Criminal Law Flashcards
Specific Intent Crimes
Requires doing the act WITH specific intent or objective
subject to voluntary intoxication and unreasonable mistake of fact defenses
SCAFALEFRBF = students can always fake a laugh even for ridiculous bar facts
Solicitation
Conspiracy
Attempt
First degree premeditated murder
Assault
Larceny
Embezzlement
False pretenses
Robbery
Burglarly
Forgery
Malice Crimes
Applies to common law murder and arson
Reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that particular harmful result will occur
General Intent
Defendant must be aware that she is acting in the proscribed manner and that any attendant circumstances required by the crime are present
- Can infer general intent from doing the act
Merger
Solicitation and attempt will merge into offense committed
Conspiracy will NOT merge; can be convicted of both
MPC Purposely
Conscious object to engage in act or cause a certain result
MPC Knowingly
Aware of the nature of conduct or that certain circumstances exist; knows that conduct will necessarily or very likely cause the result
MPC Recklessly
Conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk
Gross deviation from standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the situation
MPC Negligently
failure to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or a prohibited result will follow; failure is the substantial deviation from standard of care
Mental State for Accomplice Liability
- Intent to assist the principal in commission of the crime;
- Intent that principal commit the substantive offense
If recklessness/negligence is mental state; satisfied by:
- intent to facilitate commission of crime
- acted with recklessness or negligence
*Liability can be for the crime itself AND all other foreseeable crimes
Accessory After the Fact
Helping someone escape; assists someone knowing that they’ve committed felony to escape
- not liable for crime itself
- separate lesser charge
Accomplice Excluded from Liability When
- Member of protected class by the statute
- Party necessary to commission of the crime, not in the statute (purchaser of the drugs)
- Withdrawl
- repudiate encouragement
- neutralize assistance
- notify police/take action to prevent crime
Common Law Accomplice Liability Categories
- Parties in first degree: actually engage in act/omission or caused innocent agent to do so
- Parties in second degree: aided, advised, or encouraged the principal AND were present
- Accessories before the fact: assisted or encouraged, NOT PRESENT
- Accessories after the fact: with knowledge that the other person committed crime, assisted D to escape arrest or punishment
Solicitation
Asking someone to commit a crime;
With the intent that the crime be committed
Attempt
Act done with intent to commit a crime that falls short of completing the crime
- Specific Intent to commit the act
- Overt act = act beyond mere preparation for offense
- Traditional: dangerously close to successful completion of crime
- MPC: substantial step in course of conduct
*Attempted murder: must show specific intent to kill (depraved hard/intent to cause serious bodily harm will NOT support conviction for attempted murder)
Conspiracy
- Agreement between two or more persons;
- Intent to enter into agreement;
- Intent by at least two persons to achieve objective of agreement
Common Law: bilateral = two guilty minds
Modern Trend: unilateral = only one guilty mind
Wharton Rule
Where two or more people are necessary for commission of crime, there is no crime of conspiracy unless the number of parties were necessary for agreement
Example: two people needed for adultery, so three people needed for conspiracy to commit adultery
Co-conspirator Liability
Can be held liable for crimes committed by other conspirators if:
- committed in furtherance of conspiracy;
- were foreseeable (natural/probable consequence of conspiracy)
Withdrawl from Conspiracy
Common Law: generally cannot withdraw because conspiracy completed at agreement
MPC: recognizes voluntary withdrawal as defense if the defendant thwarts conspiracy (informs police)
- notice given to all members in time for them to abandon their plan
Withdrawl typically only a defense to crimes that take place AFTER the conspiracy
Defenses to Attempt
- Abandonment - not defense at common law, but MPC = fully voluntary and complete abandonment
- Legal Impossibility (rare)
- What person was doing was not actually a crime even if they thought it was - Factual impossibility = NOT defense just because something arises that makes it impossible for crime to occur
Insanity Defense Tests
- M’naghten - lacked ability to understand wrongfulness of their actions/nature and quality of the crime
- Irresistible impulse - D entitled to acquittal only if they were unable to control actions/conform conduct to law
- MPC - As a result of a mental disease/defect, they lacked the substantial capacity to either:
- appreciate the criminality of their conduct;
- conform their conduct to the requirements of the law
Voluntary Intoxication
Only a defense for specific intent crimes; if it negates the “specific intent” (crimes that require actual intent to do the act)
TO win: defendant must have been very drunk to prove she couldn’t have the specific intent
*NOT a defense to malice/recklessness crimes
Self Defense
Person may use DEADLY force if she is:
- without fault;
- confronted by unlawful force; and
- REASONABLY believes she is threatened with imminent death or great bodily harm
*generally no duty to retreat
*minority requires retreat, unless:
- occurs in victim’s own home;
- occurs while victim is making a lawful arrest;
- retreat cannot be done safely
- assailant is in process of robbing the victim
Deadly force may be used by original aggressor only if….
he tries to withdraw and communicates that withdrawal to the original victim, or if sudden escalation of violence by original victim
Officers use of deadly force in arrest
Can only be used if officer reasonably believes suspect is armed or presents a danger to the public
Defense of Others
D has right to defend if they reasonably believe the person assisted has legal right to use force in their defense
Majority view: can be for anyone
Minority view: has to be family relationship
Defense of Property/Dwelling
Deadly force: only if reasonably believes threatened with death/great bodily harm
Non-deadly force: if person reasonably believes that non-deadly force is necessary to protect other or dwelling (to end unlawful entry)
Infancy Defense
Common Law:
- Under age 7 = no liability
7-14: rebuttable presumption child unable to understand wrongfulness of acts
-14 and older = treated as adult
Modern Statutes
- No child can be convicted of a crime until 13/14 stated age
Duress as a Defense
Defendant performs a criminal act under a threat of death or serious bodily harm to him/another
NO DEFENSE FOR HOMICIDE!
Mistake of Fact as defense
Mistake must negate state of mind
Malice/general intent crime: mistake must be reasonable
- If mistake is unreasonable under one of these crimes, then D will be guilty of offense
For specific intent crimes: can be reasonable/unreasonable mistake (will be complete defense to the crime)
Examples:
1. “I thought I was shooting a deer, not a person.”
2. “I thought I was taking my own property, not someone else’s”
3. “I thought she consented to sex”
Entrapment Defense
Criminal design originated with authorities; and
Defendant was not predisposed to commit crime
Common Law murder
Unlawful killing of another being with malice aforethought
Defendants act must be (1) cause in fact AND (2) proximate cause of victims death to be GUILTY
Malice aforethought can derive from:
- Intent to kill
- Intent to inflict serious bodily injury;
- Reckless indifference to unjustifiably high risk to human life;
- Felony murder
Defenses to common law murder
- Self Defense
- Provocation (if adequate based on reasonable person standard, then will reduce crime to voluntary manslaughter)
First Degree Murder Under Common Law
- Deliberate/Premeditated
- Felony Murder
- Homicide of Police Officer
Deliberate/Premeditated Murder
D made decision to kill in a cool and dispassionate matter and reflected on idea of killing, even for a brief period (can be made in an instant)
Acted w/ intent and knowledge that conduct could cause death
Felony Murder
Killing committed during commission of enumerated felony, even accidental death
BARRK
-Burglarly
-Arson
-Rape
-Robbery
-Killing
*killing must be foreseeable
*deaths caused while fleeing = felony murder unless defendant has returned to safety
Co-Felon Liability for Felony Murder
Majority: D is not liable for felony murder when co-felon killed as a result of resistance from victim or police
- only liable for deaths committed by FELON or their agent
Minority: felons are liable for deaths of innocent victims caused by someone other than a co-felon
Voluntary Manslaughter
Killing that would be murder but for:
- adequate provocation;
- gave rise to heat of passion; and
- no adequate cooling off period
- D did not cool off
- being subject to a serious battery
Involuntary Manslaughter
Killing resulting from negligence or recklessness (under MPC)
- D fails to be aware of substantial and unjustifiable risk
Includes killings while committing misdemeanor
-misdemeanor manslaughter rule is usually wrong answer
Causation for Homicide General Rule
Defendant is liable for all natural and probable consequences of his conduct unless the chain of causation is broken by the intervention of some superseding factor
Homicide Limitations
- Year and a Day Rule - death must occur within 1 year and 1 day from infliction of wound
- Intervening Acts - shields D from liability if act is a coincidence or outside the foreseeable sphere of risk created by the D
(acts of nature/coincidence/negligent medical care are not superseding factors unless gross negligence or intentional malpractice)
Battery
Unlawful application of force to the person of another resulting in bodily injury or offensive touching
Aggravated battery –> felony
Assault
Intent to commit battery; or
intentional creation of a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the victim of imminent bodily harm
False Imprisonment
Unlawful confinement of a person without the person’s valid consent
Kidnapping
Some movement or concealment of a victim in a “secret” place
Aggravated kidnapping: kidnapping for ransom, for purposes of committing other crimes, for offensive purposes, and child stealing
*consent of child doesn’t count; children incapable of consent
Rape
Any penetration of female organ by the male sex organ without victim’s effective consent
Lack of consent evidenced by:
- actual force
- by threats of great and immediate bodily harm
- where victim is incapable of consenting due to unconsciousness, intoxication, mental condition
- where victim fraudulently caused to believe act is not intercourse
Larceny
Taking;
and carrying away;
of tangible personal property;
of another with possession;
by trespass (without consent);
with intent to permanently deprive that person of her interest in the property
*can be induced by fraud/without consent
*Intent must be present AT TIME of taking
*can be committed with lost/mislaid property; not committed with abandoned property
*slightest movement is enough
Embezzlement
Fraudulent;
Conversion;
Of personal property;
Of another;
By a person in lawful possession of that property
*if intends to restore EXACT property = not embezzlement, $ are not exact
*Trustee often the embezzler on exam
*Doesn’t have to carry away; just has to have possession
False Pretenses
Obtaining title;
To personal property of another;
By an intentional misrepresentation of a past/existing fact;
With intent to defraud the other
*If title is not obtained, then it is just larceny by trick (look for possession only)
Title + possession = false pretenses
For cash $: title and possession obtained
Larceny by Trick
Victim tricked, by misrepresentation of fact, into giving up mere custody/possession
Robbery
A taking;
Of personal property of another;
From the other’s person or presence;
By force or threats of immediate death or physical injury;
With intent to permanently deprive them of it
*very broad vicinity
*threats sufficient to victim, family member, or someone in victim’s presence
*threat must be of imminent harm
*ripping necklace = sufficient
pickpocketing = larceny
Arson
The malicious (intentional or w/ reckless disregard);
Burning;
Of the dwelling;
Of another
Common law: “of another”
Modern trend: doesn’t have to be of another
*mere blackening = not sufficient
*mere charring = sufficient
Burglarly
A breaking;
And entry;
Of a dwelling;
Of another;
At nighttime;
With intent to commit a felony therein
*unlocked is still breaking
*actual open door/window= not a break
*modern trend –> doesn’t have to be at night
*felony need not be carried out; just have to have intent at time of breaking
*ownership of dwelling is irrelevant
Receipt of Stolen Property
Receiving possession and control;
Of “stolen” personal property;
Known to have been obtained in a manner constituting a criminal offense;
By another person;
With intent to permanently deprive owner of their interest in it
Extortion (Blackmail)
Common law: corrupt information of an unlawful fee by officer under color of office
MT: obtaining property by means of threats to do harm/expose information
Imperfect Self Defense Doctrine
When deadly force is used, but the deadly force was used in an “unreasonable” manner (not entitled to use deadly force in this situation), murder may be reduced to manslaughter if:
- Defendant was at fault in starting altercation OR
- Defendant unreasonably (but honestly) believed in using deadly force
*will depend on whether jurisdiction recognizes this doctrine
