Criminal Law

Question 1

MENTAL STATE REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MODEL PENAL CODE

Answer 1

The model penal code adopts the following four categories of intent:

Purposely. A defendant acts “purposely” when his conscious objective is to engage in the conduct or to cause a certain result.
Knowingly or Willfully. A defendant acts “knowingly or willingly” when the defendant is aware that his conduct is of the nature required by the crime or that circumstances required by the crime exist.
Recklessly. A defendant acts “recklessly” when the defendant acts with a conscious disregard of substantial and unjustifiable risk that a material element of a crime exists or will result from his conduct.
Negligently. A defendant acts “negligently” when the defendant fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a material element of a crime exists or will result from his conduct.

Question 2

Larceny

Answer 2

• A taking;
• And carrying away;
• Of the personal property of another; [The property must be taken from the custody or possession of
• another. If the defendant had possession of the property at the time of the taking, the crime is not larceny (may be embezzlement)]
• By trespass (without consent);
• With intent to permanently deprive.

Question 3

Embezzlement

Answer 3

Embezzlement consists of:

1. The fraudulent conversion; [The defendant MUST intend to defraud (e.g., if the defendant intends to restore the exact property taken, it is NOT embezzlement)]
2. Of the personal property of another;
3. By a person in lawful possession of that property.

Custody of the property is insufficient – the defendant must be in lawful possession of the property when the conversion occurs for it to constitute embezzlement. Possession involves a greater scope of authority to deal with property than does custody (e.g., low level employees usually only have custody of their employer’s property – thus, they commit larceny if they take it)

Question 4

Common Law Murder

Answer 4

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 AND it was committed with one of the following states of mind:

• Intent to kill;
• Intent to inflict great bodily injury;
• Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (“depraved heart murder”); OR
• Intent to commit a felony (felony murder rule).

Question 5

Voluntary Manslaughter

Answer 5

Voluntary manslaughter is a killing that would be murder BUT FOR the existence of adequate provocation. Provocation is adequate only if:

It was a provocation that would arouse sudden and intense passion in the mind of an ordinary person, causing him to lose self-control; AND
There was not sufficient time between the provocation and the killing for passions of a reasonable person to cool off.

Question 6

Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 6

Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing committed:

1. With criminal negligence; OR
2. During an unlawful act (In the commission of a misdemeanor or in the commission of a felony that is not statutorily treated as 1st or 2nd degree murder.