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Criminal Law Flashcards

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1
Q

Elements of Criminal Offense

A

1) Mens Rea - guilty mind
2) actus reus - bad or unlawful act
3) Causation

Strict Liability Crimes lacks no mens rea

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2
Q

Actus Reus

A

Criminal Act - must be voluntary, affirmative act that cause criminally proscribed result

Can be met by “omission” (failure to act under legal duty to act

1) Voluntary: must be physical and voluntary (NOT unconsciousness, sleep, or hypnosis)

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3
Q

Epileptic Scenario

A

AN epileptic can be held criminally liable for a crash caused by a seizure while driving when:
1) knows of the possibility of seizure AND
2) last act was voluntary

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4
Q
A
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5
Q

Legal Duty to Act (When Omissions create criminal Liability)

A

1) imposed by statute (obligation file tax return)
2) Contract (lifeguard contract)
3) Special Relationship (parent to child)
4) Detrimental undertaking (leaving victim in worse condition after treatment
5) Causation (failure to aid after causing peril)

Absent above - generally a mere bystander has no duty to act

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6
Q

Mens Rea

A

guilty mind or legally proscribed mental state defendant must commit a crime (absent in strict liability)

Requires a defendant possess a subjective desire, specific objective, or knowledge to accomplish a prohibited result

Prosecutor must prove the specific intent and certain defenses are applicable only to specific intent crimes

Crimes include:
1) First-degree murder
2) inchoate offenses (attempt, solicitation, conspiracy)
3) Assault with intent to commit a battery
4) Theft offenses

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7
Q

Malice Crimes

A

Crimes of common-law murder and arson

Requires a reckless disregard of high risk of harm;

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8
Q

General Intent Crimes

A

Requires only intent to perform an act that is unlawful; can be subject to transferred intent if wrong victim

Includes false imprisonment and rape

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9
Q

Model Penal Code Crimes

A

Crimes defined by statutes - expressly identifies the types of mens rea

1) Purposely - conscious objective to engage in the conduct or to cause a certain results
2) Knowingly or willfully 0 aware that the conduct is of the nature required by the crime or the circumstances required by the crime exists (result is practically certain to occur)
3) Recklessly - act with a conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk
4) Negligently: when D should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk
5) Unspecified in statute - established that defendant acted at least recklessly

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10
Q

Material Element

A

Each element of a crime subject to proof by required mental state; includes:
1) harm or evil sought to be prvented by the law OR
2) existence of justification or excuse for the actor’s conduct

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11
Q

Strict-Liability Crimes

A

Does not require mens rea - includes statutory rape, bigamy, regulation of food, drugs, and firearms, and selling liquor to minors

1) Public Welfare Offense - strict-liability crime; conduct subject to public regulation that can seriously threaten public’s health or safety or is inherently dangerous

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12
Q

Transferred Intent

A

Intent to harm intended victim can transfer to unintended victim

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13
Q

Principal

A

Perpetrator who commits the required act or omission; can be more than one

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14
Q

Accomplice Liability

A

Rule: acts with the requisite mens rea to aid the principal before or during the commission of a crime

Liability is planned and other foreseeable crimes; principal does not have to be convicted

Can withdraw if by declaring to all involved in the conspiracy or after crime has commenced if inform the legal authorities

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15
Q

Accessory After the Fact

A

Rule: acts with intent to assist the principal to avoid apprehension after a felony is completed

Liability is for a seperate crime but not the principal’s crime

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16
Q

Merger

A

solicitation or attempt to merge into the target crime if it is completed; one cannot be convicted of both solicitation or attempt and the completed crime

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17
Q

Solicitation

A

Rule: to invite or urge another to commit a crime with intent the party do so

No return agreement is required, but if it happens, they both might be guilty of conspiracy

Defense: neither the refusal of the solicited nor factual impossibility is a defense

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18
Q

Attempt

A

Rule: specific intent to commit a crime + a substantial step beyond mere preparation

Defense: legal impossibility as well as defenses to formation of specific intent

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19
Q

First Degree Murder

A

specific intent; murder that is deliberate and premediated or Felony Murder Rule

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20
Q

Conspiracy

A

Rule:
1) agreement (express or implied) between two or more persons (modern trend)
2) intent to achieve unlawful purpose AND
3) overt act in furtherance (Majority)

Defense: withdrawal before the overt act; if after, can avoid liability for crime not conspiracy

Liability: all foreseeable crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy; if the crimes was committed by unknown co-conspirators, liability will depend upon whether it was a chain or hub spoke relationship

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21
Q

Four types of Malice

A

1_ Intent to kill
2) intent to do serious bodily harm
3) reckless indifference to human life (depraved heart)
4) intent to commit a BARRK felony

22
Q

Felony Murder Rule

A

unintended but foreseeable death caused by and occurring during the course of a dangerous or enumerated felony (burglary, arson, rape, robbery or kidnapping)

Defenses include:
1) Defense to underlying felony
2) Felony not independent of the killing
3) death not a foreseeable result
4) death occurred after the felony was complete and D reached a point of safety

ECEPTION: death of a co-felon caused by resistance by the victim or police is not FMR

23
Q

Common-Law Murder

A

Murder with malice; aka 2nd degree

death occurring during a felony other than an enumerated one, can be classified here

24
Q

Manslaughter

A

Two types; unlawful but intentional killing

Voluntary: murder committed in response to adequate provocation (Heat of passion)

Provocation must cause fatal act; imperfect self defense qualifies

Involuntray: unintentional killing caused by criminal negligence or during an unlawful act

25
Q

Battery

A

unlawful application of force to another that causes harmful or offensive touching

26
Q

Assault

A

attempted battery or intentionally placing one in apprehension of imminent bodily harm

27
Q

False Imprisonment

A

Unlawful confinement of another without consent by force or threat

28
Q

Kidnapping

A

unlawful confinement without consent by force/threat + moving or hiding victim

29
Q

Larceny

A

trespassory taking nad carrying away of personal property of another with the intent to permanetly deprive

30
Q

Robbery

A

larceny from another person or presence by force or intimedation

31
Q

Burglary

A

breaking and entering the dwelling of another at night with intent to commit a felony; modern rule expands entering or remaining in a structure with intent to commit theft

Modern trend does not limit at night and includes commercial buildings

32
Q

False Pretenses

A

obtaining title to property of another by fraud or deception

33
Q

Larceny by Trick

A

larceny by fraud or deception resulting in the conversion of another’s property

34
Q

Forgery

A

making of false writing with apparent legal significance and with intent to defraud

35
Q

Arson

A

malicious burning of the dwelling (now structure) of another

36
Q

Perjury

A

after promise to tell the truth, willfully makes false statement of a material matter

37
Q

State of Mind Defenses

A

1) Mistake of fact: honest and reasonable mistake negates specific intent, general intent or malice crime: if unreasonable. negate only specific intent crime

2) Mistake of law: generally not a defense unless mistake about an element that negates intent, reliance on government interpretation that later changes

38
Q

Insanity

A

four available tests; requires D have a mental disease/defect and:
1)m’Naughten Test” did not know either the nature or quality or the wrongfulness of the act
2) Irresistible impulse - lacks capacity for self-control to conform her conduct to the law due to mental disease or defect
3) Durham - would not have committed crime but for mental disease (not favored test)
4) MPC - lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness or to conform conduct due to mental disease or defect

39
Q

Intoxication

A

Voluntary: applies to negate specific intent only; MPC: will negate purposely/knowingly

Involuntary: applies to negate an element, including general or specific intent, malice, and voluntary acts

40
Q

Self Defense

A

a victim can use reasonable force to prevent imminent unlawful harm

Non-Deadly Force: can be used to prevenet imminent unlawful harm/force
Deadly Force - used when reasonably necessary to prevent death of serious injury or to prevent a serious felony involving a risk to human life

Retreat: miniroty of states require for use of deadly force

41
Q

Withdrawal by Accomplice

A

1) repudiate prior aid
2) do all that is possible to countermand prior assistance
AND
3) do so before the chain of events is in motion and unstoppable

42
Q

Depraved-Heart Killing

A

Results from reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life; majority rule requires the D to be aware of the danger involved

43
Q

Malice Crimes

A

Crimes require reckless disregard of a high risk of harm; do not require ill will toward the victim

Common law murder and arson

44
Q

Malum in se

A

wrong in itself or inherently dangerous

commits crime and is a criminal; possess sufficient knowledge to be guility of a criminal act

45
Q

Malum prohibitum

A

wrongs that are merely prohibited, but not inherently immoral or hurtful; homicide typically manslaughter unless was willful or negligent

46
Q

Adequate Provocation

A

Situation tat could inflame the passion of a reasonable person to the extent that it could cause that person to momentarily act out of passion rather than reason

1) serious battery
2) threat of deadly force
discovery of adultery by spouse

47
Q

Receiving Stolen Goods

A

1) receiving control of stolen property
2) knowledge that the property is stolen
AND
3) intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property

48
Q

Continuing Trespass Rule

A

considers a situation where the taking was done without permission, but without intent to permanently deprive; at some time after the initial taking, D forms intent to permanently deprive the owner

Trespass is considered to continue in order for the criminal act to coincide with the criminal intent

49
Q

Common-Law Rape

A

1) Unlawful
2) sexual intercourse
3) with a female
4) against her will by force or threat of immediate force

Rape general intent crime - most modern trend statutes gender-neutral, and replaced force with lack of consent

50
Q

Embezzlement

A

1) Fraudulent
2) Conversion
3) of the property of another
4) by a person who is in lawful possession of the property

51
Q

Withdrawal of Conspiracy

A

Common Law: never a defense

Federal/Majority: only withdraw after the agreement but before an overt act has been committed by
1) communication notice of his intent not to participate to the other potential co-conspirators OR
2) informing the police about the agreement

MPC/Minority: only withdraw by acting voluntarily to “thwart the success” of the conspiracy

52
Q

Four types of specific-intent crimes

A

1) First-Degree murder
2) inchoate offenses (attempt, solicitation, conspiracy)
3) assault with intent to commit a battery AND
4) theft offenses

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