Criminal Law Flashcards
A woman drove her car through the drive-through lane of a fast-food restaurant one afternoon. When she reached the microphone used to place orders, she said, “There’s a man across the street with a rifle. He can see everything you do. If you do not do exactly what I tell you, he will shoot you. Put all the money from the register into a sack and give it to me when I drive up.” The clerk did not see anyone across the street and was unsure whether anyone was there. However, unwilling to risk harm to himself, he put $500 in a paper bag and handed it to the woman when she drove up to the delivery window. The woman drove off with the money but was arrested a short time later. She had lied about there having been a man with a rifle and had acted alone.
Of what crime or crimes can the woman be convicted?
A. Embezzlement
B. Obtaining property by false pretenses
C. Robbery and larceny
D. Robbery or larceny
A customer asked to see an expensive watch in a jewelry store. In conversation with the store clerk, the customer falsely claimed to be the son of the mayor. When handed the watch, the customer asked if he could put it on, walk around a bit so he could see how it felt on his wrist, and then briefly step outside to observe it in natural light. The clerk agreed, saying, “I know I can trust someone like you with the merchandise.” The customer walked out of the store wearing the watch and did not return. A week later, the clerk was at a gathering when she spotted the customer wearing the watch. She told him that he must either pay for the watch or give it back. He hissed, “You’ll be sorry if you mess with me.” Intimidated, the clerk backed off.
The following list of crimes is in descending order of seriousness. What is the most serious crime the customer committed?
A. Robbery
B. Larceny
C. False pretenses
D. Embezzlement
A tenant vacated an apartment because he could no longer afford the rent. To ensure that the delinquent tenant made up for past arrearages, the landlord would not let him remove his personal property from the apartment. The tenant found a temporary place to stay with a friend, who wanted to help the tenant get his property back. The tenant remembered that the apartment would be vacant the upcoming weekend and that the landlord would be out of town, so he suggested that they break into the apartment and take the property then. They drove the tenant’s pickup to the apartment, and the friend entered through an unlocked window. The friend then opened the door for the tenant, and the pair collected the personal property. While the tenant was getting ready to drive away, the friend returned to the apartment and carried out some of the fixtures to the apartment. At this point, police officers who had been alerted by neighbors arrived and arrested the pair.
What is the tenant’s best defense to a charge of burglary?
A. There was no entry because as an occupant of the apartment, he consented to the entry.
B. There was no breaking, because the window was unlocked.
C. There was no intent to commit a felony.
D. He only took his personal property.
C. There was no intent to commit a felony.
C. is correct because without the intent to commit a felony when he entered the apartment, thus could not be convicted of burglary.
B. is wrong because opening the closed but unlocked window was a “breaking.”
