Criminal Law And Criminal Procedure

Question 1

Basic elements of a crime:

Answer 1

Act, intent, causation, and concurrence.

Question 2

Causation requires:

Answer 2

Showing that the defendant’s acts were both the actual and proximate cause of the outcome.

Proximate: foreseeable.

Question 3

Accomplice liability

Answer 3

A person is guilty as an accomplice if he assists or encourages the principal with dual intents: (1) the intent to assist the principal; and (2) the intent that the principal commit the offense charged.

A person is not liable for accomplice liability—they are liable for the crime committed through the theory of accomplice liability.

Question 4

Murder MEE statement:

Answer 4

In order to be guilty of murder, the defendant must have the men’s rea of malice aforethought, which is satisfied in most jurisdictions with intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life, or intent to commit a felony.

Question 5

First-degree murder

Answer 5

Intent to kill with premeditation and deliberation.

Some states require proof of a cool mind capable of reflection and some period of reflection. Others follow the view that premeditation and deliberation can occur in an instant and be inferred from circumstantial evidence (using a deadly weapon).

Question 6

Second-degree murder

Answer 6

Satisfied by the intent to inflict great bodily harm or by acting with reckless disregard of an extreme risk to human life (depraved heart murder).

Note: this is also the catch-all—when an act constitutes murder but is not quite first degree.

Depraved heart murder usually requires that the defendant acted recklessly and that his conduct shows a high degree of indifference to the value of human life.

Question 7

Felony murder

Answer 7

Applies to any killing that occurs during the commission of a felony, an attempt to commit a felony, or a flight from a felony.

BARRK: burglary, arson, rape, robbery, kidnapping—inherently dangerous felonies.

The purpose of the felonious conduct must be independent of the homicide.

Question 8

Voluntary manslaughter

Answer 8

Intentional killing of a human being without malice aforethought committed in the heat of passion due to adequate provocation.

Question 9

Involuntary manslaughter

Answer 9

Defendant causes the death of another human by engaging in conduct that creates an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury. Majority: defendant must have acted recklessly. Some states say gross negligence is enough.

Question 10

Attempt

Answer 10

Mens rea: intent
Actus reus: acts beyond mere preparation

Prosecution must show: (1) defendant intended to commit the crime and (2) defendant’s acts went sufficiently beyond mere preparation to commit the crime.

Abandonment is not a defense to attempt in most states.

Question 11

Duress

Answer 11

Defendant performs a crime because there was threat or use of force by another which caused a reasonable fear that, if the defendant did not perform the crime, either he or a third person would suffer imminent death or serious bodily injury. One cannot use duress as a defense to an intentional homicide.

Question 12

Insanity

Answer 12

Majority of states use M’Naghten: defendant must prove he suffered a disease of the mind that caused a defect of reason, and as a result he lacked the ability to know the wrongfulness of the actions or understand the nature and quality of his actions.

Question 13

Standing under the Fourth Amendment

Answer 13

A person has standing to raise a Fourth Amendment challenge if he has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the thing searched or seized.

Question 14

General rule—Fourth Amendment

Answer 14

The Fourth Amendment applies to searches or seizures conducted by government agents in areas where the complaining individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy. An agent usually needs a warrant based on probable cause. However, there are many exceptions, including existent circumstances, searches incident to arrest, consent, the automobile exception, plain view, inventory searches, special needs, and Terry stops/frisks.

Question 15

Plain view exception

Answer 15

If officers are lawfully located in a position from which they view an object, if its incriminating character is immediately apparent, they may seize it without a warrant.

Question 16

Terry stops and frisks

Answer 16

The Fourth Amendment permits detention of an individual for a brief period of time if the police have reasonable, articulable suspicion that the individual has been recently involved in criminal activity.

Question 17

Anything other than ___ will not be sufficient to invoke one’s Fifth Amendment Miranda rights.

Answer 17

An unequivocal request for counsel.

Question 18

Are officers required to tell the defendant that a lawyer is trying to contact him?

Answer 18

No.

Question 19

Fourteenth Amendment—voluntariness under the Due Process Clause

Answer 19

The standard for excluding a confession under the Due Process Clause is (1) whether the police subjected the suspect to coercive conduct and (2) whether the conduct was sufficient to overcome the will of the suspect.

Neither the confession nor the fruits of the confession can be admitted if the Fourteenth Amendment is violated.

Question 20

Sixth Amendment—right to counsel

Answer 20

Sixth Amendment, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, provides that the accused has the right “to have Assistance of Counsel for his defense.”

Question 21

When does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attach?

Answer 21

Attaches when judicial proceedings have begun—i.e., when the accused is formally charged via indictment, arraignment, preliminary hearing, etc.

It does NOT attach upon arrest.

It applies to all critical stages of the prosecution after formal charges are filed.

Once it attaches, any attempts to deliberately elicit an incriminating statement about the offense that the defendant was charged with, in the absence of counsel or a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver, violates the Sixth Amendment.

Question 22

Fifth Amendment

Answer 22

Right to counsel and right to remain silent.

Law enforcement officers are required to read Miranda warnings to a suspect when the suspect is subjected to a custodial interrogation.

Question 23

Public safety and Miranda

Answer 23

Warnings are not required if the questions are intended to protect public safety (e.g., secure weapons after a shooting).

Question 24

When is a suspect in custody?

Answer 24

If there is a formal arrest or a restraint on freedom of movement to the degree associated with formal arrest.

Question 25

When is interrogation occurring?

Answer 25

Questioning initiated by law enforcement officers or any words or actions that the police should know are reasonably likely to lead to an incriminating response from the suspect.

Question 26

A valid Miranda waiver:

Answer 26

Suspect must make a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver. Low bar.

Question 27

A valid Miranda invocation:

Answer 27

For both the right to remain silent and the right to counsel, the suspect must be explicit, unambiguous, and unequivocal in making the request.

Question 28

If a Fifth Amendment violation occurs:

Answer 28

Statements are excluded from the prosecutor’s case-in-chief. The physical fruits are not excluded if the statements were made voluntarily.

Question 29

Are traffic stops considered custodial?

Answer 29

Generally no because they are temporary and do not present the same inherently coercive pressures as station house interrogations.

Therefore, Miranda warnings do not need to be given during a traffic stop.

Question 30

If a substantive law provides that a sentence may be increased beyond the statutory maximum for a crime if additional facts are provided, proof of the facts must be submitted to ___ and proved ___.

Answer 30

The jury; beyond a reasonable doubt.

Judicial findings of such facts would violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial.

Question 31

The Sixth Amendment safeguards

Answer 31

A defendant’s right to counsel at all critical stages of criminal prosecution.

Question 32

If a criminal defendant chooses to waive his right to counsel and represent himself, his waiver must be:

Answer 32

Knowing and intelligent. A defendant’s waiver is voluntary if the court finds that the defendant has a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against him.

Court must inquire as to those things.

Question 33

When the police enter an area pursuant to a valid warrant and make an arrest, if they believe an accomplice may be present, they may:

Answer 33

Make a protective sweep of the area beyond the defendant’s wingspan. This exception is based on protecting the officers’ safety.

Question 34

Attempt is a ___ intent crime.

Answer 34

Specific. To be guilty of attempt, a defendant must take a substantial step that is more than mere preparation toward the preparation of a crime, with the intent that the target crime takes place.

Question 35

Exception to double jeopardy

Answer 35

Manifest necessity for a mistrial—hung jury or misconduct by the defendant.

Question 36

Extortion

Answer 36

(1) taking money or property from another (2) by threats of future harm to the victim or his property
different than robbery in that it is a threat of future, not immediate, harm.

Question 37

Criminal Negligence

Answer 37

Gross deviation from normal standard of care (civil negligence: just a deviation from the normal standard of care)

Question 38

Defendant proximately causes the resulting crime when…

Answer 38

the crime is a natural and probable consequence of defendant’s conduct, even when defendant does not anticipate the precise manner in which it occurs.

Question 39

When will an intervening act shield defendant from liability?

Answer 39

when it is a mere coincidence or unforeseeable.