Criminal Law Flashcards
False Pretenses
A defendant is guilty of false pretenses if he/she:
obtained title to (i.e., ownership of) another’s property (e.g., cash)
by knowingly misrepresenting a past or present material fact upon which the victim relied and
did so with the specific intent to defraud.
To prove reliance, the prosecution must establish that the defendant’s misrepresentation was a significant factor in—or the cause of—the victim’s decision to pass title to the property to the defendant.
Larceny - Unharvested Crops
Larceny is the (i) trespassory (ii) taking and carrying away (iii) of the personal property of another (iv) with the intent to permanently deprive that person of the property. The taking of real-property items (e.g., unharvested crops) is not larceny when the defendant’s act of severance occurs immediately before the carrying away of the real-property items. The act of harvesting fruit constitutes the severance of real, rather than personal property.
Imperfect Self Defense
Imperfect self-defense occurs when the person claiming self-defense unjustifiably kills her attacker, such as when she honestly but unreasonably believes self-defense is required. The rule reduces the charge from murder to voluntary manslaughter.
Wharton Rule
Under the common law, conspiracy is (i) an agreement (ii) between two or more persons (iii) to accomplish an unlawful purpose (iv) with the intent to accomplish that purpose. Under the majority rule, one of the co-conspirators must also commit an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. However, under the Wharton Rule, if a crime requires two or more participants, there is no conspiracy unless more parties than are necessary to complete the crime agree to commit the crime.
