Crimes against Persons Elements Flashcards
Elements: Battery
The intentional, reckless, or criminally negligent application of unlawful for to another resulting in either bodily injury or offensive touching
1. Any harmful touching (actus reus)
2. defendant has intent to make physical contact with the victim or be acting in a manner that is reckless or criminally negligent
Battery is general intent crime
Elements: Assault
Assault is attempt to commit battery or the intentioanl creation of reasonable apprehension of imminent harm
Attempted Battery (specific intent)
1. Mens rea the attempt to commit a battery
Assault as Threat (general intent)
1. The intent to create reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm
* Words alone not sufficient, there must be an overt gesture
* Conditional threats are sufficient- where defendant threatens the harm only if the victim doesn’t obey defendant’s demands, e.g., “hand over your wallet or I will kill you”)
* Unless: legal right to compel action (“if you don’t get off my property I will kill you”) or Condition expressly negates intent (“if you weren’t a girl, I would kill you)
Elements: Mayhem (Aggravated Battery)
Intent to harm is sufficient; no requirement that the defendant intended the injury to be serious
Elements: First Degree Murder
Requires premediation & deliberation (time to reflect)
premeditation requires merely a moment’s reflection upon the killing
Emotionally Upset & Intoxication- killer may not be capable of cool reflection where his capacity is prevented by being emotionally upset or intoxication
Elements: Common law murder (2nd Degree)
Second degree murder is the intentional killing of a person with malice aforethought
Mens rea : Malice aforethought
* Intent to kill- subjective standard and a jury looks at the totality of the circumstances. Intent to kill can be satisfied by the purposeful use of a deadly weapon
* Intent to commit great bodily harm
* Depraved heart killing: wanton & willful disregard of human life- subjective awareness of an unjustifiably high risk to human life
* Intent to Commit Felony (Felony murder Rule)
Elements: Felony Murder
Killing during the commission of an underlying felony that is inherently dangerous
1. Underlying felony
2. inherently dangerous
- Killing of innocent party by victim or police = felony murder
Defenses: Felony Murder
Limitations to felony murder rule
* Defense for underlying felony
* Merger- if the felony is not independent from the homicide or assault that results in death (voluntary manslaughter or aggravated battery), the defendant can’t be found guilty
* Reasonably Foreseeable (all co-felons will be liable for a killing committed by one felon if the killing 1) was committed in furtherance of the felony and 2) was a natural and probable consequence of the felony
* Killing of co-felon by victim or police = Not felony murder
* Killing of innocent party by victim or police = felony murder
No Death penalty for felony murder if he didn’t personally take the life, attempt to take the life, nor intend to take the life
Elements: Voluntary Manslaughter
An intentional killing that would be murder but for the existence of adequate provocation, imperfect self-defense, or diminshed capacity
Adequate provocation
1. Defendant provoked victim
2. Sudden & Intense Passion in a reasonable person (words not sufficient)
3. No reasonable time to cool off; AND
4. Defendant didn’t cool off
Imperfect self defense
good faith but unreasonable self defense using deadly force
this is mitigating defense that reduces murder to voluntary manslaughter
Diminshed capacity
Usually can reduce murder to voluntary manslaughter, but usually can’t use voluntary intoxication to further reduce 2nd degree murder to manslaughter
Elements: Involuntary Manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing that results either from criminal negligence or misdemeanor murder
Criminal negligence- higher than tort negligence
Misdeameanor- inherently wrong or a felony not listed in the felony murder statute
Elements: Rape
Rape is sexual intercourse without victim’s consent by force or threat of force. It is a general intent crime
* Sexual intercourse
* Without consent (must have a reasonable belief they consented)
Lack of consent exists when the victim can’t consent because of unconsciousness, intoxication, or mental incapacity
* By force or threat of force
Defenses: Rape
Consent
If consent is obtained by fraud it is consent (you cant trick someone into fucking you by telling them youre a rapper.)
If the person doesn’t know they’re having sex that’s rape (doctor fucking patient with surgical instrument and tells her she’s getting a treatment)
Elements: False Imprisonment
Unlawful confinement of a person
1. Unlawful
unlawful unless consent by person or authorized by law
2. Confinement
it’s not confinement if they have alternate routes to leave
em
Elements: Kidnapping
False imprisonment that involves movement of the person or concealment of a person in a secret location
1. False imprisonment; AND
2. Movement or concealment
Movement can’t be incidental to another offense. MPC requires “substantial distance)
