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Criminal Law > Essential Elements of the Crime > Flashcards

Essential Elements of the Crime Flashcards

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1
Q

Essential Elements of the Crime

A
  • Act Requirement
    • Physicial Acts (commissions)
    • Omissions
  • **Mental States **
    • Common Law Mental States
      • Specific Intent
      • Malice
      • General Intent
      • Strict Liability
    • MPC Mental States
      • Purpose
      • KNowledge
      • Recklessness
      • Negligence
      • Strict Liability
  • Causation
    • Actual/But for
    • Proximate/Legal Causation
  • Concurrence
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2
Q

Physical Acts/Commissions

A
  • Bodily Movements are physical acts that can be the basis for criminal liability, provided that they are voluntary
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3
Q

Involuntary movements that are not considered criminal acts

A
  1. Not the product of the actor’s volition (e.g. being pushed)
  2. Sleepwalking or othewrise unconcious conduct
  3. Reflex or convulsion
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4
Q

Omissions

A

A failure to act can be the basis for criminal liabilty when all three conditions are satisfied:

  1. Legal Duty to Act
    • Statute
    • Contract
    • Status relationship
      • parent child
      • spous to spouse
    • Voluntary assumption of care
    • Creation of the peril
  2. Knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty AND
  3. The Ability to help
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5
Q

Specific Intent (common law mental state)

A

Crime requires the desire to to do the act, but also desire to acheive a specific result

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6
Q

Specific Intent Crimes (CL mental state)

A
  • Crimes against the person
    • Assault
    • 1st degree pre-mediated murder (statutory)
  • Property
    • Larceny
    • Embezzlement
    • False pretense
    • robbery
    • forgery
    • burlgary
  • Inchoate Crimes
    • Conspiracy
    • Attempt
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7
Q

Defenses to Specific Intent (CL mental state)

A

involuntary

an unreasonable mistake of fact

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8
Q

Malice (CL mental state)

A

when defendant acts with knowledge or with reckless disregard of an obvious or know risk

Crimes: Common law murder; arson

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9
Q

General INtent (CL mental state)

A
  • Defendant need only be generally aware of the factors constituting the crime; he need not intend a specific intent
  • Crimes:
    • battery
    • forcible rape
    • false imprisonment
    • kidnapping
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10
Q

Strict Liability (CL mental state)

A
  • When the crime requires simply doing hte act; no mental state required
  • Public Welfare offenses–> regulatory offenses that implicate public health or safety and carry small penalties
    • transfer of unregistered firearms
    • selling contaminated food
    • shipping adulterated drugs in interestate commerce
  • Statutory Rape–sex with someone under the age of consent
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11
Q

Purpose (MPC mental state)

A

Defendant acts purposely when it is his concious desire to achieve a particular result (what he wants to do)

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12
Q

Knowledge (MPC mental state)

A

Acts knowingly when he is aware of what he is doing. With respect to a result, d actions knowingly when he is aware that it is practically certian his conduct will cause the result

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13
Q

Recklessness (MPC mental state)

A

aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk AND consicously disregards that risk

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14
Q

Negligence (MPC mental state)

A

when he should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifable risk

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15
Q

SL (MPC mental state)

A

No mental state required

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16
Q

Actual or but for cuastion

A

d is an actual cause if thae result would not have happened but for the defnedant’s conduct

an accelerating cause is an actual cause (person would die of cancer but you shoot them)

17
Q

Proximate or Legal Cuasation

A

Proximate cause if the bad result is a natural and probable consequence of the defendant’s conduct

Intervening Causes–> d will not be ocnisdered a PC if an unforeseeable and intervening event causes the result

Eggshell–> a PC even if the victim’s preexisting weakness contributed to the bad result

18
Q

Concurrence

A
  • D must have the required mental state at the same time as he engaged in the culpable act
  • Arise most ferqenlty in larceny and burglary

Criminal Law (10 decks)

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