Criminal Law

Question 1

Actus Reus

Answer 1

A voluntary act (or omission when there is a legal duty to act) that results in some kind of special harm

Question 2

Mens Rea

Answer 2

Culpable mental state required for conviction

Question 3

Voluntary Act

Answer 3

D commits a voluntary act AND D had physical control over that act OR a voluntary act with knowledge of the risk of the involuntary act

Question 4

Failure to act

Answer 4

D fails to act AND D had a legal duty to act AND failure to act caused social harm/crime

Question 5

Conditions that trigger duty to act

Answer 5

Special relationships (spouses or parent/child), assumption of care, contract, statutory duty (mandated reporting), creation of risk

Question 6

Actual Knowledge

Answer 6

Saw what happened

Question 7

Constructive knowledge

Answer 7

Reasonably should have known

Question 8

Willful blindness

Answer 8

D subjectively believed there was a high probability that a fact existed AND Took deliberate actions to avoid learning that fact

Question 9

Reckless

Answer 9

A conscious disregard of substantial and unjustifiable risk

Question 10

Strict Liability

Answer 10

No mens rea

Question 11

MPC mens rea

Answer 11

Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, negligently

Question 12

General Intent Crime

Answer 12

Requires the intent to do the act that is prohibited

Question 13

Specific intent crime

Answer 13

Requires the intent to cause. specific result or harm, or to do an additional act on top of the prohibited act

Question 14

Burglary Common Law

Answer 14

Breaking and entering in the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony therein

Question 15

Burglary Modern

Answer 15

Breaking (1/2 the states require) and entering of a building/structure of another with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein

Question 16

Robbery

Answer 16

Felonious taking, carrying away, by force or threat of force, taken from the victims person or in immediate presence of the victim

Question 17

Larceny

Answer 17

Wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner/possessor of the property

Question 18

Embezzlement

Answer 18

Intentional conversion to the property of another by someone who is already in lawful possession of it

Question 19

Petty theft

Answer 19

Felonious steal, take, carry, lead, or drive away the personal property of another

Question 20

Larceny by Continuing Trespass

Answer 20

Larceny and When the moment the perp decides to keep/permanently deprive occurs after/not during the taking of the property

Question 21

Conversion

Answer 21

an act that seriously interferes with the owner’s ability to use the property

Question 22

Larceny by trick

Answer 22

larceny (with not force) and where the taking occurs by only by deceit

Question 23

False Pretenses

Answer 23

False statement of fact that causes the victim to pass title to D. D must know statement is false AND D must have intended to defraud victim

Question 24

Custody

Answer 24

Has limited control over property for temporary period of time or has actual physical control of the property but the person who has constructive possession has substantially restricted their right to use the property

Question 25

Possession

Answer 25

Has actual physical control over the property or has the right to exercise considerable control over the disposition or use of the property

Question 26

Factual cause

Answer 26

But for test that assesses whether harm would have occurred when it did

Question 27

Legal cause (Proximate cause)

Answer 27

The harm was a direct and natural result of D’s actions, D was a substantial cause of the harm

Question 28

Dependent Intervening Acts

Answer 28

D is proximate cause unless the act is extremely bizarre

Question 29

Independent Intervening Act

Answer 29

D is not proximate cause unless act or harm foreseeable

Question 30

Causal chain is broken

Answer 30

Apparent safety or voluntary human intervention

Question 31

Proximate cause factors to consider

Answer 31

Foreseeability, Apparent Safety Doctrine, voluntary human intervention, substantial role or minor contribution