Criminal Law Flashcards
Actus Reus
A voluntary act (or omission when there is a legal duty to act) that results in some kind of special harm
Mens Rea
Culpable mental state required for conviction
Voluntary Act
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
Failure to act
D fails to act AND D had a legal duty to act AND failure to act caused social harm/crime
Conditions that trigger duty to act
Special relationships (spouses or parent/child), assumption of care, contract, statutory duty (mandated reporting), creation of risk
Actual Knowledge
Saw what happened
Constructive knowledge
Reasonably should have known
Willful blindness
D subjectively believed there was a high probability that a fact existed AND Took deliberate actions to avoid learning that fact
Reckless
A conscious disregard of substantial and unjustifiable risk
Strict Liability
No mens rea
MPC mens rea
Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, negligently
General Intent Crime
Requires the intent to do the act that is prohibited
Specific intent crime
Requires the intent to cause. specific result or harm, or to do an additional act on top of the prohibited act
Burglary Common Law
Breaking and entering in the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony therein
Burglary Modern
Breaking (1/2 the states require) and entering of a building/structure of another with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein
Robbery
Felonious taking, carrying away, by force or threat of force, taken from the victims person or in immediate presence of the victim
Larceny
Wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner/possessor of the property
Embezzlement
Intentional conversion to the property of another by someone who is already in lawful possession of it
Petty theft
Felonious steal, take, carry, lead, or drive away the personal property of another
Larceny by Continuing Trespass
Larceny and When the moment the perp decides to keep/permanently deprive occurs after/not during the taking of the property
Conversion
an act that seriously interferes with the owner’s ability to use the property
Larceny by trick
larceny (with not force) and where the taking occurs by only by deceit
False Pretenses
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
Custody
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