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CA Bar Rules > Criminal Law > Flashcards

Criminal Law Flashcards

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1
Q

MED

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A CRIME

A

Almost all crimes require proof of the following four core elements:

  1. Actus Reus (Physical Act). The defendant must have either performed a voluntary physical act or failed to act under circumstances imposing a legal duty to act.
    1. (A failure to act gives rise to liability only if: (a) There is a legal duty to act (e.g., by statute, contract, relationship, etc.);(b) The defendant has knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty to act;AND(c) It is reasonably possible to perform the duty.)
  2. Mens Rea (Mental State). The defendant must have committed the offense with a culpable state of mind. However, a defendant need not know that their conduct is illegal to be guilty of a crime.
  3. Causation. There must be a casual connection between the defendant’s physical act or failure to act and the harmful result.
  4. Concurrence. The requisite mental state must be present at the same time the physical act constituting the crime occurs.
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2
Q

HIGH

SPECIFIC INTENT

A

Specific intent requires that the crime be committed with a specific intent or objective. The existence of specific intent cannot be conclusively imputed from the mere doing of an act, but the manner in which the crime was committed may provide evidence of specific intent.

Specific intent crimes include:

(a) Solicitation (intent to have the person solicited commit the crime)
(b) Attempt (intent to complete the crime)
(c) Conspiracy (intent to have the crime completed)
(d) First Degree Murder (premeditated intent to kill)
(e) Assault (intent to commit a battery)
(f) Larceny and Robbery (intent to permanently deprive another of his interest in the property taken)
(g) Burglary (intent to commit a felony in the dwelling)
(h) Forgery (intent to defraud)
(i) False Pretenses (intent to defraud)
(j) Embezzlement (intent to defraud)

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3
Q

HIGH

INTENT NECESSARY FOR MALICE CRIMES

A

The intent necessary for malice crimes require a reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur. Malice crimes include common law murder and arson.

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4
Q

GENERAL INTENT

A

General intent is a “catch-all” category of intent. It requires that the defendant intend to commit an act that is prohibited by law (whether the defendant intended the act’s result is irrelevant).

General intent crimes include:

  1. battery,
  2. rape,
  3. manslaughter,
  4. kidnapping, and
  5. false imprisonment.
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5
Q

STRICT LIABILITY

A

Strict liability only requires that the defendant voluntarily commit the actus reus (regardless of the defendant’s intent). Defenses that negate state of mind are NOT available for strict liability crimes (e.g., statutory rape).

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6
Q

HIGH

MENTAL STATE REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MODEL PENAL CODE

A

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

  1. Purposely. A defendant acts “purposely” when his conscious objective is to engage in the conduct or to cause a certain result.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
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7
Q

MED

COMMON LAW MURDER

A

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:

  1. Intent to kill;
  2. Intent to inflict great bodily injury;
  3. Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (“depraved heart murder”); OR
  4. Intent to commit a felony (felony murder rule).
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8
Q

MED

VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

A

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 him to lose self-control; AND
  2. There was not sufficient time between the provocation and the killing for passions of a reasonable person to cool off.
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9
Q

MED

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

A

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.
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10
Q

MED

FIRST AND SECOND DEGREE MURDER

A

In some jurisdictions, murder is divided into degrees by statute. Generally, a murder is 2nd degree murder unless it falls under any of the following statutory aggravating circumstances, which make it 1st degree:

  1. Premeditation. The murder was deliberate and premeditated. 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 1st degree murder.
  2. Felony Murder. The murder falls under a 1st degree felony murder statute. In many states, a killing committed during the commission of an enumerated felony is felony murder and called 1st degree murder. The most commonly listed felonies in such statutes are burglary, arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping (BARRK); however, other felonies that are inherently dangerous to human life are often included.
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11
Q

MED

FELONY MURDER RULE

A

Any death caused in the commission of, or in an attempt to commit, a BARRK felony is murder. However, there are several limitations to this rule:

  1. The defendant must have committed or attempted to commit the underlying felony - a defense that negates an element of an underlying offense will also be a defense to felony murder;
  2. The felony must be distinct from the killing itself;
  3. The death must have been a foreseeable result of the felony; AND
  4. The death must have been caused before the defendant’s “immediate flight” from when the felony ended.
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12
Q

MED

HOMICIDE CAUSATION

A

To be liable for homicide, the defendant’s conduct must be both the cause-in-fact and the proximate cause of the victim’s death:

  1. A defendant’s conduct is the cause-in-fact of the victim’s death if the death would not have occurred but for the defendant’s conduct.
  2. A defendant’s conduct is the proximate cause of the victim’s death if the death is a natural and probable consequence of defendant’s conduct. Superseding events break the chain of proximate causation [i.e., intervening events that are NOT foreseeable generally shield the defendant).
    1. NOTE: A third party’s negligent medical care and the victim’s refusal of medical treatment for religious reasons are both foreseeable risks – thus, the defendant remains liable
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13
Q

lowest

BATTERY

A

Battery is the:

  1. Unlawful (without legal excuse);
  2. Application of force; (The force can be applied by a third party acting under the defendant’s
    direction or by an object controlled by the defendant)
  3. To the person of another;
  4. That results in bodily harm or offensive contact. [The touching, however slight, must result in bodily harm (e.g., a bruise) or an offensive touching (e.g., an unwanted kiss)]

GENERAL INTENT CRIME

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14
Q

lowest

ASSAULT

A

Assault is either:

  1. An attempt to commit a battery; OR
  2. Intentionally placing another in apprehension of imminent bodily harm. (If there has been physical contact with the victim, the crime can only be battery, not assault)
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15
Q

lowest

FALSE IMPRISONMENT

A

False Imprisonment consists of:

  1. Unlawful (without legal excuse);
  2. Confinement of a person;
  3. Without valid consent.

The Model Penal Code requires that the confinement “interfere substantially” with the victim’s liberty (i.e., It is not confinement to prevent a person from going where she desires to go, provided that there is alternative routes available to her.)

GENERAL INTENT CRIME

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16
Q

lowest

KIDNAPPING

A

(1) Unlawful, (2) confinement of another person, (3) Against that person’s will, (4) Either by moving or hiding the victim

GENERAL INTENT CRIME

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17
Q

MED

LARCENY

A

Larceny consists of:

  1. A taking;
  2. And carrying away;
  3. 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)]
  4. By trespass (without consent);
  5. With intent to permanently deprive.
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18
Q

MED

EMBEZZLEMENT

A

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)

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19
Q

MED

FALSE PRETENSES

A

False pretenses consists of:

  1. Obtaining TITLE;
  2. To the personal property of another;
  3. By an intentional false representation; [The victim must rely upon the false representation, and that reliance must cause the victim to pass title to the defendant]
  4. Of a material past or present fact (not opinion);
  5. With intent to defraud.
    1. The defendant must either have known the statement to be false or have intended that the victim rely on the misrepresentation.
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20
Q

MED

LARCENY BY TRICK

A

Larceny by trick consists of:

  1. Obtaining POSSESSION or CUSTODY;
  2. To the personal property of another;
  3. By an intentional false representation;
  4. Of a material past or present fact (not opinion);
  5. With intent to defraud.
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21
Q

LOW

ROBBERY

A

Robbery consists of:

  1. A taking and carrying away;
  2. Of the personal property of another;
  3. From the other’s person or presence; [The property taken must be on the victim’s person or within the victim’s reach or control (i.e., in the presence of the victim)}
  4. By force or threat of force; [Threats must be made to the victim, a member of the victim’s family, or some person in the victim’s presence]
  5. With intent to permanently deprive.
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22
Q

LOW

RECEIPT OF STOLEN PROPERTY

A

Receipt of stolen property consists of:

  1. Receiving possession and control;
  2. Of stolen personal property; [The property must be stolen property at the time the defendant receives it]
  3. Known to have been obtained in an unlawful manner;
  4. By another person;
  5. With the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property.
23
Q

LOW

BURGLARY

A

Common law burglary consists of:

  1. A breaking; [“Breaking” exists if the defendant creates or expands an opening by at least minimal force, fraud, or intimidation]
  2. And entry; [“Entry” exists if the defendant places any portion of his body or an instrument used to commit the crime into the structure]
  3. Of the dwelling of another;
  4. At nighttime;
  5. With the intent to commit a felony in the structure (at the time of entry).
24
Q

lowest

ARSON

A

Common law arson consists of:

  1. The malicious; [intentional OR with reckless disregard of an obvious risk]
  2. Burning;
  3. Of the dwelling of another.
25
Q

LOW

ATTEMPT

A

An attempt requires:

  1. The specific intent to perpetrate a crime; AND
  2. An overt act beyond mere preparation that falls short of completing the crime (most states require a “substantial step” toward completion of the crime).

Merger. Attempt merges with the underlying crime, meaning a person cannot be convicted for both attempt and the underlying crime

26
Q

LOW

WITHDRAWAL OF AN ATTEMPTED CRIME

A

Under the common law, abandonment or withdrawal is NOT a defense to attempt. However, under the Model Penal Code (minority of jurisdictions), a fully voluntary and complete abandonment is a valid defense. Abandonment is not voluntary if it is motivated by a desire to avoid detection.

27
Q

lowest

SOLICITATION

A

Solicitation consists of:

  1. Requesting another to commit a crime;
  2. With the intent that the person solicited commit the crime.

Merger. In most jurisdictions, solicitation merges with the substantive offense

28
Q

lowest

WITHDRAWAL OF A SOLICITATION

A

In most jurisdictions, it is not a defense that the solicitor renounces or withdraws the solicitation. However, the Model Penal Code recognizes renunciation as a defense if the defendant prevents the commission of the crime.

29
Q

lowest

COMMON LAW CONSPIRACY

A

Under the common law, a conspiracy consists of:

  1. An agreement between two or more persons;
  2. To accomplish a criminal objective;
  3. With the intent to enter into the agreement; AND
    1. [The intent to enter into the agreement may be inferred from the conduct of the parties]
  4. With the intent to commit the criminal objective.

Merger. Conspiracy does NOT merge with the completed crime (i.e., a defendant may be convicted of the crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy AND the conspiracy itself).

30
Q

lowest

OVERT ACT REQUIREMENT IN A CONSPIRACY

A

Overt Act. Unlike the common law, a majority of states also require that an overt act be committed in furtherance of the criminal objective. The overt act does NOT have to be criminal in nature (e.g., a conspirator buying a hammer in order to commit a burglary would be a sufficient overt act, even though buying a hammer is not criminal in nature)

31
Q

lowest

PINKERTON LIABILITY

A

A conspirator may be held liable for crimes committed by their co- conspirators if the crimes were:

  1. Committed in furtherance of the conspiracy’s criminal objective; AND
  2. Foreseeable.
32
Q

lowest

WITHDRAWAL FROM A CONSPIRACY

A

Common law—it’s impossible to withdraw from a conspiracy, because the crime is committed the moment the agreement is made.

Federal and MPC—a conspirator can withdraw prior to the commission of any overt act by communicating her intention to withdraw to all other conspirators or by informing law enforcement. After an overt act a conspirator can withdraw only by helping to thwart the success of a conspiracy.

33
Q

lowest

TERMINATION OF A CONSPIRACY

A

Termination. A conspiracy terminates upon completion of the criminal objective. All acts or statements made after termination are inadmissible against a conspirator (e.g., statements made to police after the completion of the criminal objective)

34
Q

lowest

PARTIES TO A CRIME

A

Under modern statutes, there are generally three potential parties to a crime:

  1. Principal. The principal is the person who commits the illegal act or who causes an innocent agent to do so.
  2. Accomplice. The accomplice is the person who aids or encourages the principal to commit the illegal conduct.
  3. Accessory After the Fact. An accessory after the fact is a person who aids another to escape knowing that he has committed a felony.
35
Q

lowest

LIABILITY OF THE ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT

A

An accessory after the fact is a person who aids another to escape knowing that he has committed a felony.

An accessory after the fact is ONLY liable for the less serious offense of being an accessory after the fact (i.e., NO accomplice liability).

36
Q

lowest

ACCOMPLICE LIABILITY

A

An accomplice is responsible for the crime to the same extent as the principal.

If the principal commits crimes other than the crimes for which the accomplice has provided encouragement or assistance, then the accomplice is liable for the other crimes if the crimes are the natural and probable consequences of the accomplice’s conduct.

37
Q

lowest

ACCOMPLICE WITHDRAWAL AND REPUDIATION

A

To legally withdraw (and therefore avoid liability for the substantive crime), the accomplice must (i) repudiate prior aid, (ii) do all that is possible to countermand prior assistance, and (iii) do so before the chain of events is in motion and unstoppable.

A mere change of heart, a flight from the crime scene, an arrest by law enforcement, or an uncommunicated decision to withdraw is ineffective. Notification to the legal authorities must be timely and directed toward preventing others from committing the crime.

38
Q

LOW

FITNESS TO STAND TRIAL

A

A criminal defendant must be competent to stand trial. To be competent, under the Dusky test, the defendant must have:

  1. Sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding; AND
  2. A rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.
39
Q

MED

INSANITY DEFENSE UNDER THE M’NAGHTEN RULE

A

Under the M’Naghten Rule, a defendant is entitled to acquittal if, because of a mental illness, he did not know:

  1. The nature and quality of the unlawful act; OR
  2. The wrongfulness of the unlawful act.
40
Q

MED

INSANITY DEFENSE UNDER THE IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE TEST

A

Under the Irresistible Impulse Test, a defendant is entitled to acquittal if, because of a mental illness, he lacked the capacity:

  1. For self-control and free choice; OR
  2. To conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.
41
Q

MED

INSANITY DEFENSE UNDER THE MODEL PENAL CODE TEST

A

Under the Model Penal Code, a defendant is entitled to acquittal if, because of a mental illness, he did not have substantial capacity:

  1. To appreciate the wrongfulness of the unlawful act; ORT
  2. o conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.
42
Q

MED

INSANITY DEFENSE UNDER THE DURHAM TEST

A

Under the Durham Test, a defendant is entitled to acquittal if the unlawful act would not have been committed BUT FOR the defendant’s mental illness.

43
Q

lowest

VOLUNTARY INTOXICATION AS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE

A

Voluntary intoxication (intentional ingestion of an intoxicating substance without duress, which is known to be intoxicating to the person ingesting the substance) is a valid defense to specific intent crimes if the intoxication prevents the formation of the required intent. Voluntary intoxication does NOT apply to general intent, malice, or strict liability crimes.

44
Q

lowest

INVOLUNTARY INTOXICATION AS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE

A

Involuntary intoxication (ingestion of an intoxicating substance under duress or without knowledge of its intoxicating effects) is a valid defense to ALL crimes if the intoxication serves to negate an element of the crime.

45
Q

LOW

SELF-DEFENSE WITH NON- DEADLY FORCE

A

A person without fault may use non- deadly force in self-defense if she:

  1. Is confronted with unlawful force; AND
  2. Reasonably believes it is necessary to protect herself from the imminent use of unlawful force upon herself.
46
Q

LOW

SELF-DEFENSE WITH DEADLY FORCE

A

A person without fault may use deadly force in self-defense if she:

  1. Is confronted with unlawful force; AND
  2. Reasonably believes that she is threatened with imminent death or great bodily harm.
47
Q

LOW

DUTY TO RETREAT BEFORE USING DEADLY FORCE

A

In a minority of jurisdictions, a person MUST retreat before using deadly force if the victim can safely do so UNLESS:

  1. The attack occurs in the victim’s own home;
  2. The attack occurs while the victim is making a lawful arrest; OR
  3. The assailant is in the process of robbing the victim.
48
Q

LOW

IMPERFECT SELF-DEFENSE

A

Imperfect self-defense can reduce a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter if the defendant kills another based on an honest but unreasonable belief that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm.

49
Q

LOW

DEFENSE OF OTHERS WITH FORCE

A

A defendant may defend others with force if he reasonably believes that the person assisted has the legal right to use force in her own defense. Only some courts allow imperfect self-defense to be applied to situations where the defendant was defending another person.

50
Q

LOW

DURESS AS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE

A

The defense of duress is available to the defendant if the defendant reasonably believed that another person would imminently inflict death or great bodily harm upon him or a family member if he did not commit the crime. Under the Model Penal Code, threats to property can be sufficient for a duress defense if the value of the property outweighs the harm done to society by commission of the crime.

51
Q

lowest

MISTAKE OF FACT AS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE

A

Mistake of fact is a defense that shows the defendant lacked the state of mind required for the crime.

If the charged offense is a specific intent crime, the mistake need NOT have been reasonable. For malice and general intent crimes, the mistake MUST have been reasonable.

Mistake of fact is irrelevant if the crime imposes strict liability.

52
Q

Illegal Substance

A

The crime of possession of an illegal substance requires only that the defendant exercise control over the illegal substance.

53
Q

Extortion

A

At common law, extortion was the unlawful taking of money by a government officer. Most jurisdictions have enacted statutes that more broadly define extortion as the taking of money or property from another by threat.

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