Criminal Law Flashcards
What are the mens rea under the MPC?
Purposely: A person acts purposely when their conscious object is to engage in certain conduct or cause a certain result.
Knowingly: A person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of their conduct when they are aware that their conduct is of a particular nature or that certain circumstances exist.
Recklessly: A person acts recklessly when they consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a prohibited result will follow, and this disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in that situation.
Negligently: A person acts negligently when they fail to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a prohibited result will follow, where such failure is a substantial deviation from the standard of care.
What is the standard for malice?
A reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur. Malice applies to common law murder and arson.
What are the rules for accomplice liability?
Common Law
Principals in the First Degree: persons who actually engaged in the act or omission that constitutes the offense or who caused an innocent agent to do so.
Principals in the Second Degree: persons who aided, advised, or encouraged the principal and were present at the crime.
Accessories Before the Fact: persons who assisted or encouraged but were not present.
Accessories After the Fact: persons who, with knowledge that the other committed a felony, assisted them to escape arrest or punishment.
Modern Statutes
Principal: one who, with the requisite mental state, actually engages in the act or omission that causes the criminal result.
Accomplice: one who aids, advises, or encourages the principal in the commission of the crime charged.
Mens Rea: In order to be convicted of a substantive crime as an accomplice, the defendant must have (1) the intent to assist the principal in the commission of a crime; and (2) the intent that the principal commit the substantive offense. Where the substantive offense involves recklessness or negligence, the mens rea is met if the defendant must (1) intended to facilitate the commission of a crime and (2) acted with recklessness or negligence.
Defenses: Withdrawal.
What are the rules for conspiracy?
A conspiracy requires (1) an agreement between two or more persons; (2) an intent to enter into the agreement; and (3) an intent by at least two persons to achieve the objective of the agreement. A majority of states also require an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
Unilateral Approach (Modern Trend): A conspiracy requires at least two “guilty minds,” that is, persons who are actually committed to the illicit plan.
Bilateral Approach (Common Law): If one person in a two-party agreement is only feigning agreement, the other party cannot be convicted of conspiracy.
Conspirators can be liable for crimes of co-conspirators if the rimes (1) were committed in furtherance of the objectives of the conspiracy and (2) were foreseeable.
Defenses: Withdrawal is only a defense to crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy.
What are the rules for solicitation?
Solicitation consists of asking, inciting, counseling, advising, urging, or commanding another to commit a crime, with the intent that the person solicited commit the crime.
Defenses: Under the MPC, renunciation is a defense if the defendant prevents the commission of the crime. However, renunciation or withdrawal is generally not a defense.
Merger: Solicitation can merge with attempt and conspiracy.
What are the rules for attempt?
Attempt is an act, done with intent to commit a crime, that falls short of completing the crime. Attempt requires (1) specific intent plus (2) an overt act in furtherance of the crime.
Proximity Test (Common Law): The act is dangerously close to successful completion of the crime.
Substantial Step (Modern Trend): The act or omission is a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in the commission of the crime that strongly corroborates the actor’s criminal purpose.
Defenses: Abandonment (MPC Only) and legal impossibility
What are the elements for common law murder?
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Malice aforethought exists if there are no facts reducing the killing to voluntary manslaughter or excusing it (that is, giving rise to a defense) and it was committed with one of the following states of mind: (1) intent to kill, (2) intent to inflict great bodily injury, (3) reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life, (4) intent to commit a felony.
How are murder and manslaughter categorized under modern statutes?
First Degree Murder: If the defendant made the decision to kill in a cool and dispassionate manner and actually reflected on the idea of killing, even if only for a very brief period, it is first degree murder.
Second Degree Murder: Second degree murder is usually classified as a depraved heart killing (a killing done with a reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life) or any murder that is not classified as a first degree murder.
Felony Murder: Any death—even an accidental death—caused in the commission of, or in an attempt to commit, a felony is murder. This includes burglary, arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping. The felony must be distinct from the killing, the death must have been a foreseeable result of the felony, and the death must have been caused before the defendant’s immediate flight. Under the proximate cause theory, felons are liable for the deaths of innocent victims caused by someone other than a co-felon. Under the agency theory, the felons are liable for the deaths of innocent victims caused by co-felons.
Voluntary Manslaughter: Voluntary manslaughter is a killing that would be murder but for the existence of adequate provocation. Provocation is adequate only if: (1) It was a provocation that would arouse sudden and intense passion in the mind of an ordinary person causing them to lose self-control, (2) the defendant was in fact provoked, (3) there was not sufficient time between provocation and the killing for passions of a reasonable person to cool, (4) the defendant did in fact not cool off between the provocation and the killing.
Involuntary Manslaughter: A killing is involuntary manslaughter if it was committed with criminal negligence (or recklessness under the MPC) or during the commission of an unlawful act like a misdemeanor or felony not included in the felony murder rule.
What are the elements of battery and aggravated battery?
Battery is the unlawful application of force to another resulting in either bodily injury or an offensive touching.
Aggravated battery includes (1) battery with a deadly weapon, (2) battery resulting in serious bodily harm, and (3) battery of a child, woman, or police officer.
What are the elements for assault and aggravated assault?
Assault is (1) an attempt to commit a battery or (2) the intentional creation, other than by mere words, of a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the victim of imminent bodily harm.
Aggravated assault includes (1) the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or (2) with the intent to rape, maim, or murder.
What are the elements of false imprisonment?
False imprisonment is the unlawful confinement of a person without the person’s valid consent.
What are the elements of kidnapping?
Kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person that involves either (1) some movement of the victim, OR (2) concealment of the victim in a “secret” place.
What are the elements of larceny?
Larceny is the (1) taking and (2) carrying away (3) of tangible personal property (4) of another with possession (5) by trespass (6) with the intent to permanently deprive that person of their interest in the property.
What are the elements of embezzlement?
Embezzlement is the (1) fraudulent (2) conversion (3) of personal property (4) of another (5) by a lawful possession of that property
What are the elements of false pretenses?
False pretenses is (1) obtaining title (2) to personal property of another (3) by an intentional false statement of a past or existing fact (4) with the intent to defraud the other.
