Criminal Law Essays Rule Statements

Question 1

for the defense of entrapment to exist

Answer 1

two conditions must be met,

1) the criminal design or plan originated with law enforcement officers, however, no entrapment if a police officer merely provides the opportunity for the commission of a crime to one otherwise readya nd willing to commit it
2) the D must not have been in any way predisposed to commit the crime, but mere inclination to engage in illegal activity is not adequate proof of predisposition

Question 2

Virginia’s felony murder statute provides that felony murder is

Answer 2

any murder committed, intentionally or accidentally, during the commission of, or during an attempt to commit, an enumerated crime, hoewver, if caused by circumstances coincident to the felony, not felony murder, must be a causal connection between the murder and the felony

Question 3

enumerated crimes for felony murder

Answer 3

burglary, rape, robbery, arson, abduction, sexual penetration, sodomy

Question 4

In Virginia, perjury is

Answer 4

the willful false swearing, while under a lawfully administered oath, regarding a material matter or thing, or giving conflicting testimony under oath to the sam ematter

Question 5

to convict a D of perjury, the Commonwealth must prove that

Answer 5

1) the D gave sworn testimony on 2 separate occassions
2) the testiomny on one occasion controdicted the other
3) acts were done with intent to testify falsely

Question 6

subornation of perjury is

Answer 6

the inducing of another to give false material testimony

Question 7

to convice subornation of perjury, Commonwealth must show that D

Answer 7

procured, induced, counseled, or advised Link to give false testimony, and if convicted, same as if you committed it

Question 8

capital murder is

Answer 8

the willful, deliberate, premeditated murder in a number of enumerated instances

Question 9

attempted murder must be done with

Answer 9

the specific intent to kill

Question 10

to convict of malicious wounding, must prove that

Answer 10

1) intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill
2) done with malice
3) used a means to cause bodily harm
4) resulted in injury

Question 11

transferred intent

Answer 11

a person who acts with the intent to harm one person will be liable if a third person, who is not the intended victim, is harmed because of the act

Question 12

assault

Answer 12

placing another in apprehension of an immediate offensive touching

Question 13

battery

Answer 13

unlawful application of force resulting in bodily injury, intentional or not.

Question 14

criminal negligence battery

Answer 14

sufficient caused application of force with criminal negligence

Question 15

involuntary manslaughter

Answer 15

accidental killing of another during the commission of some unlawful, but not felonious act

Question 16

petit larceny

Answer 16

taking of the personal property of another person by trespass, with the intent to permanently deprive, property worth less than $1,000

Question 17

accessory after the fact

Answer 17

known an offense has been committed and receives, relieves, comforts, or assists the felon in escaping punishment (can’t be close family member)

Question 18

close relative cannot be

Answer 18

accessories after the fact

Question 19

under due process clause of fourteenth amendment, prosecution is required to prove

Answer 19

each element beyond reasonable doubt

Question 20

after the prosectuion has rested its case, the D may move to strik the evidence on the grounds that

Answer 20

the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to sustain a convcition

Question 21

standard for motion to strike

Answer 21

viewing all evidence in light most favorable to prosectuion, no rational fact finder could find beyond a reasonable doubt that the D committed all elements of the crime for which he has been charged or that ll elements of the crime was allegedly committed

Question 22

assault

Answer 22

attempt to commit battery, unlawfully apply force to another OR intentional creation of a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the victim of imminent bodily harm (other than by mere words)

Question 23

assault is a ____ crime

Answer 23

specific intent crime

Question 24

to prove attempted capital murder

Answer 24

1) had the intent to commit capital murder

2) made some direct but ineffectual act towards its. commission

Question 25

to establish a conviction for attempted robbery, the Commonwealth must prove that

Answer 25

the D intended to steal personal property from another against his will, by force, violence, or intimidation, and the D committed a direct, but ineffectual act to acomplish this crime (overt act)

Question 26

“Alford” plea

Answer 26

D acknolwedges that there is sufficient evience for conviction of the crime, but does not admit factual guilt

Question 27

grand larceny

Answer 27

person who takes the personal property of another by trespass, with intent to permanenlty deprive, value of goods is $1,00 or more OR taking money or thing worth $5 or more from person of another or taking any firearm, not from the person of another

Question 28

conspiracy to commit a felony

Answer 28

agreement between two or more persons entered into with the intent to commit a felony, no overt act required

Question 29

principal in second degree

Answer 29

present at the commission of the crim and either 1) commits some overt act such as inciting, encouraging, advising, or assisting in the commission of the crim, or 2) shares in the perpatrator’s criminal intent by procuring, encouragin, couneanicng, or approving the commission fo the crime

Question 30

larecny is a continuing offense, meaning

Answer 30

anyone who knows that the property is stolen and assists in its transportation or disposition is guilty of larceny

Question 31

one who commits crime of receiigin stolen property is guilty of

Answer 31

larceny, may be prosecuted even if actual thief is not convicted

Question 32

to charge guilty parties with felonies, sheriff may

Answer 32

1) make immediate arrest
2) go before competent judicial officer to swear out a warrant
3) ask Commonwelath’s attorney to prepare a bill of indictment for presentment to theregular grand jruy

Question 33

immediate arrest

Answer 33

don’t need warrant if PC to believe he committed a specific offense, after doing it must bring arrestee before court of appropriate jx in his county for determination of incarceration pending trial or admission to bail

Question 34

arrest warrant

Answer 34

written accusation of crime based on police officer’s affidavit of PC

Question 35

sheriff must obtain an arrest warrant if the misdemeaner was

Answer 35

not committed in the sheriff’s presence

Question 36

m’naughten rule

Answer 36

presumption of sanity unless defense proves at the time of committing the act, the accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he wasdoing, or if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong

Question 37

entitled to use ___ force in defense of property

Answer 37

reasonable

Question 38

employer is vicariously liable for the torts of his employee if

Answer 38

1) there was an employer-employee relationship between the party whose act caused the injury and the person sought to be liable
2) tort occured within the scope of the employment relationship

Question 39

courts tend to hold employers liable when an employee commits an intentional tort and

Answer 39

some benefit may be found running to the employer