Criminal Flashcards
4 Insanity Tests
- M’Naghten Rule
- Irresistable Impulse Test
- Durham Rule
- MPC
M’Naghten Rule
- at the time of his actions, the D lacked the ability to know the wrongfulness of his actions or understand the nature and quality of his actions
Irresistable Impulse Test
D lacked capacity for self-control and free choice
Durham Rule
Ds conduct was a product of mental illness
MPC
Defendent lacked the ability to conform to his conduct to the requirements of law
Voluntary Intoxication
- self-induced intoxication
- addicts and alcoholics are always voluntarily intoxication
- Voluntary intoxication is a defense to only specific intent crimes
Involuntary Intoxication
- 1) unknowingly being intoxicated or 2) becoming intoxicated under duress
- involuntary intoxication is a form of insanity and thus is a defense to all crimes
Principles of Exulpation & Other Defenses
- Self-Defense
- Defense of a Dwelling
- Duress
- Necessity
- Mistake of Fact
- Consent
- Entrapment
Duress
- Duress is a defense to a criminal act if:
- the person acts under imminent infliction of death or great bodily harm, and
- that belief is reasonable
- Threats To a 3rd person may suffice
- Duress is a defense to all crimes except homocide
Entrapment
Entrapment is only a defense if:
- the criminal design originated with law enforcement officers, and
- the defendent must not have been predisposed to commit the crime.
What defenses does the term reasonable belief apply to?
- Self D
- Duress
- Necessity
- Mistake of Fact if malice or general intent crime
Battery
- Unlawful application of force to the person resulting in either:
- bodily injury,
- or offensive touching
- General Intent Crime
- need not be intentional
- need not be applied directly
Assault
- an attempt to commit a battery, or
- the intentional creation, other than by mere words, of a reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm
Aggravated Assault
Assault +:
- the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon, or
- with the intent to rape, mame or murder
Homicide: Murder:
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with Malice aforethought
Malice Aforethough:
- intent to kill; or
- intent to inflict grave bodily harm; or
- intent to commit a felony; or
- reckless indifference to an unjustifably high risk to human life
Malice Aforethought Types into degrees:
First Degree
- intent to kill; or
- intent to commit a felony; or
Second Degree
- reckless indifference to an unjustifably high risk to human life; or
- intent to inflict grave bodily harm
Causation for Murder
Need:
- cause in fact
- and proximate cause
First Degree Murder Types:
- Premeditated Killing
- Felony Murder
- Homicide of a Police Officer
Premeditated Killing
- Victim must be a human (dead human)
- Defendant must have acted with intent or knowledge that his conduct would cause death
Felony Murder
Any killing (even accidental) committed during the course of a felony
Defenses to Felony Murder
- Defense to the underlying felony
- The felony they are committing must be a felony other than the killing
- the deaths must be foreseeable
- Deaths that occur after the defendant reaches a point of temporary safety
- On the MBE, defendant is not liable for the death of a Co-felon as a result of resistance by police or victims.
Homicide of a Police Officer
- Defendant must know the victim is a police officer
- the victim must be acting in the line of duty
Second Degree Murder
- depraved heart killing
- murders that are not classified as first degree murders