Criminal Law Flashcards
What are the four essential elements of all crimes?
- Act
- Mental state
- Causation
- Concurrence
D, in California, fills out a false insurance claim and mails it to Connecticut. In which state(s) can D be prosecuted for insurance fraud?
R: A crime may be prosecuted in any state where:
- an act that was part of the crime took place; or
- the result took place.
A: In CA, where the act took place and in CT where the result took place.
What is the prosecutor’s burden of proof?
In a criminal case, the prosecution must prove each element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
Distinguish felony and misdemeanor.
Felony: A crime that may be punished by death or imprisonment for more than one year
Misdemeanor: A crime punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for no more than one year
Are all bodily movements physical acts that can be the basis for criminal liability?
No, they must be voluntary. Involuntary movements that are not considered criminal “acts”:
(1) one that is not the product of the actor’s volition (e.g., being pushed).
(2) sleepwalking or otherwise involuntary (unconscious) conduct.
(3) a reflex or convulsion.
When can a failure to act can also be the basis for criminal liability?
- legal duty to act
- knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty
- ability to help
For purposes of subjecting a failure to act to criminal liability, what are the 5 situations in which a legal duty to act can arise?
- statute (e.g., filing tax returns, professionals reporting child abuse)
- contract (e.g., babysitter, doctor, lifeguard)
- special status of the relationship between the D and the victim (e.g., parent-child, spouse-spouse)
- voluntary assumption of care: D starts rescuing V, D has a duty to follow through; D cannot abandon the effort unreasonably, if the rescue effort was undertaken voluntarily.
- by creating the situation that caused the peril; if D caused the problem initially, D has a duty to help.
What are the four common law mental states that P must prove to hold D guilty along with the act, causation, and concurrence; and how are these mental states defined?
In order of level of intent, highest to lowest:
- Specific intent: D desires to achieve one of 11 specific criminal results; there’s a specific intent for each of these 11 crimes.
- Malice: D acts with reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur.
- General intent: D is generally aware that D is doing the acts that are proscribed; but D needn’t know that such acts constitute a crime (jury can usually infer the general intent simply from the doing of the act).
- Strict liability: D needn’t intend to do any of the physical actions that are proscribed; D merely must perform the proscribed actions.
What are the specific intent crimes and what is the specific intent that D must have?
MAC BAFFELRS
- Murder (premeditated): premeditated intent to kill
- Attempt and Conspiracy: complete the crime; have crime completed
- Burglary: commit a felony in the dwelling
- Assault: commit a battery
- Forgery, False pretenses, and Embezzlement: defraud
- Larceny and Robbery: permanently deprive the other of his interest in the property taken
- Solicitation: have the person solicited commit the crime
What are the two defenses that available only for specific intent crimes?
voluntary intoxication
unreasonable mistake of fact
What are the two malice crimes?
Murder (except 1st degree) and arson
What are the 4 general intent crimes?
“Kidnapping raped and imprisoned batteries.”
- kidnapping
- battery
- forcible rape
- false imprisonment
What are the two types of Strict Liability Crimes?
- Regulatory offenses that implicate public health or safety and typically carry small penalties. (e.g., transferring unregistered firearms, selling contaminated food, shipping adulterated drugs in interstate commerce).
- Statutory rape: having sex with someone who is under the age of consent.
What are the Model Penal Code’s five mental states?
- Purpose: The defendant acts purposely when it is his conscious desire to achieve a particular result.
- Knowledge: The defendant acts knowingly when he is aware of what he is doing. With respect to a result, the defendant acts knowingly when he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause that result.
- Recklessness: The defendant acts recklessly when he is aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk, and consciously disregards that risk.
- Negligence: The defendant acts negligently when he should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.
- Strict Liability: No mental state required (similar to the common law).
What are the 2 types of causation necessary to hold a D criminally responsible for a correlated act committed with the requisite mental state?
- Actual Causation: D is an actual cause if the bad result would not have happened but for the defendant’s conduct.
- Proximate (“Legal”) Causation: D is a proximate cause if the bad result is a natural and probable consequence of the D’s conduct.
Victor is walking quickly down the street when Dudley steps out of a doorway with a gun and says “Stop right there! This is a stick-up.” Dudley rummages through Victor’s pockets, takes Victor’s wallet, and runs off. Victor is still standing in the same spot moments later when he is struck by lightning and killed. Is Dudley an actual cause of Victor’s death?
Yes, but for the stick-up, Victor would not have been standing in the spot where lightning struck.
Alex stabs Victor in the abdomen, causing a fatal wound that will kill Victor within five minutes. One minute later, Dudley walks by and shoots Victor in the head, killing him instantly. Is Dudley an actual cause of Victor’s death?
Yes, Dudley’s conduct is an accelerating cause of Victor’s death, which qualifies as an actual cause.
Victor is walking quickly down the street when Dudley steps out of a doorway with a gun and says “Stop right there! This is a stick-up.” Dudley rummages through Victor’s pockets, takes Victor’s wallet, and runs off. Victor is still standing in the same spot moments later when he is struck by lightning and killed. Is Dudley a proximate cause of Victor’s death?
No. D will not be considered a proximate cause if an intervening event causes the bad result. Being struck by lightning is an intervening event. Therefore, Dudley isn’t criminally liable for Victor’s death because criminal liability requires both actual and proximate causation.
Dudley shoots Victor, but the wound is not fatal. Victor is taken to the hospital, where a surgeon operates to remove the bullet. As a result of a blood-clotting disorder, Victor dies on the operating table, due to excessive blood loss. Is Dudley a proximate cause of Victor’s death?
Yes. D will be considered a proximate cause even if the victim’s pre-existing weakness contributed to the bad result. It doesn’t matter that Victor’s pre-existing weakness contributed to his death.
What is the concurrence element of all crimes and in which two crimes does meeting the element often present difficulties?
D must have the required mental state at the same time as he engages in the culpable act.
Concurrence issues arise most frequently in larceny and burglary.
What are the elements of battery?
- Act: Unlawful application of force to another resulting in either (1) bodily harm or (2) an offensive touching.
- Mental state: general intent
- Causation and concurrence.
What are the elements of assault?
- Acts: either
- intentional creation (by more than mere words) of a reasonable apprehension of an imminent bodily harm or offensive touching or
- an attempted battery (doesn’t matter whether victim was in reasonable apprehension).
- Mental state: specific intent to commit a battery
- Causation and concurrence.
What are the elements of murder?
Act: causing the death of another
Mental state: malice aforethought shown by:
- intent to kill (D points a gun at V, says: “I want to kill you.” He then shoots and kills V).
- intent to inflict serious bodily harm (D shoots V in the leg, intending only to maim him. Unfortunately, V dies from injuries related to the gunshot wound.)
- extreme recklessness, indifference to human life (D aims his pistol over V’s head and fires, intending to scare V. Bullet hits V’s head, killing him).
- intentional commission of an inherently dangerous felony (“felony murder”) (D robs a bank. He points a gun at the teller. Gun accidentally goes off, killing the teller.)
Causation and concurrence
What is the doctrine of transferred intent?
D intends to harm V or property, but accidentally harms a different V or property instead. D’s intent will transfer from the intended V to the actual V: guilty of crime committed plus attempt of crime tried to commit.
Rule applies most frequently to murder but can also apply to other crimes, such as battery and arson.
Dudley shoots at Alex, intending to kill him. Alex ducks, and Dudley’s bullet instead hits Victor, killing him. What crimes is Dudley guilty of?
Victor’s murder because the intent to kill Alex transfers to V. D is also guilty of attempted murder because D intends to kill Alex (two victims, no merger).
What are First and Second Degree Murders?
First: intentional killing committed with premeditation (D thought about it ahead of time) and deliberation (D was cool, calm, and collected)
Second: All other intentional murders (as well as depraved heart murder and, where it still exists as a separate category of homicide, intent-to-do-serious-bodily-harm murder)
What is the Definition of Felony Murder and it’s six common exceptions?
Any killing caused during the commission of or attempt to commit a felony except:
- no underlying felony (e.g., a defense to the felony)
- underlying felony not inherently dangerous (commonly “enumerate” felonies: burglary, robbery, rape, arson, kidnapping)
- Merger: felony not independent of the killing. e.g., aggravated assault or battery cannot be the underlying crime)
- death occured after immediate flight over; felon(s) reached a place of temporary safety
- death not foreseeable
- victim is a co-felon
When is one co-felon guilty of felony murder for the killing by another person under vicarious liability?
“Proximate Cause” theory (majority rule): if one of the co-felons proximately causes the victim’s death, all of the other co-felons will be guilty of felony murder, even if the actual killing is committed by a 3rd party (e.g., a bystander, a police officer).
“Agency” theory (minority): only if the killing is committed by one of the co-felons
Dumb and Dumber rob a bank. Dumber sits outside in the getaway car, while Dumb goes into the bank, points a gun at the teller, and says: “This is a stick up.” Dumb’s gun goes off accidentally and kills the teller. Who, if anyone, is guilty of felony murder?
Both are liable.
Dumb and Dumber rob a bank. Dumber sits outside in the getaway car, while Dumb goes into the bank, points a gun at the teller, and says: “This is a stick up.” A security guard fires his weapon at Dumb, but the bullet strikes and kills the teller instead. Who, if anyone, is guilty of felony murder?
“Proximate cause” theory: both.
“Agency” theory: neither is guilty of felony murder, because the shooter was not a co-felon.
Dumb and Dumber rob a bank. Dumber sits outside in the getaway car, while Dumb goes into the bank, points a gun at the teller, and says: “This is a stick up.” The teller gives Dumb a bag of money, and Dumb runs outside and jumps into the getaway car. As Dumber speeds away, the getaway car collides with a police car racing to the scene. Both Dumb and the officer are pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident Who, if anyone, is guilty of felony murder?
With respect to the officer, Dumber is guilty under both theories.
With respect to Dumb, Dumber is not guilty under both theories, because Dumb is a co-felon.
Dumb and Dumber rob a bank. Dumber sits outside in the getaway car, while Dumb goes into the bank, points a gun at the teller, and says: “This is a stick up.” One hour after arriving at their secret hideout, Dumb drives to Starbucks for coffee. En route, he runs a red light and kills a pedestrian lawfully crossing the street. Who, if anyone, is guilty of felony murder?
Neither is guilty of felony murder. Once the felons reach a place of safety the felony ends
What are the elements of voluntary manslaughter?
- Provocation would arouse a sudden and intense passion in the mind of a reasonable person (e.g., serious assault or presently witnessed adultery)
- D was actually provoked.
- D did not have time to cool down.
- D didn’t actually cool down between the provocation and the killing.
What are the elements of involuntary manslaughter?
Two types:
- killing during commission of a crime to which the felony murder doctrine does not apply (“unlawful act” manslaughter)
-
unintentional killing committed:
- common law: with criminal negligence: gross deviation from a reasonable standard of care (not the tort standard)
- MPC/Modern trend: recklessly
What are the elements of false imprisonment?
Act: The unlawful confinement of a person without consent
Mental state: general intent
Causation and concurrence
What are the elements of kidnapping?
Act: False imprisonment elements plus
- moving the victim or
- concealing the victim in a secret place
Mental state: general intent
Causation and concurrence
What are the elements of forcible rape?
Act: Unconsented sexual intercourse accomplished
- by force
- by threat of force, or
- while the victim is unconscious
Mental state: general intent
Causation and concurrence
What are the elements of statutory rape?
Act: Sexual intercourse with someone under the age of consent
Mental state:
- strict liability (majority rule)
- reasonable mistake of age is a defense (MPC and minority rule)
Causation and concurrence
What are the elements of larceny?
Act:
- Taking and carrying away (must be moved)
- Personal property
- Of another (depends upon lawful custody)
- With the intent to permanently retaining the property (If D intends to give property back, no larceny)
Mental state: specific intent to permanently deprive the other of his interest in the property taken
Causation and concurrence
Watch for where taking occurs without intent (just to borrow) and then becomes intent to permanently deprive: it’s the continous trespass exception to concurrence.
Within larceny, what is the erroneous takings rule?
Taking under a claim of right is never larceny, even if D erroneously believes the property is his.
Dudley takes Victor’s cell phone from Victor’s bag without Victor’s permission, planning to return the cell phone once he’s finished using it. Is Dudley guilty of larceny?
N, Because Dudley plans to give the phone back, he lacks the intent to steal that is necessary for larceny.
