Criminal Law - Introduction and Overview Flashcards
Sources of Law
- Common Law
- Modern Penal Code (MPC)
- Modern Statutory Rules
Essential Elements of a Crime
- Physical Act
- Mental State
- Causation
- Concurrence
Specific Crimes (against 2 situations)
- Against Persons
- Against Property Owners
Liability for the Conduct of Others
Accomplice Liability
Inchoate (incomplete) Offenses
- Solicitation
- Conspiracy
- Attempt
Defenses (8)
- Insanity
- Voluntary Intoxication
- Infancy
- Mistake
- Self-Defense
- Necessity
- Duress
- Entrapment
Jurisdiction
A crime may be prosecuted in any state where:
1. an ACT that was part of the crime took place; or
2. the result took place
Burden of Proof - Elements of a Crime
In a criminal case, the prosecution must prove each element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt
Burden of Proof - Defenses and an Exception
Generally, be disproved BARD
Exception: Insanity (in most states this must only be proved by a preponderance of the evidence
Classification of Crimes
- Felony: a crime that may be punished by death or imprisonment for more than a year
- Misdemeanor: a crime punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for NO more than a year
The Act Requirement - Physical Acts (Commissions)
- All bodily movements are physical acts that can be the basis for criminal liability, provided they are voluntary
- Involuntary movements that are NOT considered acts:
a. one that is not the product of the actors’ volution (being pushed)
b. Sleep walking or otherwise non-voluntary conduct
c. a reflex or something else
The Act Requirement - Omissions (3 Requirements)
A failure to act can also be the basis for criminal liability, provided you:
- have a legal duty to act
- have knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty; and
- You have the ability to help
The Act Requirement - Omissions (5 ways to create a legal duty to act)
- By statute (ex. filing taxes)
- By contract of Agreement (ex. lifeguard)
- By the status relationship between the D and the Victim (spouse/spouse or parent/child)
- By the voluntary assumption of care (ex. continuing care once you start it)
- By creation made peril (if D cause problem initially, D has duty to help)
Common Law Mental States
- Specific Intent
- Malice
- General Intent
- Strict Liability
Common Law Mental States - Specific Intent (Definition)
When the crime requires not just the desire to do the act but also to achieve a specific result
Common Law Mental States - 11 Specific Intent Crimes
- Assault
- 1st Premeditated Murder
- Larceny
- Embezzlement
- False Pretenses
- Robbery
- Forgery
- Burglary
- Solicitation
- Conspiracy
- Attempt
Common Law Mental States - Specific Intent (2 Defenses)
- Voluntary Intoxication; and
- An Unreasonable Mistake of Fact
Common Law Mental States - Malice (Definition)
When a defendant acts intentionally or with reckless disregard of an obvious or known risk
Common Law Mental States - 2 Malice Crimes
- Murder
- Arson
Common Law Mental States - General Intent (Definition)
The D need only be generally aware of the factors constituting the crime; he need NOT intend a specific result
Note: Easy to prove –> jury can usually infer the general intent simply from the doing of the act
Common Law Mental States - General Intent Crimes (4)
- Battery
- Forcible Rape
- False Imprisonment
- Kidnapping
Common Law Mental States - Strict Liability (Definition)
When the crime requires simply doing the act; no mental state is needed
Common Law Mental States - 2 Types of Strict Liability Crimes
- Public Welfare Offenses: Regulatory offenses that implicate public health or safety and typically carry small penalties
- Statutory Rape: Sex with someone under the age of consent –> R.Kelly looking ass
MPC Mental States (5)
- Intent
- Knowledge
- Recklessness
- Negligence
- Strict Liability
MPC Mental States - Intent (Definition)
The D acts INTENTIONALLY when it is his conscious desire to achieve a particularly result. (what the D wants to happen)
MPC Mental States - Knowledge (Definition)
the D acts KNOWINGLY when he is aware of what he is doing. With respect to a result, the D acts knowingly when he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause the result
MPC Mental States - Recklessness (Definition)
D acts RECKLESSLY when he is creating a substantial and unjustifiable risk AND consciously disregards that risk
MPC Mental States - Negligence (Definition)
D acts negligently when he should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk
MPC Mental States - Strict Liability
No mental state required (similar to common law)
Causation - the Two Types
- Actual (But-For)
- Proximate (Legal)
Causation - Actual Causation Rule
D is an actual cause (“cause-in-fact”) if the bad result would not have happened but=for the D’s conduct
Causation - Actual Causation Rule Exception
An accelerating cause IS an actual cause
Causation - Proximate Cause (Rule)
D is a proximate cause if the bad result is a natural and probable consequence of the D’s conduct
Causation - Proximate Cause (2 Applications)
- Intervening Cause
- Eggshell Victims
Causation - Proximate Cause (Intervening Cause)
D will NOT be considered a proximate cause if an unforeseeable intervening event causes the bad result
Causation - Proximate Cause (Eggshell Rule)
D WILL be considered a proximate cause even if the victim’s pre-existing weakness contributed to the bad result
The Concurrence Principle (Rule)
D must have required the requisite mental state at the same time he engages in the act
The Concurrence Principle (Application - 2 Most Common)
- Larceny
- Burglary
