Criminal/Criminal Procedure

Question 1

R decided to kill M for revenge. R drank heavily to build up his courage beforehand. R then went to shoot M, but missed because he was too intoxicated. Can R use voluntary intoxication as a defense to attempted murder?

Answer 1

No. Voluntary intoxication is a defense to specific intent crimes, but one who formed an intent to commit a crime and then drank to work up his nerve cannot rely on the defense of intoxication. This is true even if he is too intoxicated to form the intent at the time he committed the act.

Question 2

Duress is a defense to all crimes except…

Answer 2

intentional homicide.

Question 3

What grounds are needed for a school official to search a students belongings and what factors are looked at?

Answer 3

Reasonable grounds.
(1) moderate chance of finding evidence of wrongdoing,
(2) the way the search was carried out was reasonably related to the objectives of the search, and
(3) the search is not excessively intrusive in light of age, sex, and nature of wrongdoing.

Question 4

True of False: using a non-testifying co-D’s inculpatory statement/confession against the accused at trial does not violate the accused’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation.

Answer 4

False!
Using a non-testifying co-D’s inculpatory statement/confession against the accused at trial DOES violate the accused’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. In co-D confession cases, the Confrontation Clause requires that an original D be given the opportunity to cross-examine a co-D whose confession is being used against the original D.

Question 5

In strict liability crimes involving corporations, who bears responsibility?

Answer 5

The corporate officers, such as managers and CEOs, can be held criminally liable for their corporate actions in strict liability crimes.

Question 6

What is “use and derivative use” immunity?

Answer 6

It is immunity that guarantees that the testimony obtained and evidence located by means of the testimony will not be used against the witness.

Question 7

What is “transactional” immunity?

Answer 7

It guarantees immunity from prosecution for any crimes related to the testimony of the witness. This is broader immunity than “use and derivative use” immunity.

Question 8

When does an improper out-of-court identification require suppression of in-court identification testimony?

Answer 8

When the out-of-court identification is unduly suggestive, producing a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification and the P fails to prove that the in-court identification is reliable.

Question 9

What are the elements of common law forgery?

Answer 9

(1) creating or altering (drafting, adding, or deleting),
(2) a document with purported legal significance (ex: contract, check),
(3) to be false (change in legal significance), and
(4) with the intent to defraud (specific intent).

Question 10

When can a parent provide consent for the search of an adult child’s room?

Answer 10

When the parent has general access to the room occupied by the adult child, the parent may give valid consent to a general search of the room.

Question 11

A state statute permits officers executing a search warrant to search persons on the premises if the officers reasonably expect danger to themselves or a risk of disposal or concealment of anything described in the warrant.

If a restaurant customer is searched, drugs are found, and he is arrested. Will the customer be successful on a Fourth Amendment challenge?

Answer 11

Yes, because his presence in the place to be searched by the police does not negate the requirement of probable cause. If a search is unconstitutional, it does not matter that it as authorized by statute. To the extent that the statute authorizes a search in violation of the Fourth Amendment, it is unconstitutional.

Question 12

Can the police execute an arrest warrant in a third-party’s home (where the person being arrested does not live) without a search warrant for the third-party’s home?

Answer 12

No. The police executing an arrest warrant may not search for the subject of the warrant in the home of a third party without first obtaining a separate search warrant for the home. If they do, the arrest will be valid but evidence of any crime found in the home cannot be used against the owner of the because it is the fruit of an unconstitutional search.

Question 13

What are the specific intent crimes?

Students Can Always Fake A Laugh, Even for Ridiculous Bar Facts

Answer 13

Solicitation
Conspiracy
Attempt
First degree premeditated murder
Assault
Larceny
Embezzlement
False Pretenses
Robbery
Burglary
Forgery

Question 14

What are the 2 malice crimes and how is malice defined?

Answer 14

The two malice crimes are common law murder and arson. Malice for these crimes requires a reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur.

Question 15

What are the 2 additional defenses that specific intent crimes have that other crimes do not?

Answer 15

(1) voluntary intoxication, and
(2) unreasonable mistake of fact.

Question 16

What is a misprision of a felony?

Answer 16

Common law: when a person knows about a felony but fails to inform the authorities about it.

Modern law: this is no longer a crime, or if it is, it requires some affirmative action in aid of the felon.

Question 17

When will a guilty plea be considered a valid waiver?

Answer 17

The judge must determine on the record that the guilty plea represents a voluntary and intelligent choice among the alternative courses of action open to the defendant. To ensure that this is the case, the judge should make sure that the defendant is informed of the nature of the charge to which the plea is offered, of the maximum possible penalty, that she has a right not to plead guilty, and that by pleading guilty she waives her right to a trial. If one of these are not met, the plea will not be a sufficiently intelligent choice to satisfy the constitutional standard.

Question 18

Does a D have the right to testify and stipulate to facts at a suppression hearing without the testimony or stipulation being admitted against her at trial on the issue of guilt?

Answer 18

Yes. This rule allows a D to assert a possessory or ownership interest in illegally seized evidence just for purposes of invoking the exclusionary rule. If D fails to have the evidence excluded, she may still deny possession of ownership at trial.