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Criminal Law > Defenses > Flashcards

Defenses Flashcards

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1
Q

Fully Exculpatory v. Partially Exculpatory

A

(Fully exculpatory defense)- relieves the D of any guilt or blame

-(Partially exculpatory defense)- merely reduces blameworthiness (guilty but)

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2
Q

Types of Fully Exculpatory Defenses

A

Include:

  • Insanity
  • Perfect Self-Defense
  • Involuntary Intoxication
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3
Q

Types of Partially Exculpatory Defense

A

Include:

  • Adequate provocation
  • Imperfect self-defense
  • Voluntary Intoxication
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4
Q

Excuse v. Justification

A

(Excuse)- acknowledges Ds conduct as wrongful and blameworthy, but circumstances were such that D should not be held fully responsible.

-(Justification)- alleges that criminal act was warranted (not wrongful or blameworthy)

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5
Q

Types of Excuses (ACDDEIIIM)

A

Include:

  • Adequate provocation
  • Competency
  • Duress
  • Diminished Capacity
  • Entrapment
  • Infancy
  • Intoxication
  • Insanity
  • Mistake of fact
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6
Q

Types of Justification

A

Include:

  • Defense of Property
  • Domestic Authority
  • Law Enforcement Arrests
  • Necessity
  • Resisting Unlawful Arrest
  • Self-Defense
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7
Q

Insanity

A

If the D is insane at the time of his criminal act, no criminal liability will be imposed for the criminal act. 4 tests include:

  • M’Naghten test
  • Irresistible impulse test
  • Durham Rule
  • MPC Test
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8
Q

M’Naghten Test

A

D is not guilty if at the time of the crime, they were laboring under a defect of reason from a disease of the mind which caused them to not know the nature and quality of their act or not know that their acts were wrong.

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9
Q

Split in M’Naghten Jurisdictions

A

There is a split on whether “wrong” includes both legal and moral wrongs:

  • some jurisdictions will find that a defendant is not insane, where, even though the D believes the act was not morally wrong, he knows it to be illegal.
  • other jurisdictions will find Ds who do not know an act was morally wrong to be insane, regardless of their belief as to the act’s legality.
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10
Q

What Constitutes a “Disease of the Mind” Under the M’Naghten Test?

A

All mental abnormalities, but not a psychopathic personality.

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11
Q

Irresistible Impulse Test

A

D is not guilty if at crime’s commission, they had a mental disease that kept them from controlling their conduct.

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12
Q

Durham Rule

A

D is not guilty if but for the mental defect or disease –> the D would not have been committed.

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13
Q

MPC Test

A

D is not guilty if they lacked the substantial capacity to either appreciate the criminality of their conduct or conform their conduct to req. of law.

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14
Q

Presumption of Sanity

A

A D is presumed sane, therefore, the burden is on the D to prove otherwise (clear and convincing in federal court, preponderance of evidence in state court).

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15
Q

Competency: What is Incompetency?

A

When Ds have insufficient present ability to consult counsel with a reasonable and rational understanding of the proceedings.

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16
Q

Competency: Restoration

A

Even if a D is found incompetent, he can later be tried and punished if competency is restored.

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17
Q

Insanity v. Competency

A

Insanity concern’s state of mind at time of offense; competency is assessed at any time during criminal proceedings.

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18
Q

Competency: BOP

A

Is preponderance of the evidence. In the federal system, the BOP falls on the party making the motion to determine competence.

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19
Q

Diminished Capacity

A

When as a result of a mental defect, the D did not have a state of mind that is an element of the offense (used to negate specific mental state).

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20
Q

Voluntary Intoxication

A

Can only be used as a defense to specific-intent crimes (negates the specific mental state). Cannot be used for SL or general intent crimes.

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21
Q

Voluntary Intoxication: BOP

A

D has BOP of showing that they were intoxicated & that intoxication prevented them from forming requisite intent.

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22
Q

Involuntary Intoxication

A

Is a defense to general-intent and specific-intent crimes, but never SL.

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23
Q

Infancy

A

Today most states have abolished the CL presumptions and established a specific minimum age required for a criminal conviction.

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24
Q

Duress

A

When the D reasonably believes that the only way to avoid unlawful threats of great bodily harm or imminent death is to engage in unlawful conduct.

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25
Q

Duress: Human Forces

A

For duress to apply, the threat must come from human forces rather than from forces of nature.

26
Q

Crimes for which Duress can be a Defense?

A

Include manslaughter and felony murder (if it operates as a defense to the underlying felony).

27
Q

Crimes for which Duress Cannot Apply as a Defense?

A

Murder

28
Q

Entrapment

A

When the criminal act was the product of creativity from law enforcement + the D was in no way predisposed to commit crime (past criminal record is relevant).

29
Q

Can One Assert an Entrapment Defense While Denying Guilt?

A

Most states say no but federal courts say yes.

30
Q

Entrapment by Estoppel

A

When a gov. official assures a D that certain conduct is legal + the D reasonably relies on that advice and engages in that conduct.

31
Q

Mistake of Fact

A

When the mistake negates the existence of a mental state required to establish a material element of the crime.

32
Q

Mistake of Fact: General-Intent Crimes

A

A mistake of fact defense to a general intent crime is only available if the mistake is obj. reasonable

33
Q

Mistake of Fact: Specific-Intent Crimes

A

A mistake of fact defense to a specific intent crime is available if the D subjectively possessed it.

34
Q

Mistake of Fact: SL Crimes

A

Mistake of fact is never a defense to a SL crime, which itself requires no mental state.

35
Q

Self-Defense

A

When a D reasonably believes that they are in imminent danger of unlawful bodily harm, they can use reasonably necessary force to prevent harm.

36
Q

Self-Defense: Reasonable Belief Req.

A

Involves both a subj. and obj. req.

37
Q

Self-Defense: Imminent Danger

A

Does not include attacks of retaliation or revenge or preemptive attacks in anticipation of a future threat.

38
Q

Self-Defense: Reasonably Necessary Force

A

Force must be proportional to the unlawful attack that the D seeks to thwart.

39
Q

Self-Defense: Deadly Force

A

Is only reasonably necessary when it is used to thwart an unlawful attack that threatens death or serious bodily injury (non-deadly force cannot be available).

40
Q

Self-Defense: Duty to Retreat

A

The majority rule is that a person has no duty to retreat from an attack that threatens deadly force. The minority rule does impose a duty if it is feasible and can be done in safety.

41
Q

Self-Defense: When there is Never a Duty to Retreat in a Ds Own Home

A

There is no duty to retreat in a Ds own home, vehicle, or workplace (unless the D is the aggressor).

42
Q

Self-Defense: Unclean Hands

A

This doctrine essentially says that the first aggressor may not claim self-defense.

  • CL- the initial aggressor could regain the right to self-defense only by complete withdrawal perceived by the original V.
  • Modern rule- first aggressor will regain the right of self-defense if original V responds to the aggression with excessive force.
43
Q

Defense of a Third Person

A

When a D reasonably but mistakenly believes that a third person was a non-aggressor being unlawfully attacked by another.

44
Q

Defense of a Third Party: Is Relationship to Third Party Important?

A

No. The defense can be asserted regardless of Ds relationship to third party.

45
Q

Defense of Property

A

Where D has reasonable belief that property is in immediate danger + no greater force than necessary is used.

46
Q

Defense of Property: Regaining Property

A

Reasonable non-deadly force is justified when used to reenter RP or regain possession of wrongfully taken PP in immediate pursuit.

47
Q

Defense of Property: Deadly Force

A

Is only justified where D reasonably believes that an entry will be made or attempted in his dwelling by one intending to commit a felony therein.

48
Q

Necessity

A

When a person reasonably believes that a perilous circumstance has created an imminent threat of bodily harm, they are justified to use reasonably necessary force to cause a lesser harm

49
Q

Necessity: Natural Forces

A

Unlike duress, the threat for necessity must come from natural/non-human forces.

50
Q

Necessity: Situations Created by D

A

A D cannot successfully assert the defense when the D was at fault in creating the perilous situation.

51
Q

Law Enforcement Defenses: Non-Deadly Force by Police

A

Is allowed when a cop reasonably believes it is necessary to effect a lawful arrest or prevent the escape of the arrestee.

52
Q

Law Enforcement Defenses: Deadly Force by Police

A

Is permitted only if it is reasonably necessary to prevent the commission of a dangerous felony or to effectuate an arrest of a person reasonably believed to have committed a felony.

53
Q

Law Enforcement Defenses: Non-Deadly Force by Private Citizens

A

Is permitted when it is reasonably necessary to prevent the commission of a felony or misdemeanor amounting to a breach of the peace.

54
Q

Law Enforcement Defenses: Citizen’s Arrest

A

Involving non-deadly force is permitted if the crime was committed and the D reasonably believes the person against whom he uses the force committed the crime.

55
Q

Law Enforcement Defenses: Deadly Force by Private Citizens

A

Allowed only if:

  • A dangerous felony is involved and
  • The person against whom he used the force is actually guilty of a crime
  • Mistakes are impermissible
56
Q

Resisting Unlawful Arrest

A

The majority rule is that a D may use reasonable, non-deadly force to resist an unlawful arrest

57
Q

What if One is Subject to a Lawful Arrest?

A

An individual may only resist a lawful arrest by a police officer where the individual does not know that the other person is a police officer.

58
Q

Domestic Authority

A

The parents of a minor child or one in loco parentis may justifiably use reasonable force on the child to promote the child’s welfare.

-This defense is also available to those with comparable authority (e.g. a ship’s captain)

59
Q

Domestic Authority: Reasonableness Factors

A

Include the child’s age, sex, health, and particular misconduct.

60
Q

Consent

A

Not a defense to a crime except when it negates a specific element of the offense, such as rape or kidnapping.

61
Q

Forgiveness form V (Condonation)

A

Generally not a defense to criminal liability.

62
Q

Mistake of Law

A

Is generally not a defense unless:

  • no statute proscribing Ds conduct has been made reasonably available
  • D reasonably relied on a statute or judicial decision that was repealed or overruled
  • D reasonably relied on an agency’s or public official’s interpretation.
  • An element of the crime is awareness of the law.
  • Entrapment by Estoppel

Criminal Law (8 decks)

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