General Principles

Question 1

What are two requirement that must be met before crime can be proved?

Answer 1

Jurisdiction and Actus Reus

Question 2

What are elements for Actus Reus?

Answer 2

voluntary

affirmative act or omission

causing criminal result

Question 3

What is the scope of voluntary under actus reus?

Answer 3

voluntary or physical
can be speech
failure to act can be sufficient (imposed by statute, undertaking, special relationship, causation, contract)

if defendant does not have any motor control or asleep will not have voluntary acts reus

Question 4

What are the commons law mens rea?

Answer 4

specific intent, malice, general intent, strict liability

Question 5

What are the elements for specific intent

Answer 5

D has subjective desire
specific objective or knowledge to accomplish prohibited result

Question 6

What are the types of specific intent crimes?

Answer 6

FIAT

First degree murder
Inchoate Crimes
Attempt
Theft

Question 7

What are malice crimes?

Answer 7

I AM certain there are only two malice crimes:

common law murder (everything but first degree) or arson

Question 8

What is malice?

Answer 8

defendant acts with reckless disregard of high degree of harm, defendant realizes the risk and acts anyway

Question 9

What are general intent crimes?

Answer 9

require intent to perform an unlawful act. Generally committed knowingly, recklessly, or negligently

battery, rape, kidnapping, falseimprisonment

Question 10

What is strict liability crimes?

Answer 10

no state of mind needed defendant only need to commit the act

EX: having sex with a minor, ask for Id, and believes that she is 18. Can still be liable because inquiry is intent o have sex only

Question 11

What does Model Penal Code describe mens rea as?

Answer 11

purpose, knowledge, recklessness or negligence

also recognizes strict liability crimes

Question 12

What does purposeful require under the MPC for mens rea?

Answer 12

conscious objective is to engage in conduct that causes a certain result

Question 13

What does knowing/willful required under MPC for mens rea?

Answer 13

d is aware or knows that the result is practically certain to occur based on his conduct

Question 14

What does reckless require under the MPC for mens rea?

Answer 14

D acts with a conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk

Question 15

What does negligently require under the MPC for mens rea?

Answer 15

D should be aware of the substantial and unjustifiable risk that a material element of a crime exist or will result from his conduct

Question 16

What does strict liability require under the MPC?

Answer 16

no mens rea; proof of the acts reus is sufficient for conviction

EX of crimes: rape, bigamy, regulation of food and drugs

Question 17

What does the merger doctrine require?

Answer 17

defendant convicted for more than one crime arising out of the same act, the two crimes merge into one

Question 18

What are the ways to negate mensrea?

Answer 18

mistake of law or fact
insanity
intoxication

Question 19

What is mistake of law

Answer 19

ignorance of the law is not excuse UNLESS
reliance on high government interpretation
lack of notice
goes to the element of specify intent (FIAT crimes)

Question 20

What is mistake of fact

Answer 20

if general intent crimes ONLY applicable if mistake is reasonable and goes to criminal intent

if specific intent crimes, mistake of fact is defense whether it is reasonable or unreasonable

strict liability mistake is NEVER a defense

Question 21

What is M’Nahtan test for insanity

Answer 21

D did not either (1) know nature of act or (2) wrongfulness of act because defect in reasoning

Question 22

what is irresistible impulse test for insanity

Answer 22

d lacked capacity for self control and free choice because of mental illness

Question 23

What is Durham test?

Answer 23

unlawful act was product of D’s mental state

Question 24

What is MPC test for insanity

Answer 24

At the time of the conduct, D lacked substantial capacity to appreciate wrongfulness of the act or conform his conduct to the law

Question 25

What is requirements for voluntary intoxication defenses

Answer 25

intentional taking of substance, defense to specific intent crimes if precent formation for required intent

MPC: defense to crimes with mental state for purposefully and knowingly