Criminal Law Flashcards
Crime may be prosecuted in any state where
an act that was part of the crime took place, or
the result took place
In crim case, P must prove each element of the crime (standard)
beyond a reasonable doubt
NY: for affirmative defense, D must prove by (standard)
a preponderance of the evidence
Felony def:
A crime that may be punished by death or imprisonment for more than 1 year
Misdemeanor def:
A crime punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for no more than 1 year
Failure to act can be the basis for crim liability, if three reqs are satisfied:
- Legal duty to act
- Knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty
- Ability to help
Failure to act for crim liability: there is a legal duty in 5 ways:
- by statute
- by K duty
- by status rel.
- by voluntary assumption of care
- by creation of the peril
Specific intent def:
when the crime requires not just the desire to do the act, but also the desire to achieve a specific result
Malice def:
where D acts intentionally or w/ reckless disregard of an obvious or known risk
General intent def:
D need only be generally aware of the factors constituting the crime; he need not intend a specific result
NY’s 5 mental states:
- Intent/purpose
- Knowledge
- Recklessness
- Negligence
- SL
Actual causation in crim liability: accelerating cause?
Accelerating cause counts as actual cause, even though it’s not literally a “but for” case
Actual causation (criminal) general rule:
D is an actual cause if the bad result would not have happened but for D’s conduct
Proximate causation (criminal) general rule:
D is a prox cause if the bad result is a natural and probable consequence of the D’s conduct
Will D be considered a prox cause if an intervening event causes the bad result?
Not if it was an unforeseeable intervening event
Concurrence principal:
Crim D must have the required mental state at the same time as he engages in the culpable act (usually comes up in larceny and burglary)
CL elements of battery (crim):
Unlawful application of force to another, resulting in either bodily injury or an offensive touching
Mental state: general intent
CL elements of assault (crim):
intentional creation other than by mere words of a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the victim of an immediate bodily harm
Mental state: specific intent
NY elements of assault:
Intentionally causing physical injury to another person
Merely causing a reasonable apprehension is not assault (it’s “menacing”)
Impossible to memorize all degrees of NY crimes. But remember these 3 factors in calculus:
- Weapons (“add a gun, add a degree”)
- Injury - how serious? Physical injury (substantial pain), or serious physical injury (permanent or life threatening?)
- Quantity (of money, drugs, etc.)
Second degree assault (NY)
Intentionally causing SERIOUS physical injury
Elements of battery (NY):
Battery doesn’t exist in NY!
Elements of CL murder:
- Causing the death
- of another person
- w/ malice aforethought
Murder - malice aforethought can be 4 mental states:
- Intent to kill
- Intent to inflit serious bodily harm
- Extreme recklessness (reckless indifference to human life)
- Intentional commission of an inherently dangerous felony (“felony murder”)