Jurisdiction and General Matters Flashcards
When does a state have jurisdiction over a crime?
If any act constituting an element of the offense is committed in the state, caused a result in the state (even if committed out of state), the crime involved the neglect of a duty imposed by the state, there was an attempt/conspiracy outside the state plus an act inside the state, or there was an attempt or conspiracy inside the state to commit an offense outside the state.
What is the difference between felonies and misdemeanors?
Felonies are punishable by imprisonment for more than a year, or death. Less than a year = misdemeanor.
What does due process require of criminal statues?
That they not be vague, meaning that there must be (1) fair warning (an person of ordinary intelligence could discern what was prohibited), and (2) no arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.
What substantive limitations does the Constitution place on state statutes?
No ex post facto laws and no bills of attainder
How are criminal statutes construed?
Strictly in favor of defendants
What happens when two statutes address the same subject matter but yield different conclusions?
The more specific statute will be applied
What law governs a crime committed before new legislation is passed?
The law as it stood at the time of the offense
When does merger apply?
At common law, a misdemeanor always merged into a felony, meaning that if a person committed a misdemeanor alongside a felony, they could only be convicted of the felony. This is no longer true.
Now, there is no merger except for solicitation and attempt. A defendant may not be convicted of both solicitation and the completed crime, nor attempt and the completed crime. However, you can be convicted of both conspiracy to commit a crime and the completed crime itself.
May a defendant be convicted of more than one inchoate crime for conduct designed to culminate in the same offense?
Under the MPC, no. (Example, a defendant who conspired to commit burglary and then attempted to commit it could not be convicted of both attempt and conspiracy.)
How does double jeopardy affect lesser included offenses?
It prevents a trial/conviction of a person for a lesser included offense if previously put in jeopardy for the greater offense.
How does double jeopardy affect multiple charges for the same underlying crime in a single trial?
At trial, a court may impose multiple punishments for offenses arising from the same transaction so long as they are for two or more statutorily defined offenses intended by the legislature to carry separate punishments
