Criminal Law Flashcards

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1
Q

When Does a state aquire jurisdiction over a crime?

A

Conduct or result happend in that state.

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2
Q

What is the general rule on merger of crimes?

A

No merger of crimes. BUT solicitation and attempt do merge into the substantive offense. Thus, if you have completed a crime, you cannot be convicted of attempting to commit that crime.

NOTE - conspiracy does not merge.

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3
Q

What are the elements of crimes generally?

Can an omission be an act?

A

Act (actus reus) - any bodily movement which must be voluntary.

Mental state (mens rea)

Concurrence - pyhsical act and mental act existed at the same time

Harmful result and causation - a harmful result caused by the D’s act.

Yes. Although there is no duty to rescue, a legal duty to act can arise in (a) by statute (b) by k (c) relationship between parties _(4)*** voluntarily assume duty of care than fail to adequately perform (5) creation of peril._

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4
Q

What are the four common law mental states?

What are the model penal code mental states?

A
  1. Specific intent
    1. Students can always fake a laugh even for ridiculous bar facts.
    2. Qualify for additional defenses not available for other crimes: voluntary intoxication and unreasonable mistake of fact.
  2. Malice - Murder and arson - requires reckless indifference.
  3. General intent - General awareness that she is acting in a manner that would be prohibited law.
  4. Strict liability - No intent required - TIP - if you see regulatory, administrative or moratility areas and you dont see any adverbs in the statutues such as knowinguly, willfully, or intentionally, then it is no intent.

REMEMBER - INTENT CAN BE TRANSFERRED - Look for first degree murder and attempted murder hypos.

(1) Purposely - Conscience objective (2) knowingly - Aware that conduct will likely cause result (3) recklessly - conscience disregard subsantial and unjustifiable risk 4) negligently - fails to be aware of unjustifiable and substnaital risk.

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5
Q

What is concurrence and caustation?

A

Concourrence - necessary intent must have existed at the time act was commited.

Causation - When a crime requires conduct AND a specified result, conduct must be both cause in fact and proximate cause of specified result.

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6
Q

Accomplice liablity - parties to a crime under common law are?

Parties under modern statutes? ***

A

Principals in the first - engaged in the act

Principals in the second - aid, advice, encourage or are present

Accessories before the fact - aid, advice, or encourage but are not present

Accessories after the fact - assist after the crime

Principal : one, who, with the requisite mental state, actually engages in the act or omission

Accopmlice - aids, advices, or enoucrges the principal in comission. - ACTIVE PARTICPATION.

Accesosry after the fact - recieves, comforts, or assists another knowing that he has commited a felony.

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7
Q

What is the mental state required for accomplice liability?

Scope of liability?

How can an accomplice withdraw?

A

(1) intent to assist (2) intent that princiapl actually commits the crime.

Responsible for crimes she commited or aided/advised/encourged and for any other crimes in the course of commiting the crimes contemplated if they were probable and foreseeable.

encouraged - repudiate

Aided - neutrilize, such as retrieving materials given

or contact the police.

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8
Q

What is required to prove a conspiracy? what are the two approaches?

Is factual impossiblity a defense?

Can you withdraw?

A

Conspiracy - (1) agreement, (2) intent to agree (3) intent to pursue an unlawful objective. - REMEMBER, no merger here. Agreement need not be expressed, and can be inferred from conduct.

Two approaches to conspiracy - bilateral - if one party is feigning agreement, other person cannot be guilty of conspiracy.

Unilateral under MPC - only one person must have genuine criminal intent.

Overt act requirment - there must be, in addition to agreement, an overt act that furthers conspiracy. - any little fact, like preperation, will work.

Minority rule - the agreement, standing alone, is enough. - this is the common law rule.

No.

No - even if adequate, you cant protect yourself from liability for conspiracy itself, but can for subsequent crimes through affirmitive and voluntary act that notifies other members you are withdrawing.

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9
Q

What is solicitation?

Is factual impossibliity a defense?

A

asking someone to commit a crime. - NOTE: it is not necessary that the other party agrees to commiting the crime because if they agree, it becomes conspiracy.

No.

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10
Q

What are the elements of ATTEMPT?

Is abandonment a defense to attempt?

Is impossibliity a defense?

A

(1) specific intent and (2) overt act in furtherance of the crime. Overt act must be a substantial step in furtherance, more than mere preperation.

Once you have taken the substantial step, abandonment is never a denfense under the common law. However, under MPC, it is a defense if it is fully voluntary and a complete renunciation of criminal purpose.

Legal - yes. Factual - no.

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11
Q

What is common law murder?

Types of first degree murder?

A

Unlawful killiing, of another, with malice aforethought. Such a mindstate exists if (1) intent to kill (2) intent to commit a felony (3) intent to commit great bodily harm or (4) reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life.

  1. Premeditated killing
    1. intent or knowledge his conduct would cause death.
  2. Felony murder
  3. Homicide of a police officer if
    1. D knew he was law enforcement
    2. Victim acting in the line of duty.
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12
Q

Second degree murder

A

A killing dones with reckless indifference to unjustifiably high risk to human life or murders that are not classified as first degree.

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13
Q

Felony murder is what degree?

What is the rule?

What are the defenses?

A

First.

Any murder, even accidential, commited during the course of a felony. - Burglery, arson, roberry, rape, kidnap.

(1) if D has a defense to the underlying felony, then she has a defense to felony murder.
(2) the felony they are commiting must be a felony other than the killing
(3) Deaths must be foreseeable
(4) deaths caused during fleeing are felony murders. But once you reach temorary place of safety, they are no longer FM.
(5) at common law, D is not liable for death of a co- felon as a result of resistance by the victim or the police.

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14
Q

Voluntary manslaugher?

What is the imperfect self defense doctrine?

A

(1) Heat of passion resulting from adeuqate provocation by V
(2) provocation must be one that would arouse sudden and intense passion in the mind of ordinary person
(3) no suffiicnet time for a reasonable person to cool
(4) D in fact, did not cool.
(a) honest (b) but unreasonable belief that life is in imminent danger will reduce murder to manslaighter - only some states recognize.

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15
Q

Involuntary manslaugher

A

(1) killing of criminal negligence or
(2) misdemenor manslaughter.

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16
Q

What is the causation requirement for all murders?

A

Cause in fact - D’s conduct must be in fact of the victim’s death.

Proximate - Natural and probable consequsne of his conduct.

17
Q

Elements of battery

Elements of assualt

Elements of aggrivated assault

False imprisonent

Kidnapping

Rape/stautory rape

A
  1. Battery
    1. Unlawful application of force to the person resulting in either bodily injury or offensive touching.
      1. Need not be intentional - application of force with criminial negligence is enough.
      2. Force need not be applied directly
      3. General intent.
  2. Assualt
    1. Attempt to commit battery or
    2. Intentional creation of a reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm. - must be more than mere words.
  3. Aggrivated assault
    1. Assualt +
      1. Use of dangerous weopen
      2. with intent to rape, maim, murder.
  4. FI
    1. Unlawful confinment without valid consent
      1. if alternative route is available and known, confinement prong not met.
      2. Consent precludes liability for FI
  5. Kidnapping - confinement of a person, some movement, concealment in a secret place.
  6. Rape - slightest penetration completes the crime
  7. Statutry rape - consent is no defense and mistake of fact is no defense.
18
Q

Larceny rule

Embezzlement rule

False pretenses

Robbery

A

Wrongful taking, carrying away, by trespass, with intent to permanently deprive.

Slighest movement is enough

intent to permanently deprive must exist at time of taking. BUT if a person takes property not intenting to steal it, but later decides to keep, she can be guilty of larceny under theory of continuing trespass.

Frauldent conversion of property of another

(1) always starts with lawful posession

D persuades owner of property to convey title by false pretense

MBE NOTES : (1) conveyance that is the center of false pretense

(2) False representatino could be present or past fact
(3) A false promise to do something in the future cannot ground liability for FP.

NOTE - if possession is obtained, larceny by trick. You need posession of title for FP.

(2) trustee is often MBE embezzler
(3) no carrying away requirment
(4) embezzler doesnt have to get the benefit.

19
Q

Robbery rule

Extortion rule

Forgery

Burglary

Arson

A

Taking of personal property of another, from their presence, by force or threat with intent to perm deprive.

MBE notes - presence requirement is broad.

For force or threat of force - ripping necklce from neck would be enough

Threat must be imminent harm.

Knowingly seeking to obtain property or services by means of future threat.

Making or altering of a false writing with intent to defraud - apparent legal significance.

Breaking and entering of a dewlling of another, at night, with intent to commit felony therein.

Breaking - actual or constructive

Actual - if you walk into wide open door, no breaking. However, if you walk into open door, but then walk into bedroom, then it is burglary.

Contructive - fraud or threat.

Entering - any part of body crosses into house

Dwelling - cannot be barn or commercial structure

Intent to commit felony therin - intent to commit felony must exist at time of breaking and entering.

Malcious burning of the dwelling of another

No specific intent, you just need reckless disregard.

Only applies to burning - not smoke damage.

20
Q

What are the four trigger pharases for the insanity defenses?

A

(1) lacked the ability to know the wrongfulness of his actions - M’Naughten
(2) Lacked the capacity for self control - irrisistable impluse
(3) product of mental illness - Durham rule
(4) lacked ability to conform his conduct to requirements of law - MPC

21
Q

When is voluntary intoxication a defense?

When is involuntary intoxication a defense?

A

only specific intent crimes.

For all crimes as it is a form of insanity. - someone slips some shit in your drink, or you are forced to get fucked up under duress.

22
Q

Self defense rule

Non - deadly self defense

Deadly

Orginial agressor and self defense

Defense of others

A

V may use non deadly self defense any time the victim reasonaly believes that force is about to be used on him.

Majority - may use if victim reasonably believes deadly force is about to be used on him.

Minority - required to retreat if safe to do so. three exceptions (1) no duty to retreat from home (2) no duty to retreat if you are victim of robbery or rape (3) police.

To get back self defense , orginial agressor must (1) withdraw (2) and communicate that withdrawl. NOTE - if V escalates minor to major fight, and orginial doesnt have chance to wirthdraw, they can use deadly force.

A D can raise defense of others if he reasonably believes that the person he is helping would have had the right to use the force on his own.

Majority - need not be special relatinoship.

23
Q

Duress is defense if:

Necessity:

Defense of a dwelling -

A

Person acts under the threat of imminent inflictino of death or great bodily harm and (2) belief is reasonable. - defense to all crimes but murder.

Criminal conduct is justifiable if, as a result of pressure from natural forces, D reasonably believes his conduct would be necessary to avoid a great societal harm.

Deadly force may never be used soley to defend your property.

24
Q

Mistake of fact rule

Mistake of law?

When is entrapement a valid defense?

A

Mistake of fact is a defense only when the mistake negates info. Mistake has to be reasonable to be a a defense to malice or general intent crimes.

ANY MISTAKE, no matter how ridiculous, is a defense to a specific intent crime.

MISTAKE OF FACT IS NEVER A DEFENSE TO STRICT LIABILITY.

No excuse.

(1) criminal design orginiated with law enforcement officers and (2) D must have not have been predisposed to commit the crime.

25
Q

What are the general intent crimes?

A

Battery

Rape

Kidnapping

False imprisonment