Defenses Flashcards
When is murder reduced to voluntary manslaughter due to an imperfect defense?
When the defendant argue that his deadly force was necessary in defense of himself or others, but
(i) the defendant started the altercation or
(ii) the defendant unreasonably and honestly believed in the necessity of using deadly force.
What are the elements of the Durham test for insanity?
The unlawful act was the product of the defendant’s mental disease (i.e., the “but for” test).
What are the four defenses to felony murder?
- A valid defense to the underlying felony
- The felony was not an independent felony
- Death was not a foreseeable result or a natural and probable consequence of the felony
- Death occurred after the commission of the felony and the ensuing flight from the scene of the crime
What are the elements of the M’Naghten test for insanity?
The defendant is not guilty if, because of a defect of reason due to a mental disease, the defendant did not know either (i) the nature and quality of the act or (ii) the wrongfulness of the act.
When is consent obtained by fraud a valid defense to the offense of rape, and when does it provide no grounds for defense?
Consent obtained by fraud in the inducement is a valid defense.
Consent obtained by fraud in factum (i.e., regarding the nature of the act itself) is not a valid defense.
What are the elements of the irresistible-impulse test for insanity?
The defendant is not guilty if he lacked the capacity for self-control and free choice because mental disease or defect prevented him from being able to conform his conduct to the law.
When is involuntary intoxication a valid defense to a crime?
Involuntary intoxication is a defense when the intoxication serves to negate an element of the crime, including specific as well as general intent crimes and malice crimes.
When is voluntary intoxication a valid defense to a crime?
Voluntary intoxication is a defense to a specific intent crime if the intoxication prevents the formation of the required intent. Under the MPC, it is a defense to crimes requiring a mental state of purposefully or knowingly when the intoxication prevents forming that mental state.
Note- Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to crimes involving malice, recklessness, or negligence.
What if a defendant who is adequately provoked kills someone other than the provoker due to a reasonable mistake of fact?
If a defendant who has been adequately provoked accidentally kills the wrong person, the defendant will be guilty of voluntary manslaughter if that would have been the defendant’s crime had the defendant killed the provoker.
If the defendant intentionally kills an innocent bystander, then the defendant will be guilty of murder.
What is the test for insanity under the MPC?
The defendant is not guilty if, at the time of the conduct, he, as a result of a mental disease or defect, did not have substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the act or to conform his conduct to the law.
Note: This test combines the irresistible-impulse test and the M’Naghten test.
(1) When can an honest mistake of fact serve as a valid defense?
(2) What can a mistake of law serve as a valid defense?
(1) Any mistake of fact that negates the required criminal intent can be a defense to specific-intent crimes, but a mistake of fact must be reasonable to be a defense to a general-intent or malice crime.
(2) A mistake of law is only a valid defense if (i) the defendant relied on a court decision/administrative order or official interpretation; (ii) a statutory definition of a malum prohibitum crime was not available before the defendant’s conduct; or (iii) an honestly held mistake of law negates the required intent or mental state.
(1) When is impossibility a defense to an attempt charge?
(2) When is abandonment a defense to an attempt charge?
(1) When the act intended is a legal impossibility (i.e., the intended act is not a crime); not when the act is factually impossible to commit.
(2) At common law, the defense of abandonment is available until the defendant has taken a substantial step toward the commission of the offense.
