Glannon Guide: Elements of a Crime Flashcards
actus reus
verb of the crime. For a physical act to qualify as an actus reus, it must be voluntary. As long as the person is engaged in conscious and volitiational movement, the act is considered voluntary.
MPC four situations where a defendant did not act voluntarily
- reflex or convulsion
- bodily movement during unconsciousness or sleep
- bodily movement under hypnotic suggestion
- bodily movement not otherwise the produce of the effort or determination of the actor, either conscious or habitual.
voluntary affirmative acts hypo: Martin is sitting in his living room chair drinking his eighth beer of the night when the police arrive. They demand that he go outside to talk to them about a claim that he stole his neighbor’s garden gnome. Martin has no relocation of taking the garden gnome. When Martin refuses to go outside with the officers, the police physically pick him up and carry him outside. While he is standing outside, Martin has a seizure. His body convulses and his arm hits one of the officers. Martin is charged with stealing his neighbor’s garden gnome, being drunk in public, and assaulting an officer. Which of the following is false?
A. Martin cannot be guilty of stealing his neighbor’s garden gnome b/c he acted involuntarily
B. Martin cannot be guilty if being drunk in public b/c he was in public involuntarily
C. Martin cannot be guilty of assaulting an officer b/c he acted involuntarily
D. Martin cannot be guilty of assaulting an officer b/c his body acted convulsively
A is the correct answer
when does an omission occur?
if the defendant has a duty to act and fails to do so.
1) a statute
2) status relationship (parent)
3) a contractual agreement (babysitter and caretakers)
4) voluntarily assuming the care of another
When can one be excused
1) if one can not fulfill it w/o putting herself in danger
omissions hypo: John, Mike, Sue and Roger are at a pool party. During the party, a toddler falls into the pool and starts to drown. Everyone sees what is happening, but no one stops to help. John is the toddler’s father, Mike is the hired lifeguard, Sue is an off-duty police officer, and Roger is a guest at the party. The prosecution files criminal chargers against all four defendants for failing to help the child. Which of the following is correct
A. None of the defendants are guilty b/c there is no general duty to help another person
B.only john is guilty b/c he is the only defendant related to the child
C.Mike and roger are guilty if they were capable of saving the child w/0 putting themselves at risk
D. all of the defendants are guilty if they were capable of saving the child w/o putting themselves at risk
E. John and Mike are guilty if they are capable of saving the child w/o putting themselves at risk
the correct answer is E. we know for sure that John and Mike had a duty to help and failure to do so was a criminal omission.
robinson v. CA
USSC held that illness of drug addiction could not, but itself be considered a criminal offense.
Powell v TX
Court held that bing intoxicated in public was a crime and distinguished robinson by noting powell was being punished for conduct-that is, being in public while drunk on a particular occasion–not just for his status as an alcoholic.
Status crime hypo: Barbara admits she is a nymphomaniac. A nymphomaniac is a person obsessed with having sex. The police arrest Barbara for solicitation for prostitution. Can she be prosecuted for this offense?
A. Yes, because the supreme court has never held that the status of being a nymphis protected status
B.Yes, because barb is being prosecuted for her conduct, not her status as a nymph
C. no, b/c barb has a constitutional right to engage in sexual conduct
D.no, b/c barb cannot be prosecuted for her status of being a nymph
B: Under Powell the authorities can criminalize a conduct, even if it is done by people with a particular status or condition.
What does the MPC require of the defendant?
the defendant at-least be aware that she is in control of the item illegally posses and have sufficient time to terminate possession.
Possession Hypo: Obama hears a clicking in his luggage. He believes that it is the travel alarm clock that he packed. Little does he realize that someone has mysteriously substituted a ticking bomb for his alarm clock. When airport security inspects Obama’s luggage, they discover the bomb. They charge him with illegally possessing an explosive device. Is Obama guilty of the offense?
A. Yes, b/c Obama had a bomb in his luggage
B. Yes b/c Obama owned the luggage with the bomb
C. No, b/c only the person who put the bomb into the luggage could have possessed it.
D.No, b./c he was unaware that the illegal item was in his possession.
D. is the correct answer because the keyword is “unaware”
Mens rea CL terms:
- maliciously–means the defendant realizes the risks her conduct creates and engages in the conduct anyway.
- Intentionally- defendant had the purpose to cause a specific harm
- negligently- means not exercising the standard of care a reasonable person would under the circumstances
- willfully-doing an act with the purpose of violating the law.
Mens rea CL HYPO: Stanley is charged with arson. The crime of arson requires that a defendant maliciously set fire and cause damage to property. Stanley’s house caught fire when he was setting off fireworks in his yard. Part of the house burned before the firefighters could extinguish the fire. What would the prosecution have to prove for Stanley to be guilty of arson?
A. Stanley knew he could set his house on fire but ignored the risk and set off the fireworks to close to his home.
B. Stanley’s purpose in setting off the fireworks was to burn down his home.
C. Stanley always hated his home and therefore wanted to burn it down, so he set off the fireworks
D. Stanley carelessly burned down his home.
A is correct b.c defendant must actually consider the risk she might burn the property and disregard the risk.
Mens rea MPC
- Purposely–persons goal or aim
- Knowingly–virtually or practically certain
- Recklessly–a person acts recklessly if she realizes that there is a substantial and unjustifiable risk that her conduct will cause harm but consciously disregards the risk.
- Negligently–a person acts negligently if she is unaware of and takes a risk that an ordinary person would not take, objective standard.
Mens rea MPC HYPO: Consider again the case of Regina v. Cunningham, where the defendant almost asphyxiated his neighbor by ripping a gas meter from the wall and thereby allowing gas to seep into the victim’s room. If Cunningham claimed that he didn’t realize that breaking a gas meter would cause gas to seep and the jury believed him, would he be guilty of the crime of recklessly asphyxiating his neighbor?
A. yes b/c an ordinary person would have realized that breaking a gas meter would allow the gas to seep into his neighbor’s apartment.
B. Yes, b/c the defendant should have considered the risk to his neighbor when he broke the gas meter
C. no b/c the defendant did not have the purpose to kill his neighbor
D. No, b/c the defendant never realized that he might harm his neighbor
D is correct. If the jury finds that the defendant did not consider the risk to his neighbor, the defendant has not acted rekclessly
