Criminal Law Flashcards
What is the requisite mens rea for murder?
The requisite mens rea for murder is malice aforethought. Malice aforethought includes: intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily injury, reckless indifference to a known and unjustifiably high risk to human life (depraved heart), or intent to commit BARRK felonies.
What distinguishes first-degree murder from other types of murder?
Premeditation distinguishes first-degree murder from other types of murder and means the defendant reflected on the killing (even briefly) or planned the killing.
In addition to the requisite mens rea, what else must the prosecution prove for murder?
(Hint: Long card, explain the elements as well)
To prove murder, the prosecution must also show that the defendant was both the actual and proximate cause of the victim’s death.
Actual cause means the victim would not have died but for the defendant’s act.
Proximate cause exists only when the defendant is deemed legally responsible for the crime. This means the victim’s death must be foreseeable – the natural and probable result of defendant’s conduct. An intervening cause will not relieve responsibility unless it was so out of the ordinary it would be unjust to hold D responsible. An act that accelerates impending death is a legal cause of the death.
Example: Finding sufficient causation when hunter, who recklessly shot friend (actual), was in a car accident while driving friend to the hospital (proximate, foreseeable).
What is the test for whether a defendant is competent to stand trial?
The test for whether D is competent to stand trial is the same test for determining whether D is competent to plead guilty:
whether D comprehends the nature of the proceedings against him and has the ability to consult with a lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.
What is the M’Naghten test for NGRI?
Under the M’Naghten test, D is not guilty if, because of mental defect or disease, D did not know either (i) the nature and quality of the act, or (ii) the wrongfulness of the act.
(However, loss of control because of a mental illness is not a defense under this test.)
