Criminal Law Flashcards
Crime
Act violates criminal statue, harms safety or common good, affects all society
In a criminal case who are you sued by?
The state
Statutory Classifications
Felonies and misdemeanors
Felony
Very serious crimes, possible punishment of a year or more
Misdemeanor
Small crime, possible jail time is less than a year
Can businesses be held liable for crimes committed by their employees?
yes.
Employee must be doing actions they are authorized to do and on behalf of the company or to benefit the company.
Within job scope and in furtherance of company’s interest
What protects a company best from employee crime?
Training and corporate culture
Elements of a Crime
Actus Reas, Mens Rea, Concurrence, Harmful Result and Causation
Actus Reas
A physical/voluntary act, possession, or unlawful omission (failure to act) by defendant
Mean Rea
The state of mind or intent at the time the bad act happened
Motive
The why of the crime, doesn’t matter in court
Subjective Intent
What was going on in the defendant’s brain
Objective Intent
What a reasonable person would be thinking
Purposely
Consciously made the goal with the intent to commit crime (Subjective Intent)
Knowingly
Know the result is likely but do it anyways, (Subjective Intent)
Recklessly
Unjustifiable risk but do it anyways even though a reasonable person wouldn’t, (Subjective and Objective Intent)
Criminally Negligent
A reasonable person would not do this (Objective Intent)
Strict Liability Crimes
Act is enough, don’t need intent to convict
Concurrence
Act and mental state exist at same time
Harmful Result and Causation
Defendant’s act caused harmful result, actual and proximate cause
Principal
Commits act that causes criminal result
Accomplice
Charged as principle, intent that the crime be committed, aids, counsels, or encourages the principal before/during the crime
Both Accomplice and Principal are liable for
Intended crime and all other foreseeable crimes
Effective withdrawal of Co-conspirators
Before crime becomes unstoppable, neutralize assistance, notify authorities, take action to prevent commission
Accessory after the fact
Obstruction justice, separately punishable offense, aiding escape, harboring a fugitive, receives, relieves, comforts, or assists criminal that you know has committed a felony (doesn’t apply to family)
Defenses to Criminal Liability
Alibi, Justification, Excuse Defenses
Alibi
I wasn’t there when the crime was committed
Justification
Act that would otherwise be illegal but it justified or makes sense to have done
Self-Defense
Justification Defense, requires reasonable belief that death or bodily injury will result, attacker is using unlawful force, victim did not provoke the attack, reasonable force to protect oneself from attack
Insanity Defense
Excuse Defense, person is incapable of forming necessary Mens Rea and/or conforming their actions to legal requirements (Mental defect), hard to prove, complete defense to criminal charges (Not civil charges)
M’Naghten Rule
Right/Wrong test, don’t know the difference between right and wrong, insanity defense test
Irresistible Impulse
Can’t keep from doing a bad action,insanity defense test
Diminished Capacity
Doesn’t get rid of charge, operating under mental defect but not enough to prove insanity, reduces charges
Temporary Insanity
Passing mental defect, RARELY works
Duress
Threat/harm deprived defendant of choice, can’t prove Mens Rea, commits crime to avoid harm, can’t use with homicide
Entrapment
Gov. agent induces a person to commit a crime, intent came from gov. agent. Okay to provide reasonable opportunity just can’t convince them to do it
Subjective Test
Is the defendant predisposed (already likely to commit this crime)?
Objective Test
Reasonable person test
Statute of Limitations
Time for prosecution of crime limited/cut off by statute (no cut-off for murder, 10 years for robbery)
