Criminal V2 Flashcards
1st Degree Murder (Elements) - Common Law
- Killing a human
- With “malice aforethought”
- By:
- Particular means specified by statute
- During another crime specified by statute
- With premedittation and deliberation
2nd Degree Murder (Elements) - Common Law
- Killing a human being
- With “malice aforethought”
- And is not first degree
Voluntary Manslaughter (Elements) - Common Law
- Killing a human being
- While in a “heat of passion”
- The heat of passion was reasonable
- No time to cool off (by reasonable person standard)
Involuntary Manslaughter (Elements) - Common Law
- Killing a human being
- While being criminally negligent
“Malice Aforethought” Defined
- Express Malice - intent to kill
- Implied Malice - (Generally 2nd Degree)
- Intent to commit serious bodily injury
- Depraved Heart
- Felony Murder
Felony Murder Rule
A killing, even an accidental one, wil be murder if it was caused with the intent to commit a felony.
Merger Doctrine
If a defendant commits a single act that simultaneously fulfills the definition of two seperate offesnes, the two charges merge together. (lesser offense drops out)
Felony murder rule does not apply to assaultive felonies
Agency Rule
If a third party was proximate cause of death, no felony murder
Murder (Elements) - MPC
- Causing the death of another human being
- With
- Purpose or knowledge
- Extreme indifference to the value of human life
- While committing a listed crime
- Robbery, Rape, Arson, Burglary, Kidnapping, or felonious escape.
Manslaughter (Elements) - MPC
- Murder (see elements for Murder)
- While under “extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is a reasonable excuse” from the view of the defendant
Involuntary Homicide (Elements) - MPC
- Causing the death of another human being
- While reckless or negligent
Forcible Rape (Elements)
- Intercourse of any kind
- With lack of consent
- Due to:
- Force
- Threat of Force
- Unconciousness
- Incapacity to Consent (Legal)
- Due to:
Mistake of Consent Defense
Defense is available if mistake is “reasonable and honest”
Statutory Rape (Elements)
- Intercourse (Strict Liability)
- With a minor
Larceny (Elements) - Common Law
- Unlawful taking
- Carrying away (no matter how slight)
- From the possession of another
- With the intent to permanently deprive the owner
Burglary (Elements) - Common Law
- Breaking and entering
- A dwelling
- At night
- With the intent to commit a felony
Robbery (Elements) - Common Law
- Larceny
- From the victims person or immediate presence
- Using force or threat of force
Burglary (Elements) - MPC
- Entering
- A building or occupied structure
- With purpose to commit a crime
Robbery (Elements) - MPC
- Theft (basically larceny at common law)
- While threatening or inflicting serious bodily injury (or while committing a 1st or 2nd degree felony)
Attempt (Elements) - Common Law
- Requires an “overt act”
- That is more than mere preparation
- Unequivocally Test: do the acts unequivocally manifest criminal intent
- Dangerous Proximity Test: acts were dangerously proximity to success.
- With the intent to commit the target offense; and
- With the intent to take the overt act
Renunciation Doctrine
- Voluntarily abandoned the attempt (not from fear of being caught or difficulty); and
- Renunciation is complete (not postponed)
Attempt (Elements) - MPC
- Defendant does or omits to do anything
- That is a substantial step in the commission of the crime
- Examples: lying in wait, following or searching for the victim, enticing the victim, reconnoitering, unlawful entry, possession of materials to be used in crime
- With the required mens rea of the underlying crime
- Defendant purposely took the substantial step
- Defendant planned to commit the crime
Accomplice Liability (Elements)
- Assisting the principal by: encouragement, physical assistance, or omission
- With the intent to assist the principal; and
- Intent that the principal commit the crime
Conspiracy (Elements) - Common Law
- A bilateral agreement to commit a crime
- An overt act by one of the co-conspirators
- With the intent to enter into an agreement; and
- With the intent to commit, or aid in committing the targetted crime
Conspiracy (Elements) - MPC
- A unilateral agreement to commit a crime
- With the purpose to enter into an agreement; and
- Purpose to commit or aid in committing the targetted crime
- An overt act for felonies 3rd degree or below (otherwise not required)
Voluntary Intoxication Defense - Common Law
Intoxication prevents the defendant from forming the criminal intent necessary to commit the crime
- Available for Specific Intent Crimes
- Crimes that require intent to do some further harmful act (X with the intent to X, or X for the purpose of X)
- Unavailable for General Intent Crimes
- All other crimes
Voluntary Intoxication Defense - MPC
- Defendant is voluntarily intoxicated
- Negates an element of the offense
- Not available to disprove recklessness or above
Involuntary Intoxication Defense - Common Law
- Defendant was involuntarily intoxicated
- Intoxication made the defendant temporarily insane
- Four Circumstances:
1. Fault of another (force, fraud, duress)
2. Innocent Mistake (didn’t know it was an intoxicant)
3. Unknowingly have a condition that makes them abnormally susceptible to intoxicants
4. Unexpected Intoxication from medically prescribed drugs
- Four Circumstances:
Involuntary Intoxication Defense - MPC
- Defendant was involuntarily intoxicated
- Defendant was unable to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements.
Mistake of Law Defense
- Not an excuse; unless
- Crime requires knowledge of the law as an element
- Tax evasion, insider trading, etc.
Mistake of Fact Defense - Common Law
- Must negate the mens rea of the crime
- Specific Intent Crime: mistake can be unreasonable
- General Intent Crime: Mistake must be reasonable
Legal Wrong Test: no defense if defendant’s view of facts, he was still committing a crime (punished for how facts actually were)
Mistake of Fact Defense - MPC
- Must negate the mens rea of the crime
- Mistake does not need to be reasonable
- Mistake can sometimes result in lower level crime being charged/convicted
Legal Wrong Test: No defense if facts as defendant believed them, defendant was still committing a crime (punished for crime based on facts as defendant believed them)
Insanity Defense (M’Naughten Test) - Common Law
At the time of the crime, defendant had a defect of the mind that prevented him from knowing:
1. the nature and quality of his conduct; or
2. that what he was doing was wrong
Insanity Defense (Volitional Test) - Common Law
Defendant was driven by an “irresistible impulse” to commit the crime.
Insanity Defense (Wild Beast Test) - Common Law
Defendant did not know what he was doing, no more than an infant or wild beast.
Insanity Defense (MPC) - MPC
At the time of the crime defendant as a result of mental disease or defect, lacked substantial capacity either
* to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct; or
* conform his conduct to the requirements of the law
Infancy Defense - Common Law
- Did the defendant know his acts were wrong/criminal?
- Age Ranges:
<7: Infancy is a defense
>14: Infancy, not a defense
7-14: Presumed infant but can show evidence that defendant knew right from wrong.
- Age Ranges:
Infancy Defense - MPC
< 16: Infancy is a defense
> 17: Infancy is not a defense
16-17: States decide
Consent Defense - MPC & Common Law
- Negatives an element of the offense or precludes the harm sought to be prevented
- Not available for assaultive crimes
- Unless it is a contact sport
- (MPC) Unless it is not serious
Burden of Proof
On the prosecutor (Presumption of Innocence)
Standard of Proof
Beyond a reasonable doubt
Justification: Specific Deterrence
Prevent individuals from reoffending
Justification: General Deterrence
Prevent general public from offending due to potential charges
Justification: Rehabilitation
Reform criminals so they no longer want to commit crimes
Justification: Isolation
Separate criminals from public to prevent reoffenses
Justification: Retributivism
Gives criminals their just desserts
Ejusdem Generis
Of the Same Kind
Expressio Unius
Expression of one thing is the exclusion of others
Rule of Lenity
Unresolved ambiguities construed in favor of the defendant
Statute Interpretation Rules
- Plain Meaning
- Constitutional Avoidance
- Avoid absurdity
- Undefined terms have common law meaning
- Ejusdem Generis
- Expression Unius
- Rule of Lenity
Omission Liability (Elements)
- Must be physically capable of performing the omitted act
- Must have a legal duty to act
(contracts, special duty, created the risk, started assisting then stopped) - Must be aware that facts give rise to a duty to act
Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine
Natural and probable consequences of wrongful acts are assumed to be within the scope of purpose.
Transferred Intent
Defendant intended to harm one person but accidentally harms another, intent carries over to second person
Transferred intent can not lead to a higher crime, but can lead to a lower crime
Willful Blindness - Common Law
- Defendant deliberately shuts his eyes to avoid knowing what would otherwise be obvious
- They subjectively believed there was a high probability of its existence
- They took an affirmative step to avoid learning
Willful Blindness - MPC
When knowledge of the existence of a particular fact is an element of an offense, such knowledge is established if a person is aware of a high probability of its existence, unless he actually believes that it does not exist.
Strict Liability - Common Law
- No mens rea
- Applies to:
- Statute explicitly says so
- General Welfare Offenses
- Wide-scale impersonal injuries
Strict Liability - MPC
- Only if it plainly appears in statute
Scope Ambiguity
Mens rea for one element applies to all elements excluding jurisdiction
Mens Rea: Purpose (MPC)
Conscious Object
Mens Rea: Knowledge (MPC)
Aware that it is practically certain (unless believes the opposite)
Mens Rea: Recklessness (MPC)
Consciously disregard a substantial and unjustified risk
Mens Rea: Negligence (MPC)
Should be aware of substantial and unjustified risk
Common Law Mens Rea
- Intent (most common): intended to do X
- 1000s of mens rea and no relations to each other, required mens rea depends on statute
Temporal Concurrence
Mens rea and actus reus must occur at the same time
Motivational Concurrence
Mens rea must be the motivating force behind the actus reus
Factual Cause
“But For” Cause
Proximate Cause
Fairness Test: was act far enough away to remove fault?
- Direct Cause: defendant is a direct link in the causal chain
- Intervening Cause: other links in chain
- Dependant Intervening Cause: responsive to defendant’s act; breaks chain only if it bizarre
- Independent Intervening Cause: has an unrelated source; breaks chain unless it was foreseeable
Self Defense - Common Law
- Defendant must have an honest and objectively reasonable belief that the threat is imminent, force is necessary to repel that threat, and the use of force was proportionate to the force threatened.
(Does into apply if defendant is the initial aggressor)
Self Defense (non lethal) - MPC
- Actor subjectively believes
- Force is immediately necessary
- To protect himself against unlawful force by another
(No proportionality requirement except for use of deadly force)
Self Defense (lethal) - MPC
- Actor subjectively believes
- Deadly force is necessary
- To protect himself from death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or forcible rape
Duty to Retreat - Common Law
Historically must retreat if possible
Most states now have “stand your ground” laws now
Most states now have “castle doctrine” no duty to retreat in your home
Duty to Treat - MPC
No deadly force if the actor knows he could avoid the need for deadly force by retreating, surrendering an object, or refraining from an action he has no duty to take
No duty to retreat from dwelling or place of work
Defense of Others - Common Law
Defendant must reasonably believe that imminence, necessity, and proportionality requirements are satisfied to protect third party from unlawful attack
Defense of Others - MPC
Under circumstances as defendant believes them to be:
1. Defendant would be justified in defending himself were he in third party’s shoes
2. Third party would be justified, and
3. Intervention is necessary to protect
Defensive Force to Resist Arrest - Common Law
Could resist unlawful arrest
Defensive Force to Resist Arrest - MPC
Very hard to justify use of force to resist arrest
Non-lethal Defense of Property - Common Law
- Defendant has reasonable belief that force is necessary
- Force is immediately necessary to prevent: trespass or taking, to retake property in hot pursuit, or to reenter when waiting for court order would produce exceptional hardship
- Must first ask actor to desist, unless asking would be useless or dangerous to person or property
Non-lethal Defense of Property - MPC
- Force is immediately necessary to prevent trespass or taking, or to retake property in hot pursuit, or to reenter when waiting for court order would produce exceptional hardship.
- Must first ask actor to desist, unless useless or dangerous to person or property.
(No reasonableness requirement)
Deadly Force to Defend Property - MPC & Common Law
- Generally not allowed unless it is the defense of habitation
- Defendant must use deadly force to prevent and immediate, unlawful entry into habitation (common law requires reasonable belief)
- Common Variations: The defendant though intruder intended to commit a felony or forcible felony.
- Habitation Test: Is the nature of the structure in such that a reasonable person would not expect unauthorized intrusions?
Duress - Common Law
- Defendant had a reasonable fear the threat would be carried out unless she committed the crime
- Defendant was responding to imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury
- The recipient of the threat falls within the correct classification (classifications vary by statute, could include just defendant, defendant’s family, etc.)
- Defendant had no reasonable opportunity to escape
(Duress defense is not usually available for murder)
Duress - MPC
Requires that the threat be such that a person of reasonable firmness in his situation would have been unable to resist
(does not have any of the common law requirements)
Misdemeanor Manslaughter Rule
If a person dies during the commission of a misdemeanor or non dangerous felony the charge is involuntary manslaughter (Common law only)
