricked, did not know, or was an unforeseen reaction

Mental Disorder: defendant may use this defense or insanity to raise a lack of mens rea defense against any crime requiring intentional or knowing

Question 8

Affirmative defenses

Answer 8

Burden belongs to the defendant to raise affirmative defenses.

Insanity, Avoiding greater harm, Self-Defense, entrapment, consent, alibi

Question 9

Insanity

Answer 9

Defendant is insane as a result of mental disease making them incapable of knowing what they did was wrong, minority view is that because of mental disease, defendant could not resist the impulse to do something wrong. The model penal code asks if defendant lacked the capacity to conform or appreciate the significance of their actions.

Question 10

Avoiding Greater Harm

Answer 10

(necessity test) defendant must have committed a crime to imminent harm, there must have been no reasonable alternative, and the harm caused was less serious than what would have happened.

Question 11

Self-Defense

Answer 11

right to use force to protect against another’s use or unlawful threat of force when the defendant actually and reasonably believes defensive force is necessary. Only deadly force justifies deadly force. some statutes may require defendant to have retreated if at all possible. Defendant can never be the cause of the need to use defense.

Question 12

Homicide 1st Degree

Answer 12

First degree murder is the intentional killing of another person by someone who has acted willfully, deliberately, or with planning. A premeditated intent to kill requires that the defendant had intent to kill and some willful deliberation (the defendant spent some time to reflect, deliberate, reason, or weigh their decision) to kill, rather than killing on a sudden impulse.

Question 13

Homicide 2nd Degree

Answer 13

Second-degree murder is typically murder with malicious intent but not premeditated. The mens rea of the defendant is intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, or act with an abandoned heart (e.g., reckless conduct lacking concern for human life or having a high risk of death). Showing an indifference to human life.

Question 14

Felony Murder

Answer 14

The felony murder rule is a law in most states and under federal law that allows anyone who is accused of committing a violent felony to be charged with murder if the commission of that felony results in the death of someone. The people involved in the felony may be charged for murder under the rule even if they had no intention of killing someone.

Question 15

Manslaughter

Answer 15

Manslaughter is the act of killing another human being without malice. It is a general intent crime that is distinct from murder because it requires less culpability.
Voluntary manslaughter is intentionally killing another person in the heat of passion and in response to adequate provocation.
Involuntary manslaughter is negligently causing the death of another person.

Question 16

Negligent Homicide

Answer 16

Model Penal Code. Acts while disregarding a known risk that creates an unjustifiable risk, grossly deviating from the standard of care. Committing a tort that is so egregious as to demand criminal penalties.

Question 17

Larceny

Answer 17

Larceny is a crime at common law that refers to the illegal taking of the property of another with intent to deprive the owner thereof.

Larceny by Trick if falsely representing some fact about property with the intent that the falsehood permanently deprive the owner of possession.

Emberzzlement is the same as larceny but the defendant is in legal possession of the property at the time that they intentionally act to deprive the owner of depression.

Receipt of stolen property is one fo those crimes that the defendant knew about the items being stolen.

Question 18

Robbery

Answer 18

Defendant commits larceny, in the presence of another person, using intimidation of imminent harm or violence.

Question 19

Burglary

Answer 19

Defendant makes an unprivileged entry, into another’s home or building, with the intent to commit a felony inside. The crime does not need to come to fruition, intent is to enter the building and commit a crime.

Question 20

Assault

Answer 20

Defendant attempts to cause a non-consensual, intentional physical contact, that causes bodily injury.

Question 21

Battery

Answer 21

Defendant causes a non-consensual, intentional physical contact, that causes bodily injury.

Question 22

Sexual Assault

Answer 22

Defendant causes a non-consensual sexual penetration with anyone.

Question 23

Kidnapping

Answer 23

Defendant holds a person for an unlawful purpose, to facilitate the commission of felony or flight there after, to inflict bodily injury or terrorize the victim, interfere with performance of government function.

Question 24

Unlawful Restraint

Answer 24

A person commits a misdemeanor if he or she knowingly:

(a) Restrains another unlawfully in circumstances exposing him or her to risk of serious bodily injury; or

(b) Holds another in a condition of involuntary servitude.

Question 25

Arson

Answer 25

Arson is a crime at common law, originally defined as “the malicious burning of the dwelling of another.” However, the definition changes slightly depending upon the jurisdiction. For some jurisdictions, arson is the intentional setting of a fire to a building, others it is the intentional setting of a fire to a building where people live. Additionally, there are some minor differences between arson at the state and federal level.

Question 26

Who are the Parties to the Crime

Answer 26

Principles; the people who directly commit the crime
Accomplice; aids or abets the principle through encouragement or assistance before, during, or during flight with the intention of seeing the crime committed
Post Crime Assistance; people who offer assistance with the intent of concealing the perpetrator from detection or apprehension

Question 27

Inchoate Offenses

Answer 27

Offenses committed in anticipation of or in preparation for a target offense. The offense must be a substantial step towards committing the crime or must be done in dangerous proximity to the location of the offense.

Question 28

Abandonment of an Offense

Answer 28

A defendant may abandon a crime if they complete cease preparations, on their own volition, and actually abandon the attempt. To abandon a conspiracy the defendant must make an attempt to stop the crime from occurring.

Question 29

Impossibility

Answer 29

If the defendant believes they are committing a crime incorrectly it is a defense to the crime. A factual impossibility means the there is a physical bar to completing the criminal act and is not a defense.

Question 30

Soliciting

Answer 30

Intending a crime to be committed the defendant reaches out to a third party for assistance.

Question 31

Attempt

Answer 31

Under the Model Penal Code an additional substantial step is required.

Question 32

Conspiracy

Answer 32

A person specifically intends to join a group that intends to commit a crime. A bilateral conspiracy is a meeting of the minds about the commission of a crime. A unilateral conspiracy is when one person joins a group believing the intent is to commit a crime. As long as one person commits an overt act the entire group has committed conspiracy.

Question 33

Who is guilty for a crime?

Answer 33

Any principles, accomplices, anyone who aids in escape, or any co-conspirators are guilty of any crimes that occur after their joining.