Crim Pro/Law

Question 1

Specific Intent

Answer 1

Intent to commit that actual crime (never inferred)

• Applies to First Degree Murder
• Felony Murder (intent to commit the Felony)
• Theft Offenses (Burglary, Robbery, Larceny)
• Assault (as Attempted Battery)
• Arson

Question 2

Defenses to Specific Intent Crimes

Answer 2

1. Voluntary Intoxication
2. Involuntary Intoxication
3. Insanity (always)
4. Diminished capacity
5. Mistake of Fact (except for Attempted crimes)
6. Mistake of Law, but only when there is (a) Reasonable reliance on an INVALID STATUTE; or (b) Mistake that negates an element of the crime that requires knowledge of the law

Question 3

General Intent

Answer 3

Intent to commit the action, with awareness of any attendant circumstances

• Battery
• Assault (as Threat)
• Rape
• Kidnapping
• False Imprisonment

Question 4

Defenses to General Intent Crimes

Answer 4

• Involuntary Intoxication (never Voluntary)
• Insanity (always)
• Mistake of Fact, but only when reasonable

Question 5

Malice Aforethought (Common Law Murder)

Answer 5

Acting with reckless disregard, or intent to inflict great bodily injury, or reckless indifference to the high risk to human life

• Common law murder, which encompasses:
• Intent to kill
• Intent to inflict great bodily harm
• Depraved or malignant heart

E.g., firing 15 bullets in crowded bank; practicing shooting on tree right in front of unprotected and full playground (MORE than just being reckless or grossly negligent)

Question 6

Strict Liability for Crimes

Answer 6

• Usually for non-felony crimes that are
• Intended to protect public from harm (not punish)
• Impose fines
• No intent necessary (sale of alcohol to minors; statutory rape; sale of adulterated milk)

Question 7

Recklessness/Negligent Intent (Involuntary Manslaughter)

Answer 7

Required for Involuntary Manslaughter through (1) Criminal Negligence, or (2) Unlawful Act (e.g., driving drunk, texting while driving, etc.)

Question 8

Causation includes Hastening the Death

Answer 8

Even if V was already dying, any act by D that speeds up V’s death is still a cause-in-fact. If it doesn’t hasten the death and just causes pain, then D’s action is not the primary cause of the death.

Question 9

D is still liable even if there’s an intervening act

Answer 9

Applies to these foreseeable intervening acts:

1. Negligent ER Doctor
2. V’s refusal of medical treatment

Does not apply to:
1. Freak accident - V struck by lightning when swerving to avoid D’s car (D cannot be charged with manslaughter since this was an act of nature and pure coincide)

Question 10

Transferred Intent Doctrine

Answer 10

Will be charged with the Attempted Crime + Committed Crime

Question 11

Doctrine of Merger (once the crime is completed, you can’t be charged additionally with Solicitation or Attempt)

Answer 11

Solicitation / Attempt will merge with Completed Crime once it’s done (cannot be charged with both Solicitation and the Completed Crime)

But you can be charged with Conspiracy + Completed Crime

Question 12

When Does Accomplice Liability Attach?

Answer 12

• Verbal encouragement is enough to attach Accomplice Liability, as long as there’s intent to encourage the Principal
• Must AID + INTEND TO AID
• Accomplice is liable for the crimes he committed or counseled, but also for any other foreseeable or probable crimes resulting from the original crime (e.g., accidental murder during a bank robbery)

** Just can’t be an Accomplice if you’re part of a protected class (Statutory Rape victim; Buyer of drugs)

Question 13

How do withdraw as an Accomplice?

Answer 13

(1) Take back your aid or encouragement
(2) Try to stop the Principal before plan starts to be “in motion”
(3) Discourage, take back materials, or go to authorities

Question 14

Attempt

Answer 14

An Overt Act done with Specific Intent to commit the crime

1. Overt Act - substantial step towards committing the target crime, beyond mere preparation*
2. Intent to commit the crime itself

• Liability will attach once the Overt Act is done
• *Not protected by Mistake of Fact (still had requisite mens rea)

Question 15

Common Law Murder (Malice Aforethought requiring reckless indifference to human life)

Answer 15

• Mental state: Malice aforethought
• Reckless indifference (more than mere recklessness or gross negligence implicated in Involuntary Manslaughter)
• Intent to kill
• Intent to inflict great bodily harm
• Depraved or malignant heart - a killing committed with reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk of human life (e.g., firing 15 rounds in a bank; rifle practice in front of a playground)

Question 16

First Degree Murder

Answer 16

1. Deliberate & Premeditated (planned for even a second)

2. Felony Murder - requires intent to do the underlying felony

Question 17

Voluntary Manslaughter

Answer 17

1. Adequate Provocation that would cause a sudden and intense passion in an ordinary person, causing him to lose self-control, with insufficient time to cool off
2. Imperfect Self-defense - Either D INITIATED the altercation that required Self defense in the first place, or he unreasonably believed that DEADLY FORCE was necessary

Question 18

Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 18

1. Criminal Negligence - arises if D is grossly negligent (texting while driving)
2. Commission of an Unlawful Act - Misdemeanor where the act was inherently wrongful or the death was foreseeable, or any Felony that causes death but doesn’t rise to Felony Murder

Question 19

“Probable Cause,” or trustworthy facts or knowledge sufficient for a reasonable person to believe that the suspect has committed or is planning to commit the crime, is required for the following:

Answer 19

1. All ARRESTS must be based on Probable Cause
2. All SEARCH WARRANTS must be based on Probable Cause
3. STATIONHOUSE DETENTION - to compel a person to enter a government location for fingerprinting & questioning, you need Probable Cause
4. DETENTION TO OBTAIN SEARCH WARRANT - for the purpose of preventing the destruction of evidence, you need Probable Cause
5. Search of ENTIRE car during lawful AUTOMOBILE STOP or during Search Incident to Arrest will require Probable Cause too (but just to stop it requires RS)
6. PLAIN VIEW EXCEPTION - Police need Probable Cause to seize anything without a warrant that is immediately apparent to be contraband/criminal activity, from where the police are legitimately on the premises
7. ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE - requires a warrant based on Probable Cause that a specific crime is being or has been committed

Question 20

“Reasonable Suspicion” that a law has been violated is required for the following:

Answer 20

1. Automobile Stop - to pull over a vehicle, police must have reasonable suspicion that a law has been violated (but ulterior motive is okay too)
2. Stop & Frisk - stop them for period necessary to verify/refute suspicion and pat them down for the “plain feel” of weapons if it seems like they are armed

Question 21

When are police allowed to do checkpoints?

Answer 21

1. If they conduct them with a CLEAR, ARTICULABLE STANDARD (e.g., every fourth car); and
2. For purposes related to AUTOMOBILES and their mobility

Question 22

Search & Seizure Assessment

Answer 22

1. Is it government conduct? Yes? Proceed:
2. Does D have a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy?**
3. Is there a valid search warrant signed by neutral magistrate, specifically naming what is to be searched, based on probable cause?
4. If no warrant, is there a Valid Exception (ESCAPES)?

• *No REOP for Bank Statements, because it’s the property of the bank rather than the person
• *REOP in private school common rooms (need a warrant to place microphones there)

Question 23

Valid Search Warrant Requirements

Answer 23

1. Based on Probable Cause
2. Precise on its face (in naming who and what is specifically to be searched, although it can extend to objects in Plain View – can’t detain people not named in the warrant, though)
3. Issued by a neutral and detached magistrate

Question 24

How to validly execute a Search Warrant?

Answer 24

1. No UNREASONABLE DELAY after the warrant is issued
2. KNOCK AND ANNOUNCE Rule - police have to knock and announce their presence, unless doing so increases the likelihood of evidence being destroyed
3. SCOPE OF SEARCH includes anything within Plain View of what is named in the warrant, but police cannot detain people not specifically named in the warrant without a valid exception

Question 25

Valid Search Warrant Exceptions

Answer 25

1. Exigent Circumstances - In “Hot Pursuit” or “Evanescent Evidence” or “Emergency”
2. Search Incident to Arrest - e.g., can search a whole car during arrest, or search a person’s “wingspan” at time arrest for weapons within reach
3. Consent - can be given by anybody else who lives there (but a Tenant’s will probably supersede a Landlord’s consent)
4. Automobile Search - If Probable Cause exists before the search, police can search an entire car without a warrant, including containers, passengers, glove box, trunk
5. Plain View Exception - can seize anything within Plain View of where police are legitimately on the premises, even using binoculars (will not apply to satellite or heat images, though)
   - There has to be PROBABLE CAUSE to believe that the plainly-viewed evidence is contraband or relates to a crime, and
   - Criminal activity or contraband has to be IMMEDIATELY APPARENT
6. Evidence Seized During Administrative Searches - Government Agencies don’t need warrants to do routine inspections of highly-regulated businesses like airports or food manufacturing warehouses, but they will need a more general and neutral warrant for commercial businesses and private residences
7. Stop & Frisk - Police may briefly detain a person if they have reasonable suspicion that a law has been violated, and they can pat down the person if they appear to be armed for the “plain feel” of weapons or contraband, which may be seized

Question 26

What types of places can GOVERNMENT AGENCIES (Admin Searches) search without a warrant?

Answer 26

Routine inspections or searches of highly-regulated businesses or industries (airports, food safety, building code, etc.)

** NOT commercial businesses or private residences - they will need a general/neutral warrant for these

Question 27

Immigration Searches

Answer 27

• Don’t need warrant, Probable Cause, or Reasonable Suspicion for any searches at the border
• You do need Reasonable Suspicion for immigration detentions, and officials may raid businesses to determine the citizenship status of its employees

Question 28

Electronic Surveillance Warrant Requirements

Answer 28

• Warrant must be based on Probable Cause that a specific crime has or is being committed;
• Warrant must name suspects subject to surveillance;
• Warrant must describe with particularity the subject of conversations that can be surveilled;
• Surveillance must be limited to short periods of time;
• Surveillance must terminate when desired information is obtained and must be turned over to the court

Question 29

“Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” Exceptions, where illegally-obtained evidence will still be admissible if:

Answer 29

1. It came from an INDEPENDENT SOURCE, i.e. not the illegal search & seizure;
2. It was an INEVITABLE DISCOVERY that would have been made anyway, even without the illegal search & seizure;
3. Evidence challenged is TOO ATTENUATED (too far-removed) from the unlawful search & seizure

Question 30

How to use the 5th Amendment Defense against Self-Incrimination (for Compelled, Testimonial Speech)

Answer 30

• Refuse to provide testimony during court itself;
• Refuse to take a lie detector test or complete interrogatories;

**This does NOT apply to non-compelled speech that was freely given, like what was written in a diary

Question 31

Those in CUSTODY being INTERROGATED have to be given their Miranda Rights first, or else all statements made after they are in custody will be inadmissible under the 5th Amendment

Answer 31

• Custody - meaning they are not free to leave
• Interrogation - statements made by police that are likely to elicit incriminating responses (not routine questioning, and not unsolicited statements)

Exception: Interrogation for public safety/danger (bomb)

Question 32

How do you invoke your Miranda Rights? “I want a lawyer” or “I have a right to remain silent.”

Answer 32

After that, all questions have to stop IMMEDIATELY. The police cannot sneakily get you to talk to other people instead, either, like setting you up in a jail cell next to an informant, or listening in on your conversations with your parents visiting you.

Question 33

Once you get your lawyer and you’re charged, the 6th Amendment Right to Counsel attaches

Answer 33

This means that you’re entitled to have your lawyer present for all interrogations related to the specific charge (including sneaky “informants” in the adjoining cell). You can also have your lawyer present for live lineup identifications, but not photographic ones.

This is charge-specific, so the police can talk to you about other charges. “Police can question D about any other crime they have not been charged with without violating D’s 6th Amendment rights.”

Question 34

Burglary Elements

Answer 34

The (1) Breaking and entering; (2) into a structure of another; (3) with the intent to commit a felony therein.

Wrinkles:

• BREAKING = still applies to opening an unlocked door
• INTENT TO COMMIT FELONY = no felonious intent if someone takes property they honestly believe to be their own, or property of someone else who authorized them to take it

Question 35

Is a Store Employee Liable as an Accomplice when they know what they sell you will be used to commit a crime?

Answer 35

Mere knowledge of the employee that a crime would result from the aid provided is usually insufficient for accomplice liability to attach, at least where the aid involves the sale of ordinary goods. BUT IF THE SELLER (1) Sells them an illegal item; OR (2) Sells item at a higher cost because of the Buyer’s purpose, this may create a sufficient “stake in the venture” to create intent to aid under accomplice liability.

Question 36

Is it still Robbery where someone trips another person as they are walking, they fall, and then D runs off with their briefcase?

Answer 36

Yes, where a confederate of the defendant pushes a man in order to cause him to lose his balance and drop his briefcase, and defendant picks it up and runs off with it. Pushing someone, or a confederate pushing someone on your behalf, is still considered force for the purposes of robbery. There has to be force or fear; simply taking something won’t cut it (larceny) and hitting someone after the fact won’t cut it because the force has to relate to the crime itself.

Question 37

If it’s not a Strict Liability crime (that aims to fine for public welfare instead of punish), then criminal intent will have to be proven, either General or Specific. Honest belief as to abandonment?

Answer 37

An honest belief as to abandonment will negate the intent required for a statute that makes it a crime to take government property signs.

Question 38

Conspiracy (Common Law vs. MPC which PA follows)

Answer 38

Common Law - Conspiracy will require 2 or more people agreeing to an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means. The “2 person” element is called the plurality element, and this will be negated at Common Law if one of the conspirators lacks the subjective intent to do the crime (i.e., undercover police officer).

MPC - Conspiracy here requires 2 or more people agreeing to do an unlawful act or something through unlawful means, and it is satisfied even if there is just unilateral intent. Here, there is still conspiracy even if someone doesn’t have the subjective intent, like an undercover police officer. MPC Conspiracy also requires an “Overt Act” in furtherance of the crime, and Common Law does not.

Question 39

Jury Size and Unanimity

Answer 39

Juries can be 6-12 members. If they are 6, however, they have to reach a unanimous verdict. If they are 7-12, there is no unanimity required.

Question 40

Warrantless Search Exceptions:

Answer 40

1. Exigent Circumstances
2. Search Incident to Arrest
3. Consent to Search
4. Automobile Search
5. Plain View Exception
6. Evidence Seized during Administrative Searches
7. Stop and Frisk

Question 41

How long do Miranda Rights last?

Answer 41

Once invoked, they last the entire time you’re in custody for interrogation purposes + 14 days. After that, you return to “normal life” which means your home or a jail cell.

Question 42

Plain View Exception

Answer 42

Doesn’t count if you had to lift something up to see it in “plain view.” Not in plain view and not apparent.