Criminal Law Flashcards
Robbery is
(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
Common law conspiracy requires
(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
In addition to the common law elements, modern law conspiracy requires
an overt act.
An accomplice is one who
(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
An accomplice can withdraw by
(1) Repudiating any encouragement
(2) Retrieving any aid
A conspirator is liable for crimes of a co-conspirator if those crimes were
(2) in furtherance of the objective of the conspiracy and (2) foreseeable (a natural and probable consequence)
If a statute is intended to protect members of a limited class, members of that class are
presumed to be immune from liability, even if they participate in the crime in a manner that would otherwise make them liable.
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
cannot be guilty of the conspiracy to commit the crime
Criminal assault is
(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
In order to “knowingly possess”, a defendant must have
(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
Factual impossibility is not a defense to attempt if
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.
Larceny is
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.
Larceny by trick occurs when
(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.
Embezzlement is
(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.
False pretenses occurs when a defendant
(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.
_____ _____ that a crime would be committed is generally insufficient for accomplice liability.
Mere knowledge
A private person may use deadly force to apprehend a fleeing felon if
(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
Under the majority felony murder rule, criminal liability for the murder of a co-felon
cannot be based on the death of the co-felon from resistance by the victim or police pursuit.
The common law definition of murder is
unlawful killing of a human with malice aforethought
The four types of malice aforethought are
- intent to kill
- intent to cause serious bodily harm
- extreme indifference to the value of human life (i.e. depraved heart killing)
- intent to commit a felony
manslaughter at common law is
the unlawful killing of another without malice aforethought
Recklessly causing a death of a person is usually referred to as
involuntary manslaughter
A killing that takes place during the heat of passion during provocation is
voluntary manslaughter
note: usually finding spouse in sex act with another, physically assaulting someone, etc.
Misdemeanor manslaughter is (valid/invalid) in most states and is usually an incorrect answer on the bar
invalid
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
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.
To be convicted of attempt, the defendant must have had the intent to
actually commit the underlying crime (specific intent; higher intent requirement sometimes than actual crime)
When recklessness is an element, the prosecution must prove
- extreme deviation from normal behavior
- voluntary intoxication not recognized defense
- 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)
To establish knowing, you must show the defendant
knows, believes, or is substantially certain that the fact was true
Any time you see intoxication + someone doing something dumb, the mental state is probably
reckless
Conspiracy requires
(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)
Co-conspirators are liable both for _______ and all _______________.
conspiracy.
A withdrawal from conspiracy ________ negate liability for the crime of conspiracy.
does not. But it does relieve the D of liability for all subsequent crimes after the withdrawal.
A successful withdrawal
(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.
Burglary is the
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.
A “dwelling place” for burglary purposes is
any structure customarily used for sleeping.
**Hotel rooms qualify.
Obtaining entry through fraud _____ a _________ “breaking” for burglary purposes.
is; constructive.
Robbery is
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.
Self-defense requires that the defendent
(1) reasonably believed that he was under attack; and
(2) used reasonable force to defend himself
Common law arson is the
malicious burning of the dwelling house of ANOTHER.
**At common law, burning your own home is not arson.
The three rules to for “malice” as a mental state are
(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
The essence of the crime of embezzlement requires
(1) theft by a high level employee; or
(2) theft by a person in a position of trust
Some tips for distinguishing between embezzlement and larceny on the multi-state are (just tap to see the answer)
(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
The three rules to remember for “specific intent” as a mental state are
(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.
You will know that you’re dealing with a “malice” crime because its
(1) murder or arson; or
(2) the statutory definition given in the prompt says malice.
The three rules to remember for “reckless” as a mental state are
(1) intent or reckless behavior will suffice
(2) a mistake must be a reasonable mistake
(3) voluntary intoxication is NOT a defense.
You will know you’re dealing with a “recklessness” crime because its
(1) battery or involuntary manslaughter; or
(2) the statutory definition given in the prompt says “reckless”
You will know you’re dealing with a “specific intent” crime because its
(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”
Important crimes for the multistate and their respective mental states: (just tap to see the answer)
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)
Three important defenses on the multistate are
(1) self-defense
(2) mistake of fact (when it can be reasonable versus unreasonable)
(3) voluntary intoxication (when it can be used)
The two approaches to attempt are
(1) the dangerous proximity test
(2) MPC’s substantial step that strongly corroborates intent
Mere preparations are not enough
An accessory after the fact is one who
aids or assists another KNOWING that he has committed a felony in order to help the felon escape arrest, trial or conviction.
