General Principles

Question 1

An actus reus is either:

Answer 1

1. ) a voluntary, conscious act that causes an unlawful result; or
   * act plus volition = legal act
   * reflexes or sleepwalking lack volition, and so are not legal acts.

2.) the defendant fails to act when they have the duty and ability to do so.

Question 2

A legal duty for purposes of determining omission arises where:

Answer 2

1. statutory duty (law enforcement)
2. ) a legal duty arising by contract (life guard/nursing home)

3.) relationship status
(husband/wife or kid/parent)

4. ) a voluntary undertaking to rescue that is abandoned; or
5. ) failing to help after creating the risk (i.e., a hit and run)

Question 3

Purposefully (Mens Rea)

Answer 3

Conscious objective to bring about result

Question 4

Knowingly (mens rea)

Answer 4

Knows, with absolute certainty that the act will produce the result

Question 5

Recklessness (Mens Rea)

Answer 5

aware that conduct creates a risk that’s unjustifiable, but ignores and engages anway

Question 6

Criminal Negligence (Mens Rea)

Answer 6

creates an unjustifiable risk without the subjective awareness that they are doing so, but a reasonable person would have been aware.

Question 7

Intent (define)

Answer 7

acts intentionally with purpose or knowledge

Question 8

Willful (define)

Answer 8

Acts purposefully or knowingly, with moral turpitude (similar to intent)

Question 9

Specific Intent (define)

Answer 9

Requires proof that the defendant intended to create specifically prohibited harm.

1. ) Includes purpose or knowledge (“with intent to”)
2. ) Nullified by honest but unreasonable mistake of fact and voluntary intoxication.

Question 10

General Intent (define)

Answer 10

Only requires the desire to do the proscribed act

1. ) includes reckless and negligent states of mind
2. ) Nullified by honest and reasonable mistake of fact

Question 11

Transferred Intent (define)

Answer 11

The defendant intended to produce the criminal result against one victim, but harmed another - intent transfers.

Question 12

Concurrence (define)

Answer 12

Mental state must actuate (set in motion) the conduct that produces criminal result.

Question 13

Actual Cause (3-Tests)

Answer 13

1. But for - the result would not have occurred but for the defendant’s conduct
2. ) Substantial factor - multiple causes or parties were responsible, but the defendant’s act was a substantial factor in causing the criminal result.
3. ) Acceleration - the defendant’s conduct speeds up an inevitable death, even if only briefly.

Question 14

Proximate Cause

Answer 14

1. ) The resultant harm must be within the risk created by the defendant’s conduct in crimes involving negligence or recklessness, or sufficiently similar to that intended in crimes requiring intent.
   * An intervening event may result in breaking the chain of proximate cause. The question becomes whether the intervening event supersedes (cuts off) the defendant’s responsibility.
2. ) If the intervening event is foreseeable, it will NOT supersede; the defendant will still be liable
3. ) If it is unforeseeable, normally the event will supersede, meaning the defendant will be relieved of liability and the casual connection will be broken to the criminal result.

Question 15

Test for Foreseeable (Proximate Cause)

Answer 15

whether the event was foreseeable is the same as for negligence (the defendant takes the victim as they find him; think eggshell-plaintiff rule)

**The event is dependent on or responsive to the defendant’s initial cause, not a mere coincidence.

Question 16

Test for Unforeseeable (Proximate Cause)

Answer 16

1. ) Unforeseeable requires grossly negligent or reckless conduct that accelerates a death set in motion by the defendant.
   * Independent intervening cause or a mere coincidence.