Criminal Law

Question 1

Malice Crimes

Answer 1

Murder and Arson (M.A.lice)

Question 2

Specific Intent Crimes

Answer 2

FIAT:
First-degree murder
Inchoate crimes
Assault (w/ attempt to commit battery)
Theft offense

Question 3

Inchoate Crimes

Answer 3

CATS:
Conspiracy
ATtempt
Solicitation

Question 4

Trick within Merger

Answer 4

felonies merge into felony merger

Question 5

Common Law w/r/t Children Presumptions

Answer 5

At common law, children under the age of 7 were never capable of committing a crime;
children ages 7-14 were rebuttably presumed to be incapable of committing crimes; and
children at least 14 years old could be charged as adults.

Question 6

Exception to Accomplice Liability

Answer 6

people protected by a statute cannot be accomplices (e.g. statutory rape law)

Question 7

Aiders / Abettors and Conspiracy

Answer 7

In addition to accomplice liability for the substantive crime, individuals who aid or abet a defendant to commit a crime may also be guilty of the separate crime of conspiracy if there was an agreement to commit the crime and an overt act was taken in furtherance of that agreement.

Question 8

Exceptions to Mistake of Law Rule

Answer 8

1) Reliance on high-level government interpretations of the law
2) Lack of notice (only w/ new malum prohibitum crimes)
3) Mistake of law that goes to an element of specific intent (applies only to the “FIAT” crimes or specific-intent crimes)

Question 9

Mistake of Fact w/r/t levels of intent

Answer 9

o Strict Liability: Mistake of fact is not a defense
o General Intent: Mistake of fact is a defense only if the mistake is reasonable and it goes to the criminal intent.
o Specific intent: Mistakes of fact are a defense any time the defendant actually held the mistaken belief, whether it was reasonable or unreasonable.

Question 10

Insanity: M’Naghten Test

Answer 10

Defendant either did not know the nature of the act or

did not know that the act was wrong

Question 11

Insanity: Irresistible Impulse Test

Answer 11

Defendant has a mental disease

or defect that means the defendant cannot control himself

Question 12

Insanity: Durham Rule

Answer 12

Defendant would not have committed the crime but-for his having a mental disease or defect (∆ friendly, rarely used today)

Question 13

Insanity: Model Penal Code

Answer 13

Due to a mental disease or defect, the defendant did not have substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts or to conform his conduct to the law

Question 14

Intoxication

Answer 14

Involuntary Intoxication: Can be a valid defense to general intent, specific intent, and malice crimes when it negates the mens rea necessary for those crimes.

Voluntary Intoxication: Voluntary intoxication is a defense only to specific-intent crimes (FIAT crimes), and only if it prevented the defendant from forming the mens rea; Not a valid defense if the defendant got drunk in order to commit the crime

Question 15

Conspiracy: Chain vs. Wheel

Answer 15

liable for the chain, but not other spokes on wheel

Question 16

Withdrawal from Conspiracy

Answer 16

At common law, it’s impossible to withdraw from a conspiracy, because the crime is completed the moment the agreement is made.

Under the federal rule, 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.

Under the MPC rule, a conspirator who helps to thwart the success of the conspiracy can raise a withdrawal defense even after an overt act has occurred.

Question 17

Attempt

Answer 17

1) Specific intent to commit a particular criminal act; and
2) Taking a substantial step towards perpetrating the crime

Attempt is a specific-intent crime always - even when the completed offense is only a general-intent or malice crime.

Question 18

Merger & Inchoate Crimes

Answer 18

conspiracy doesn’t merge
attempt merges into a completed offense
solicitation:
-If the person commits the offense, the solicitation charge will merge into the completed offense
-If person agrees, have a conspiracy (will likely merge)

Question 19

Kinds of Malice

Answer 19

o Intent to kill
o Intent to inflict serious bodily harm
o Felony murder
o Abandoned & malignant heart (∆ acted with a cavalier disregard for human life; ∆ must realize that his conduct is really risky but need not have any intent regarding the outcome of his actions)

Question 20

Dangerous Felonies for Felony Murder

Answer 20

BARRK: felonies of burglary, arson, robbery, rape, & kidnapping

Question 21

Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 21

A criminally negligent killing OR killing of someone while committing a crime other than those covered by felony murder