Crim vocab, common law and MPC

Question 1

what categories do most jurisdiction divide homicide into?

Answer 1

1) murder (also divided into degrees)

2) manslaughter (viewed as less serious) (voluntary and involuntary)

Question 2

under the MPC what is the critical distinction between knowingly and purposely?

Answer 2

the purposeful actor DESIRES a specific result whereas the knowing actor foresees the result as highly likely but doesn’t really care whether it happens or not

Question 3

under the common law what happens if a person makes a reasonable mistake?

Answer 3

she is exculpated

Question 4

Under the common law what are legal duties based on?

Answer 4

1) relationship (parents must provide shelter for child)
2) statute
3) contract to provide care (nursing homes)
4) voluntary assumption of care that isolates the individual (taking a sick person in one’s home)
5) creation of peril (someone who pushes another who cannot swim into a deep lake)
6) duty to control the conduct of another (business executive may have duty to prevent company chauffeur from speeding)
7) duty of a landowner (theater has duty to prove reasonable emergency exits)

Question 5

under the MPC what is knowingly?

Answer 5

essentially equivalent to “oblique intention” under common law

Question 6

Types of punishment

Answer 6

1) utilitarianism

2) retribution

Question 7

under the common law what 2 main premises did the court rely on for strict liability?

Answer 7

1) legislatures were unrestrained in their ability to proscribe conduct and did not have to require mens rea
2) there was a compelling need to protect society, particularly minors, against such evils and it was too hard to prove mens Rea

Question 8

under common law, what are the 4 defenses for mistake of law?

Answer 8

1) relying on an official statement (Raley)
2) when you make a mistake regarding the legalese (Marerro)
3) mistake negates required mens Rea and the very law you’re violating (Smith)
4) mistake about the existence of law (Woods)

Question 9

under the MPC 2 types of cases permits an omission or failure to act to satisfy the failure of a crime?

Answer 9

1) when the statute defining the offense expressly states that failure to act is a crime (failure to file an income tax return)
2) when the defendant has a duty to act imposed by civil law (failure to prove necessary food, shelter, clothing to child)

2.01(3)(a) &(b)

Question 10

for unintended killings what does torts law determine the line between?

Answer 10

no liability and civil liability

Question 11

Common law unintentional murder (malice aforethought)

Answer 11

GROSS recklessness (deprived and malignant hear) risk of death or bodily hard

Question 12

what are the commonalities between MPC and Common law for provocation?

Answer 12

both require an objective element (reasonableness) - not every defendant who flies off the handle and kills someone is a candidate for the provocation defense.

Question 13

common law intentional manslaughter (voluntary)

Answer 13

intent w/ provocation

Question 14

under common law, when does malice aforethought exclude intentional killings?

Answer 14

where reason is clouded or obscured by passion that is produced by adequate provocation

Question 15

under the common law when is a person acquitted for a crime?

Answer 15

when a person mistakes facts and commits what turn out to be crimes

Question 16

under the MPC what are the elements of recklessness?

Answer 16

conduct: consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that he is engaging in the proscribed conduct

A.C.: consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the proscribed circumstances exist

Result: consciously disregards that a substantial and unjustifiable risk will occur

Question 17

basic common law rule for felony-murder

Answer 17

you can have murder liability for killing someone in the course of. felony. limited to negligence

Question 18

how do courts split on the meaning of premeditation?

Answer 18

some define it as purpose and others as careful deliberation

Question 19

MPC unintentional murder (malice aforethought)

Answer 19

GROSS recklessness

Question 20

why is the misdemeanor-manslaughter rule even less popular than felony-murder (adopted in fewer jurisdictions)?

Answer 20

because this rule requires not even criminal negligence (but yet you’re guilty of homicide)

Question 21

what does involuntary manslaughter require?

Answer 21

gross negligence (in most states)

Question 22

under the MPC what is rejected in regards to the idea of mistake of fact?

Answer 22

that it is a separate doctrine that treat it as being among the basic notions of mens Rea

Question 23

MPC unintentional manslaughter (involuntary)

Answer 23

Recklessness

Question 24

under the MPC what is needed for someone to be guilty of committing a crime (actus reus)

Answer 24

have committed a voluntary act 2.01(1)

Question 25

offenders can be "changed" into non offenders by taking away the offender's desire or impulse to engage in criminal conduct if given proper "treatment"

Answer 25

rehabilitation

Question 26

types of rehabilitation

Answer 26

1) medical treatments 2) rehabilitation programs 3) psychological counseling 4) education and training programs

Question 27

what is the misdemeanor-manslaughter rule?

Answer 27

it is involuntary manslaughter IF you kill in the commission of an unlawful act that is not a felony

Question 28

under the common law and MPC is mistake of law a defense?

Answer 28

no, only exceptions

Question 29

one may avoid criminal responsibility by claiming he was unaware that a legal duty to act arose from those facts

Answer 29

omissions

Question 30

limitations on felony-murder rule

Answer 30

1) felony has to be inherently dangerous (Phillips, Stewart, Hines) 2) merger doctrine 3) killings not in furtherance of a felony

Question 31

what is gross negligence required for?

Answer 31

homicide (involuntary manslaughter); criminal punishment for ordinary negligence

Question 32

under MPC what is purposely?

Answer 32

equivalent of the common law term intent.

Question 33

does the agency theory and proximate cause limit felony-murder liability?

Answer 33

agent theory does while proximate cause does not.

Question 34

how does Wilson make use of the Ireland test (felony-murder)?

Answer 34

burglary was an integral part of the homicide b/c the point of the burglary was not to commit a deadly assault (did not enter dwelling to commit larceny)

Question 35

if the felony has an independent, felonious purpose, IT DOES NOT MERGE and thus becomes the predicate for felony-murder

Answer 35

Burton test

Question 36

what are the characteristics gross negligence?

Answer 36

1) high degree of likelihood 2) substantial harm will result 3) harm will be unjustifiable

Question 37

under common law, what do defendants in many cases "rely" on in regards to the law?

Answer 37

their own "understanding" of the law informed by either "general custom" or a "hunch" although in some rare instances defendants will attempt to find and read the applicable criminal statute.

Question 38

from the 3 cases that were inherently dangerous (felony-murder) what were 3 tests that we see?

Answer 38

1) prove inherently dangerous in the abstract 2) as committed, the felony was inherently dangerous b/c it created a foreseeable risk of death 3) as committed, the felony was inherently dangerous b/c it created a high probability of death

Question 39

in people v. Burton, how do we see use of the merger doctrine (felony-murder)?

Answer 39

defendant killed someone in the course of committing an armed robbery, so felonies were (1) armed robbery and (2) assault with a deadly weapon; the assault merges with murder but the robbery does not b/c it had a purpose apart from the killing.

Question 40

common law unintentional manslaughter (involuntary)

Answer 40

GROSS negligence (objective)

Question 41

what does the MPC say for murder?

Answer 41

they abolished the degrees of murder and makes all murders subject to the death penalty

Question 42

under the MPC how is murder defined?

Answer 42

killing with malice aforethought

Question 43

for killings not in furtherance of a felony, what 2 theories can the defendant be liable under?

Answer 43

1) agency theory (committed in furtherance of joint plan and must be an accomplice/co-conspirator) 2) proximate cause (death was a direct result of the felony) (central issue, was it foreseeable?)

Question 44

under the MPC, what are the elements of purposely?

Answer 44

conduct: defendant's conscious object is to engage in such conduct Attendant circumstances: aware or hopes or believes the circumstance exists Result: conscious object is to cause result

Question 45

under the MPC how is manslaughter defined?

Answer 45

killing without malice aforethought

Question 46

under the MPC what will support criminal responsibility?

Answer 46

only the individual's own conduct 1.02(1)

Question 47

when defendant uses a person as a shield, courts usually find felony-murder even under agency theory

Answer 47

shield cases

Question 48

types of utilitarianism

Answer 48

1) deterrence 2) incapacitation 3) rehabilitation

Question 49

utilitarianism

Answer 49

view that we should punish criminals only if some "good" is achieved by the act

Question 50

under the MPC, what does criminal homicide constitute for manslaughter?

Answer 50

when a homicide which would otherwise be murder is committed under the influence or extreme emotional or mental disturbance for which there is no reasonable explanation or excuse shall be determined as he believes them to be.

Question 51

what must incapacitation do?

Answer 51

1) punish equally, for lengthy period of time for every person committing the same crime 2) assume they can accurately identify those who are most likely to reoffend and impose on them lengthy periods of incapacitation

Question 52

under the MPC, since murder by degrees based on premeditation are not divides, when does criminal homicide constitute murder?

Answer 52

when it's committed: 1) purposely or knowingly or 2) extreme gross recklessness

Question 53

what does the common law require for Actus Reus?

Answer 53

either a voluntary physical act or an ommission when there is a legal duty to act

Question 54

what is homicide defined by under the common law?

Answer 54

as the unjustified and unexcused killing of a human being

Question 55

under common law, how do we prove mens Rea?

Answer 55

inference. we can only infer, primarily from the defendant's conduct and words and secondarily from other facts that help us assess those inferences of what the def was thnking

Question 56

under MPC, places burden on defendant to prove that he did not act with gross recklessness

Answer 56

burden shift

Question 57

common law for intentional murder (w/ malice aforethought)

Answer 57

purpose and knowledge

Question 58

what is a voluntary act?

Answer 58

movement of the human body that is, in some minimal sense, willed or directed by the actor

Question 59

what does violation mean according to the MPC?

Answer 59

an act for which imprisonment, even for a day is not an available sentence 1.04(5)

Question 60

the predicate for felony-murder cannot be one that would elevate all felonious assaults to murder or otherwise subvert the legislative intent; in every case we'll look at a the felony involved with the risk

Answer 60

Hanson Test

Question 61

what does murder require?

Answer 61

gross recklessness (implied malice) or felony-murder

Question 62

MPC for intentional murder (w/ malice aforethought)

Answer 62

purpose of knowingly

Question 63

under the MPC, what does it provide that a defendants has a defense to a charge for mistake of law?

Answer 63

If he can show that he acted "in reasonable reliance" on an official statement of the law, afterwards determined to be invalid or erroneous contained in a statute; judicial decision.

Question 64

possible ways t respond to risk creation of unintended killings

Answer 64

1) no liability 2) civil liability (torts) 3) manslaughter 4) murder

Question 65

types of deterrence

Answer 65

1) specific - aiming to deter offender at hand from committing more crimes 2) general - aiming to deter other potential offenders

Question 66

under common law what sub-concepts do courts divide the concept of mens Rea into?

Answer 66

1) intent 2) knowledge 3) recklessness

Question 67

under the MPC what does it provide if there's no mens Rea in the statute?

Answer 67

the element is proved if a person acts purposely, knowingly or recklessly. 2.02(3)

Question 68

Is the merger doctrine for felony-murder a universal rule?

Answer 68

It is fairly universal that assault with a deadly weapon will merge but when it comes to other felonies, it's a lot less clear; the more felony is like assault, the more likely it is going to merge

Question 69

what is the MPC's interpretation of recklessness that the code requires that the defendant foresee (and thereafter consciously disregards)?

Answer 69

must be substantial and unjustifiable

Question 70

under the MPC what does the code establish is the default position for mens Rea?

Answer 70

"recklessness"

Question 71

what is never part of a purposely analysis?

Answer 71

likelihood of a consequence

Question 72

what is malice aforethought?

Answer 72

1) intent to kill 2) implied malice - when there is not provocation (gross recklessness) 3) abandoned and malignant heart

Question 73

what are 3 problematic situations where the requirement that kills not be in furtherance of the felony (felony-murder)?

Answer 73

1) killings after the felony ended (felony continues to be perpetrated during the def's effort to escape) 2) killing by felons but not in furtherance (co-felon goes on "a frolic of their own" 3) kids by non-felons (state v. Canola)

Question 74

under common law, how do you prove felony-murder?

Answer 74

1) felony | 2) felony needs to be known to be dangerous to life and likely will cause death

Question 75

punishment of a criminal should be set to most efficiently prevent or avoid future offenses

Answer 75

deterrence

Question 76

what is the merger doctrine (felony-murder)?

Answer 76

you cannot have a felony-murder based on a felony that is an integral part of the homicide, and is in fact included in the homicide (assault).

Question 77

under the MPC what is not considered voluntary?

Answer 77

1) a reflex or convulsion 2) bodily movement during unconsciousness or sleep 3) conduct during hypnosis 4) bodily movement that is otherwise not a product of effort or determination of the actor, either conscious or habitual 2.01(a)

Question 78

MPC for negligent homicide

Answer 78

negligence

Question 79

how does the MPC interpret felony-murder?

Answer 79

they don't adopt felony-murder but replaced the rule with a rebuttable presumption that if you're committing one of the felonies enumerated in the statutes, we can assume that you had the gross recklessness required to establish the mens Rea of murder

Question 80

what does felony-murder eliminate under common law?

Answer 80

need for prosecutor approval

Question 81

argues that persons who choose to do wrongful (criminal) acts deserve punishment, and punishment should be imposed on them even if it serves no utilitarian purpose

Answer 81

retribution

Question 82

an individual is to some extent morally justified in making a punitive return against someone who intentionally causes him serious offense; defendant is less blameworthy

Answer 82

under common law for provocation, partial justification rationale

Question 83

under common law what does provocation do?

Answer 83

negates malice aforethought and mitigates murder to manslaughter

Question 84

if killing occurs during the commission of a felony, this becomes another form of malice aforethought

Answer 84

felony-murder

Question 85

under the MPC what mens Rea are unintended killings?

Answer 85

"recklessly" or "negligently"

Question 86

3 types of malice aforethought

Answer 86

1) intention to kill 2) gross recklessness 3) felony murder 125.25

Question 87

under the MPC what is negligently?

Answer 87

a possible predicate for criminal liability, only allows criminal negligence in one crime, homicide where it would be charged as manslaughter.

Question 88

for the good of those who abide the law, those offenders must be prevented from reoffending via imprisonment, execution or any other restraint or impairment that disables a potential offender

Answer 88

incapacitation

Question 89

what are the elements of criminal negligence?

Answer 89

1) awareness of risk of death (reasonable person's awareness) - negligence 20 difference in the degree of risk - gross negligence

Question 90

common law view that too long a time lapse between provocation and killing renders the provocation inadequate as a matter of law (issue of provocation would goto the jury)

Answer 90

cooling time

Question 91

in people v. Hanson, how do we see a problem with the Burton rule?

Answer 91

a felon who acts with a purpose other than specifically to inflict injury on someone is subject to greater liability for an act resulting in death than someone who actually intends to kill the victim.

Question 92

under the common law what happens if a person makes an honest but unreasonable mistake?

Answer 92

she is punished for the crime as though she had made no mistake at all (negligence)

Question 93

under the MPC what does the code establish is the default position for mens Rea?

Answer 93

"recklessness" is the default provision

Question 94

under the MPC what is recklessly?

Answer 94

as with the common law, you're reckless only if he ACTUALLY FORESEES that a harm may occur or that an attendant circumstance is present. Conscious disregard of the risk.

Question 95

what is the Cunningham decision known for?

Answer 95

its holding that "recklessness" is "lowest" mental state required for criminal mens Rea

Question 96

under the MPC when is ignorance or mistake as a matter of fact a defense?

Answer 96

if it negates purpose, knowledge, belief, recklessness or negligence required to establish a material element of the offense

Question 97

MPC intentional manslaughter (voluntary)

Answer 97

purposeful or knowingly but with extreme emotional disturbance

Question 98

what are the elements of knowingly under the MPC?

Answer 98

conduct: aware his conduct is of this nature A.C.: aware that the circumstance exists Result: aware the result is practically certain

Question 99

under the PC how does the code reject the "greater crime theory"

Answer 99

provides that a mistake is not a defense "if the defendant would be guilty of another offense had the situation be as he supposed" 2.04(2)

Question 100

holdings of common law cases for premeditated murder

Answer 100

1) carroll - defendant guilty of 1st degree murder (can deliberate in a moment; court equates intent with premeditation) 2) Guthrie - there must be some evidence that the defendant considered and weighed his decision to kill 3) Anderson - not 1st degree murder b/c of insufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation (in sense of "careful thought and reflection")

Question 101

for criminal liability what does common law need?

Answer 101

gross negligence

Question 102

under the MPC what sub-concepts are the concepts of mens Rea divided in to?

Answer 102

in descending order: 1) purposely 2) knowingly 3) recklessly 4) negligently 2.02

Question 103

under the MPC, recklessness, what does the disregard involve?

Answer 103

a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a law-abiding person would observe, considering defendant's purpose and the circumstances known to him

Question 104

for unintended killings what does criminal law determine the line between?

Answer 104

civil liability and manslaughter and manslaughter and murder

Question 105

under the MPC, why is provocation unpopular?

Answer 105

it's extremely broad - it allows mitigation of circumstances where defendants seem less blameworthy

Question 106

what is required under common law for felony-murder?

Answer 106

there has to be a substantial and unjustifiably risk of death and aware of it under extreme indifference

Question 107

what are the elements of negligence?

Answer 107

conduct: fails to recognize a substantial and unjustifiable risk he is engaging in this conduct A.C.: " " " " " that the risk will occur result: "" " result will occur

Question 108

under the MPC what does it provide for strict liability?

Answer 108

expressly that culpability is not required ONLY with regard to "offenses which constitute violations" 2.04(1)

Question 109

if the felony is included in fact within the elements of the homicide, then it DOES MERGE; any felony that is really part and parcel of the homicide gets merged into the homicide (Wilson)

Answer 109

Ireland Test

Question 110

Common law for negligent homicide

Answer 110

doesn't exist in common law