Criminal Law Rules Flashcards
Crimes Requiring Specific Intent - It’s a specific
intent crime to Purposely FLAME CRABS.
false PRETENSES
- *F**ORGERY
- *L**ARCENY
- *A**TTEMPT
- *M**URDER, FIRST DEGREE
- *E**MBEZZLEMENT
- *C**ONSPIRACY
- *R**OBBERY
- *A**SSAULT
- *B**URGLARY
- *S**OLICITATION
Crimes Requiring General Intent - It’s a general
intent crime for MARK to FIB.
MURDER in the commission of a dangerous,
statutorily enumerated felony
ARSON
RAPE
KIDNAPPING
- *F**ALSE IMPRISONMENT
- *I**NVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
- *B**ATTERY
Defenses Available - The prosecutor PACED as his
charges against defendant fell like _DOMINOS _
defense of PROPERTY
AGE (7 to 13 = rebuttable presumption that child
doesn’t understand)
prevention of CRIME constituting breach of peace
(non-deadly) or risking human life (deadly)
ENTRAPMENT
DURESS (mitigates murder to manslaughter)
DRUNKENNESS
OTHER party consented to act
MISTAKE of fact
INSANITY
NECESSITY - avoid a greater evil
defense of OTHERS
SELF-DEFENSE
When Omission To Act Is A Crime - You can’t just
watch them SCRAP when you’ve got a legal duty to
break it up.
- *S**TATUTORY duty (filing taxes)
- *C**ONTRACT (nurse, lifeguard)
- *R**ELATIONSHIP (parent, spouse)
- *A**SSUMPTION of duty voluntarily (rescuer liability)
- *P**ERIL (caused risk of harm)
Defense To Felony Murder - The BUC stops at the
co-felon
no reason to BELIEVE co-felon was armed or
intended to engage in conduct likely to result in
death
UNARMED; and didn’t COMMIT, command or request homicide;
Strict Liability Crimes - If you pick a SCAB, you’re strictly liable as a criminal.
- *S**TATUTORY rape
- *C**ONTRIBUTING to the delinquency of a minor ABNORMALLY dangerous activities
- *B**IGAMY
KIDNAPPING
An Unlawful Confinement of Another that either:
a) Involves moving the other’s Person; or
b) Concealment of the other’s Person in a secret place
(Aggravated kidnapping is kidnapping with the additional intent to commit a further crime, such as rape, or ransom)
Example: A defendant would have committed kidnapping when they locked the victim in a basement, and then threw a tarp or cover over the door (preventing its existence from being seen). Additionally, the defendant would likely be guilty of kidnapping if he grabbed the victim, put them into a locked car and drove.
ELEMENTS OF A CRIME: MENTAL STATES
- *Specific Intent**: Act must be done with the specific intent or objective to commit the act (cannot be inferred).
- Crimes: Assault, Attempt, Burglary, Conspiracy, Embezzlement, False Pretenses, First Degree Premeditated Murder, Forgery, Larceny/Larceny by Trick, Robbery, and Solicitation.
- Defenses: General Defenses + MOF + Voluntary Intoxication
- *Malice**: Requires only the reckless disregard of an obvious risk of harm.
- Crimes: Arson and Murder.
- Malice Defenses: General defenses. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense. Only reasonable mistakes of fact are permitted
- *General Intent**: D need only be generally aware of the factors constituting the crime; need not intend a specific result.
- Crimes: All crimes that do not fall into the categories of malice or specific intent crimes (examples: Battery, False Imprisonment, Kidnapping, Rape).
- Defenses: Qualifies for general defenses
- *Strict Liability**: Public welfare offense; does not require awareness/mental state constituting the crime. Can be guilty without intent. Actus reus is enough.
- Crimes: Administrative, Regulatory, or Morality area, then they are strict liability crimes
- Defenses: Any defense that negates intention is not a defense to strict liability. Involuntary intoxication (but not voluntary intoxication), insanity, infancy, duress are defenses. *Mistake of Fact is never a defense *
ACCOMPLICE LIABILITY: ELEMENTS
- *1. PARTIES INVOLVED**: The person who actually engages in the act / omission is the principal; other parties are accomplices.
- Modernly: Most jurisdictions have abolished distinctions, and all such parties to the crime can be found guilty of the principal offense.
- *EXCEPTION**: An accessory after the fact is still treated separately. Punishment typically bears no relationship to the principal offense
- *2. LIABILITY**: Accomplice is liable for the crime itself and all other foreseeable crimes.
- Liability exists only for those who were actively involved in the crime. Presence alone is not enough, even if they are consenting or not calling the police.
- Silent approval of the criminal behavior does not amount to liability.
- Most jurisdictions require that the person give aid, counsel, or encouragement to the principal with the intent to encourage the crime. Mere knowledge is not enough. “Stake in the venture”
3. EXCLUSION FROM LIABILITY: Members of the class protected by a statute are excluded from liability. Party necessary to the crime but is not provided for in the statute.
-Withdrawal: Withdrawal from a crime before it is committed cannot be held guilty as an accomplice. Withdrawal must occur before the crime becomes unstoppable
-Repudiation is sufficient when a person merely encouraged the crime;
-Attempt to neutralize is required if participation went beyond mere encouragement.
(Notifying the police or taking action to prevent the crime)
-Cannot generally withdraw from solicitation, conspiracy, or attempt.
INCHOATE (INCOMPLETE) OFFENSES:
ELEMENTS
- *SOLICITATION**: Solicitation of another to commit a felony with the specific intent that the crime be committed.
- Mental State: Specific intent that person solicited commit the crime.
- Overt Act: No act other than solicitation. As a result, withdrawal will likely not be a defense.
- Merger: If the person solicits another to commit a crime and the person agrees, solicitation merges into conspiracy. Thus, the person cannot be convicted of both.
- *ATTEMPT**: Performance of an act that would amount to a crime if successful
- Mental State: Specific intent to commit the particular crime attempted. (All attempts, even attempts to commit general intent or strict liability crimes, are specific Intent crimes.)
- Overt Act: Act dangerously close to success. Mere preparation (showing up) doesn’t count.
- Merger: Attempt merges with the substantive crime committed (can’t be guilty of both).
- *CONSPIRACY**: An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime (pursuing an unlawful objective)
- Mental State: Specific Intent to (1) Enter into agreement, (2) Achieve unlawful objective, (3) meeting of the minds
- Overt Act: Act in furtherance of the conspiracy
- Merger: N/A - conspiracy does not merge with the substantive offense. Can be convicted for both the conspiracy AND the completed crime.
- Liability: Each party is liable for the crimes of co-conspirators if the crimes were committed in furtherance of the conspiracy and were reasonably foreseeable
INCHOATE (INCOMPLETE) OFFENSES:
DEFENSES
- *Attempt Defenses:**
- Withdrawal: Generally N/A
- Actual Impossibility: N/A Claim that it was impossible to complete the crime because of some circumstances beyond the D’s control
- Legal impossibility: If what the person was attempting to do was actually not a crime even though s/he thought it was
Conspiracy Defenses:
-
Withdrawal: Generally not a defense to conspiracy.
- Exception: May be a defense to crimes in furtherance of the conspiracy, including the substantive target crime of the conspiracy.
- When withdrawal effective: A conspirator must inform all of his co-conspirators of his intent to withdrawal and this notice must be given while there is still time for the other co-conspirators to abandon their criminal plans
- Future Crimes: A D who does successfully withdrawal, can save himself from liability for the FUTURE (not yet committed) crimes of his former co-conspirators.
- Impossibility: N/A
- Acquittal by all other parties: Shows that there was no one with whom the defendant could conspire. However, non-prosecution of co-conspirators doesn’t negate the conspiracy for the D
BATTERY
An unlawful application of force to the person of another resulting in either bodily injury or an offensive touching
a. Need not be intentional, need not be applied directly. Battery is a completed assault. A general intent crime, never strict liability.
b. Aggravated Battery: Most jurisdictions treat the following as aggravated batteries and punish them as felonies: (1) battery with a deadly weapon; (2) battery resulting in serious bodily harm; and (3) battery of a child, woman or police officer.
ASSAULT
An attempt to commit a battery (specific intent) or
Intentional creation of a reasonable apprehension of an imminent bodily harm (a threat / general intent)
o Actual touching: there is only battery, not assault.
o Best defense is that there was no intent. There may be instances where there is a creation of reasonable apprehension of harm, but not attempt to commit battery. Must distinguish.
o Aggravated Assault: With a deadly weapon or with intent to rape or maim is treated more severely than simple assault.
MAYHEM
At common law, the felony of mayhem required the dismemberment or disablement of a bodily part. The recent trend is to abolish mayhem as a separate offense and to treat it instead as a form of aggravated battery.
SEX OFFENSES
-
RAPE: Unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman by a man, not her husband, without her effective consent.
a. Lack of Effectual Consent: To qualify as rape, the victim must not give effective consent to the intercourse. Lack of effective consent exists where:
i. Intercourse is accomplished by actual force;
ii. Intercourse is accomplished by threats of great and immediate bodily harm;
iii. The victim is incapable of consenting due to unconsciousness, intoxication, or mental condition; or
iv. The victim is fraudulently caused to believe that the act is not intercourse. - STATUTORY RAPE: Carnal knowledge of a female under age of consent; not necessary to show lack of consent.
- CRIMES AGAINST NATURE: Adultery and fornication, incest, seduction, bigamy, bestiality.
- SEDUCTION: Consists of inducing, by promise of marriage, an unmarried woman to engage in intercourse. The Model Penal Code does not require chastity or that the female be unmarried.
- BIGAMY: Common law strict liability offense of marrying someone while having another living spouse
