Criminal Law

Question 1

Robbery is

Answer 1

(1) the taking (2) of the personal property (3) of another (4) from the other person’s presence (5) by force or intimidation (6) with the intent to permanently deprive the person of the property

Question 2

Common law conspiracy requires

Answer 2

(1) an agreement between two or more persons, (2) the intent to enter into the agreement, (3) the intent to achieve the objective of the agreement

**Common law conspiracy does NOT require an overt act

Question 3

In addition to the common law elements, modern law conspiracy requires

Answer 3

an overt act.

Question 4

An accomplice is one who

Answer 4

(1) with the intent to assist the principal and the intent that the principal commit the crime (2) actually aids, counsels, or encourages the principal before or during the commission of the crime

Question 5

An accomplice can withdraw by

Answer 5

(1) Repudiating any encouragement

(2) Retrieving any aid

Question 6

A conspirator is liable for crimes of a co-conspirator if those crimes were

Answer 6

(2) in furtherance of the objective of the conspiracy and (2) foreseeable (a natural and probable consequence)

Question 7

If a statute is intended to protect members of a limited class, members of that class are

Answer 7

presumed to be immune from liability, even if they participate in the crime in a manner that would otherwise make them liable.

Question 8

If members of a conspiracy agree to commit an act that violates a statute designed to protect persons within a given class, a person within that class

Answer 8

cannot be guilty of the conspiracy to commit the crime

Question 9

Criminal assault is

Answer 9

(1) the attempt to commit a battery; or
(2) the intentional creation, other than by mere words, of a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the victim of imminent bodily harm

Question 10

In order to “knowingly possess”, a defendant must have

Answer 10

(1) knowledge**
(2) control of the item for long enough to have terminated the possession

**Knowledge is inferred if D is aware of a high probability of the true nature of the item and deliberately avoids learning the truth

Question 11

Factual impossibility is not a defense to attempt if

Answer 11

the defendant would have committed a crime had the attendant circumstances been as he believe them to be.

**D can’t be guilty of attempt if D THINKs it’s a crime, but it’s actually not.

Question 12

Larceny is

Answer 12

the (1) intentional (2) taking and carrying away of the (3) personal property of another (4) without consent with the (5) intent to permanently deprive the other of the property.

Question 13

Larceny by trick occurs when

Answer 13

(1) the victim consents to the D’s taking possession of the property (2) but such consent was induced by a misrepresentation

**Note, whether the VICTIM thinks he is parting with POSSESSION versus TITLE is what distinguishes larceny by trick from false pretenses.

Question 14

Embezzlement is

Answer 14

(1) the fraudulent
(2) conversion of
(3) the personal property
(4) of another
(5) by a person in LAWFUL POSSESSION of the property

**distinguish from larceny by whether the INITIAL possession was lawful. Watch out for “continuing trespass” where initial possession was mistaken (but not lawful) and later conversion is still larceny. For embezzlement, initial possession must be wholly lawful. Cash must not have been placed into the register.

Question 15

False pretenses occurs when a defendant

Answer 15

(1) obtains title (2) to the property of another (3) by an intentional (or knowing) false statement of past or existing fact (4) with the intent to defraud another

**Note, an intentional false statement of FUTURE fact (i.e. a false promise to pay alter) is NOT false pretenses, but is instead fraud or breach of contract.

Question 16

_____ _____ that a crime would be committed is generally insufficient for accomplice liability.

Answer 16

Mere knowledge

Question 17

A private person may use deadly force to apprehend a fleeing felon if

Answer 17

(1) the felon threats death or serious bodily harm and (2) deadly force is necessary to prevent the felon’s escape and (3) the arrestee must actually be guilty of the felony**

**It is NOT sufficient that the arrestee “reasonably appeared” to be guilty

Question 18

Under the majority felony murder rule, criminal liability for the murder of a co-felon

Answer 18

cannot be based on the death of the co-felon from resistance by the victim or police pursuit.

Question 19

The common law definition of murder is

Answer 19

unlawful killing of a human with malice aforethought

Question 20

The four types of malice aforethought are

Answer 20

1. intent to kill
2. intent to cause serious bodily harm
3. extreme indifference to the value of human life (i.e. depraved heart killing)
4. intent to commit a felony

Question 21

manslaughter at common law is

Answer 21

the unlawful killing of another without malice aforethought

Question 22

Recklessly causing a death of a person is usually referred to as

Answer 22

involuntary manslaughter

Question 23

A killing that takes place during the heat of passion during provocation is

Answer 23

voluntary manslaughter

note: usually finding spouse in sex act with another, physically assaulting someone, etc.

Question 24

Misdemeanor manslaughter is (valid/invalid) in most states and is usually an incorrect answer on the bar

Answer 24

invalid

Question 25

In homicide case, the difference between recklessness (involuntary manslaughter) and depraved indifference to the value of human life (i.e. murder) is almost always decided by

Answer 25

the jury. So if a question asks you to identify the most serious crime they could be convicted of and the answer hinges on recklessness, choose murder.

Question 26

To be convicted of attempt, the defendant must have had the intent to

Answer 26

actually commit the underlying crime (specific intent; higher intent requirement sometimes than actual crime)

Question 27

When recklessness is an element, the prosecution must prove

Answer 27

1. extreme deviation from normal behavior
2. voluntary intoxication not recognized defense
3. Any mistake defendant makes in commission of crime must be reasonable mistake (i.e. defendant shot man while hunting but thought it was a deer is okay if it was reasonable to think it was a deer)

Question 28

To establish knowing, you must show the defendant

Answer 28

knows, believes, or is substantially certain that the fact was true

Question 29

Any time you see intoxication + someone doing something dumb, the mental state is probably

Answer 29

reckless

Question 30

Conspiracy requires

Answer 30

(1) agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful act
(2) plus some overt act (in almost all states, but not at common law)

Question 31

Co-conspirators are liable both for _______ and all _______________.

Answer 31

conspiracy.

Question 32

A withdrawal from conspiracy ________ negate liability for the crime of conspiracy.

Answer 32

does not. But it does relieve the D of liability for all subsequent crimes after the withdrawal.

Question 33

A successful withdrawal

Answer 33

(1) voluntarily withdraw; and
(2) communicate that to all other participants in time for the participants to change their plans

**You don’t need to inform the police or try to thwart the crime unless under the MPC.

Question 34

Burglary is the

Answer 34

intentional breaking and entering into the dwelling place of another in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony or any degree of larceny.

Question 35

A “dwelling place” for burglary purposes is

Answer 35

any structure customarily used for sleeping.

**Hotel rooms qualify.

Question 36

Obtaining entry through fraud _____ a _________ “breaking” for burglary purposes.

Answer 36

is; constructive.

Question 37

Robbery is

Answer 37

the taking and carrying away of the personal property of another by force or intimidation from another’s person or presence with the intent to permanently deprive.

Question 38

Self-defense requires that the defendent

Answer 38

(1) reasonably believed that he was under attack; and

(2) used reasonable force to defend himself

Question 39

Common law arson is the

Answer 39

malicious burning of the dwelling house of ANOTHER.

**At common law, burning your own home is not arson.

Question 40

The three rules to for “malice” as a mental state are

Answer 40

(1) intended the crime or was extremely reckless
(2) a REASONABLE mistake of fact is a defense to a malice crime
(3) voluntary intoxication is not a defense

Question 41

The essence of the crime of embezzlement requires

Answer 41

(1) theft by a high level employee; or

(2) theft by a person in a position of trust

Question 42

Some tips for distinguishing between embezzlement and larceny on the multi-state are (just tap to see the answer)

Answer 42

(1) low level employee for control of the property over the limited amount of time = LARCENY
(2) high level employee with long time of control = EMBEZZLEMENT

Question 43

The three rules to remember for “specific intent” as a mental state are

Answer 43

(1) the specific intent to commit the crime must be proven
(2) a mistake of fact, whether reasonable or UNreasonable, is a defense
(3) voluntary intoxication IS a defense**

**But you gotta be so drunk that you don’t know what you’re doing. Also you cannot develop the intent while sober and then get yourself drunk to get up the courage.

Question 44

You will know that you’re dealing with a “malice” crime because its

Answer 44

(1) murder or arson; or

(2) the statutory definition given in the prompt says malice.

Question 45

The three rules to remember for “reckless” as a mental state are

Answer 45

(1) intent or reckless behavior will suffice
(2) a mistake must be a reasonable mistake
(3) voluntary intoxication is NOT a defense.

Question 46

You will know you’re dealing with a “recklessness” crime because its

Answer 46

(1) battery or involuntary manslaughter; or

(2) the statutory definition given in the prompt says “reckless”

Question 47

You will know you’re dealing with a “specific intent” crime because its

Answer 47

(1) one of the crimes on the long list of specific intent crimes; or
(2) the statutory definition given in the prompt says the perpetrator must “intend/have the intent”

Question 48

Important crimes for the multistate and their respective mental states: (just tap to see the answer)

Answer 48

murder - malice aforethought
manslaughter - 90% of the time recklessness, 10% of the time heat of passion
battery - recklessness
assault - specific intent (“SI”)
larceny - SI
robbery - SI
burglary - SI
arson - malice
rape - recklessness
solicitation - SI (merges with the commission of the underlying crime)
conspiracy - SI (does NOT merge with the commission of the underlying crime)
attempt - SI (merges with the commission of the underlying crime)

Question 49

Three important defenses on the multistate are

Answer 49

(1) self-defense
(2) mistake of fact (when it can be reasonable versus unreasonable)
(3) voluntary intoxication (when it can be used)

Question 50

The two approaches to attempt are

Answer 50

(1) the dangerous proximity test
(2) MPC’s substantial step that strongly corroborates intent

Mere preparations are not enough

Question 51

An accessory after the fact is one who

Answer 51

aids or assists another KNOWING that he has committed a felony in order to help the felon escape arrest, trial or conviction.