Criminal Law and Procedure Flashcards
To study
Modern merger rule
Generally no merger of crimes, two exceptions:
(1) solicitation or attempt merges into the completed crime
(2) lesser included offenses merge into the larger crime
General elements of a crime
Actus reus, mens rea, concurrence, harmful result and causation.
Actus reus defined
Voluntary act. Not reflexes, not unconscious/sleep walking, not conduct that is not a product of actor’s will.
Sometimes omissions if: (1) there is a legal duty to act, (2) D has knowledge of facts that give rise to duty, (3) the duty is reasonably possible to perform.
Specific intent defined and list of specific intent crimes.
D does the act with a specific intent, and the prosecution must produce evidence tending to prove the requisite specific intent.
Some defenses apply only to specific intent crimes: voluntary intoxication, unreasonable mistake of fact.
SAC-FAL-BEFF:
Solicitation
Attempt
Conspiracy
First-degree murder
Assault
Larceny/Robbery
Burglary
Embezzlement
Forgery
False pretenses
Required state of mind (mens rea) for common law murder and arson
Only Malice, shown by reckless disregard for an obvious or high risk that a particular harmful result would occur.
General intent defined
Defendant must be generally aware that he is acting in an illegal way and have at least awareness of high likelihood that any attendant circumstances required for the crime are present.
Jury can infer general intent merely from the doing of the act. Prosecution does not need to prove intent by any other evidence.
MPC approach to fault
Four categories of mental state: Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, negligence.
Purposely: Person acts with conscious intent to engage in the conduct (similar to specific intent definition)
Knowingly: Person acts with general awareness that their conduct is illegal or that certain circumstances exist (similar to general intent definition).
Recklessly: Consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk by a gross deviation from the reasonable person standard of care.
Negligence: Person fails to be aware of the substantial and unjustifiable risk, gross deviation from the reasonable person standard of care. Objective standard. Higher standard the civil negligence. Just like tort law, violation of a statute/regulation may be evidence of liability.
Transferred intent
Intent and defenses transfer from one crime/victim to another. But never for attempts.
Common law accomplice liability
Four types:
(1) the principal in first degree (the main actor);
(2) principal in second degree (aid, command, encourage AND present at crime);
(3) accessories before the fact (aid, command, encourage BUT NOT present at crime);
(4) accessories after the fact (assisting after the crime).
Modern forms of accomplice liability
Three types:
Principal (the main actor)
Accomplice: anyone who (1) with intent to assist and intent that the principal commit the crime and (2) actual aids, counsels, or encourages the principal before or during the commission of the crime.
Accessory after the fact: only for felonies, and after the felony is completed, knowingly helping the felon escape.
Modern accomplice liability mens rea
Dual intent required:
If principal’s requisite mens rea is purposely or knowingly, the accomplice must have (1) the intent to assist the principal, and (2) the intent that the principal commit the main offense.
If principal’s requisite mens rea is recklessly or negligently, the accomplice must have (1) intended to facilitate and (2) acted with either recklessness or negligence depending on what mens rea the main act required.
Scope of accomplice liability
An accomplice is responsible for the actual crimes planned AND for any that were also committed that were foreseeable.
Withdrawing from accomplice liability
An accomplice can avoid liability by withdrawing if the crime hasn’t happened yet.
If the accomplice only encouraged, then the accomplice must repudiate the encouragement.
If the person gave material assistance, then the accomplice must neutralize the assistance.
If it is impossible to withdraw in either way, then the accomplice may call the authorities to withdraw, as long as the crime hasn’t started yet.
Define inchoate offenses and list major ones
Solicitation, attempt, conspiracy.
A complete crime in itself. Conspiracy does not merge, so D can be convicted of conspiracy and final crime.
Solicitation and attempt DO merge, so D cannot be convicted of both one of those and the final crime.
Solicitation
Inducing someone else to commit a crime with the specific intent that the person commit the crime.
Mistake of fact and withdrawal are no defense.
Conspiracy
(1) an agreement between two or more person; (2) an intent to enter into the agreement; (3) an intent to achieve the objective of the agreement.
At common law, the agreement itself was enough to complete the offense. Today, most states require and overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
The agreement can be express or implied.
Specific intent, dual intent: intent to agree and intent to achieve the objective.
Common law “bilateral approach”: at least two parties with criminal intent. Modern MPC “unilateral” approach: just one party with criminal intent suffices (i.e., an undercover police officer won’t defeat the conspiracy).
Wharton’s Rule
Wharton rule: where a substantive offense requires N number of people (n is 2 or more), a conviction for conspiracy requires that the conspiracy involve at least N+1 people.
Where a conspirator is liable for crimes of other co-conspirators
May fall under regular accomplice liability, or two-part test:
the other crimes were (1) committed in furtherance of the conspiracy and (2) were foreseeable.
Defenses to conspiracy
Factual impossibility is no defense.
At common law, withdrawal was no defense. Modern MPC approach allows withdrawal if the defendant informs the police.
Withdrawal will shield against liability from subsequent crimes after the withdrawal IF D (1) notifies all members of the conspirators of withdrawal and (2) neutralizes any material assistance he provided.
Attempt
(1) a specific intent to commit the crime, and (2) an overt act in furtherance of the crime.
Intent: D must have intent to perform an act and obtain a result that, if achieved, would constitute a crime.
Over act is more than mere preparation. Traditional rule: close proximity to actually completing the crime. MPC approach: A substantial step suffices.
Defenses:
(1) Legal impossibility works because there was NO CRIME that could have been committed.
(2) Factual impossibility is NOT a defense (includes when D is mistaken about the attendant circumstances).
(3) Abandonment: majority rule is abandonment is no defense. MPC says it is if (1) fully voluntary and (2) complete abandonment.
List of insanity defenses
M’Naghten Rule, Irresistible impulse, Durham test, MPC test
M’Naghten Rule
An insanity defense.
D is entitled to acquittal if D can show:
(1) a disease of mind, (2) caused a defect of reason, and (3) D lacked the ability at the time to know the wrongfulness of his actions or understand the nature and quality of his actions.
Irresistible impulse test
An insanity defense.
D is entitled to acquittal if D can show: a mental illness caused D to be unable to control his actions or to conform his conduct to the law.
Durham test
An insanity defense.
Almost no one uses this test.
D is entitled to acquittal if D can show but for some mental disease or defect D would not have committed the crime.
MPC insanity defense test
D is entitled to acquittal if D can show: D had mental disease or defect that caused him to lack substantial capacity to either (1) appreciate the criminality (wrongfulness) of his actions; or (2) conform his conduct to the requirement of the law.
Combines M’Naghten and Irresistible Impulse tests.
Intoxication defense
Voluntary and involuntary intoxication.
Voluntary intoxication: intentional taking of a substance known to be intoxicating whether or not the person intended to actually become intoxicated.
Voluntary intoxication can be defense to specific intent crimes but NOT general intent crimes, strict liability crimes, or crimes requiring malice, recklessness, or negligence.
Will often downgrade first-degree murder to second-degree murder, but will NOT downgrade second-degree murder to manslaughter.
Involuntary intoxication: ingestion of an intoxicating substance unknowingly, under duress, or pursuant to medical advice (and unaware of intoxicating side-effects).
Voluntary intoxication definition and explanation
Voluntary intoxication: intentional taking of a substance known to be intoxicating whether or not the person intended to actually become intoxicated.
Voluntary intoxication can be defense to specific intent crimes but NOT general intent crimes, strict liability crimes, or crimes requiring malice, recklessness, or negligence.
For what crimes can and can’t voluntary intoxication be a defense?
Voluntary intoxication can be defense to specific intent crimes but NOT: (1) general intent crimes, (2) strict liability crimes, or (3) crimes requiring malice, (4) recklessness, or (5) negligence.
Will often downgrade first-degree murder to second-degree murder, but will NOT downgrade second-degree murder to manslaughter.
Involuntary intoxication
Involuntary intoxication: ingestion of an intoxicating substance unknowingly, under duress, or pursuant to medical advice (and unaware of intoxicating side-effects).
Necessary proof of malice mens rea
Prosecution must show: reckless disregarded an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result would occur.
6th Am and post-charge lineup
6th Am guarantees right to attorney at all critical stages. A post-charge lineup is a critical stage. The attorney must be present for the entirety of the lineup, not just when the defendant is presented to the witness.
Ways the 4th Am allows warrantless search and seizure within the suspects home
Consent, plain view, community caretaker exception
Defenses to attempt
Defenses:
(1) Legal impossibility works because there was NO CRIME that could have been committed.
(2) Factual impossibility is NOT a defense (includes when D is mistaken about the attendant circumstances).
(3) Abandonment: majority rule is abandonment is no defense. MPC says it is if (1) fully voluntary and (2) complete abandonment.
Generally when is defense by force available as proper justification?
Defense of self, defense of others, defense of property, prevent crime, necessity
Self-defense
Non-deadly force and deadly force are appropriate as the defendant reasonably believes necessary; no duty to retreat.
For deadly force, defendant must reasonably believe he is being attacked with deadly force or great bodily harm.
The initial aggressor may not use deadly force in self-defense unless withdrawal/retreat or sudden escalation.
Defense of others
D can use force to defend others if the other requirements of defense are met; very few jurisdictions require special familial or legal relationship between D and potential victim.
Reasonable appearance of right to use force is all that is necessary to trigger a defense of others justification.