Module 2-6 - Essential Elements of a Crime Flashcards
A crime ALMOST ALWAYS requires proof of what 3 things?
a physical act (actus reus), a mental state (mens rea), and a concurrence of the act and the mental state
physical act
either performance of a voluntary physical act or failure to act when they should have
A physical act is _____________.
a bodily movement
Examples of bodily movements that do not qualify for criminal liability
conduct that is not the product of the person’s own volition
reflective/convulsive act
act performed while unconscious or asleep
Omission as an act: only gives rise to liability if…
(1) there is a legal duty to act;
(2) D has knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty to act; and
(3) it is reasonably possible to perform the duty
Under what circumstances would a legal duty to act arise?
(1) By statute (required to file tax returns);
(2) By contract (lifeguard or nurse has legal duty to act);
(3) Relationship between the parties (parent/spouse has duty to protect child/spouse from harm);
(4) Voluntary assumption of care by D for victim**
(5) D created the peril for the victim**
For an omission to be a criminal act, there must be what?
a duty to act
Possession as an act
does not need to be exclusive to one person; can have constructive possession; just have to show that the contraband is within D’s dominion and control
Specific intent crime mneumonic
Students Can Always Fake A Laugh, Even For Ridiculous Bar Facts
What are the specific intent crimes?
Solicitation, Conspiracy, Attempt, First Degree Premeditated Murder, Assault, Larceny, Embezzlement, False Pretenses, Robbery, Burglary, Forgery
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Solicitation
intent to have the person solicited commit the crime
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Conspiracy
intent to have the crime completed
Basic (Mental State) Definition: First Degree Premeditated Murder
premeditated intent to kill
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Assault
intent to commit a battery
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Larceny
intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest in the property taken
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Embezzlement
intent to defraud
Basic (Mental State) Definition: False Pretenses
intent to defraud
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Robbery
intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest in the property taken
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Burglary
intent to commit a felony in the dwelling
Basic (Mental State) Definition: Forgery
intent to defraud
Definition specific intent
doing a crime with a specific objective; the manner in which the crime was committed may provide circumstantial evidence of intent
WHAT ARE THE TWO DEFENSES ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC INTENT CRIMES?
(1) voluntary intoxication; and
(2) unreasonable mistake of fact
What is malice?
reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur
Do defenses to specific intent crimes (such as voluntary intoxication) apply to malice crimes?
NO
What is general intent?
D has an awareness of all factors constituting the crime; D must be aware that they are acting in a proscribed way and that any required attendant circumstances exist
Can a jury infer the required general intent merely from the doing of an act?
YES
What are the general intent crimes?
battery, rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment
What are the malice crimes?
common law murder, arson
What are the strict liability crimes?
statutory rape, selling liquor to minors, bigamy
What are strict liability offenses?
does not require awareness of all of the factors constituting the crime; D can be found guilty from the mere fact that they have committed the act; DEFENSES DO NOT APPLY
If the crime is in the administrative, regulatory, or morality area and there are no adverbs in the statute (knowingly, willfully, intentionally), then what?
the statute is meant to be a no intent crime of strict liability
How does the MPC modify the common law distinctions between general and specific intent crimes?
PKRN
MPC: Purposely
subjective; CONSCIOUS OBJECT to engage in proscribed conduct
MPC: Knowingly
subjective; awareness that the conduct is of a PARTICULAR NATURE or will cause a PARTICULAR RESULT
MPC: Recklessly
subjective; CONSCIOUSLY DISREGARDING a SUBSTANTIAL and UNJUSTIFIABLE RISK
MPC: Negligently
objective; FAILURE TO BE AWARE of a SUBSTANTIAL AND JUSTIFIABLE RISK
D must have taken a very unreasonable risk
Enterprise liability: corporations may be held liable for an act performed by…
(1) an agent of the corporation acting within the scope of their office/employment; or
(2) a corporate agent high enough in the hierarchy to presume their acts reflect corporate policy
Transferred intent
D intended a harm that is actually caused, but to a different victim or object; defenses and mitigating circumstances may also usually be transferred
What crimes does the doctrine of transferred intent apply to?
homicide, battery, and arson
What crime does the doctrine of transferred intent NOT apply to?
attempt
Concurrence of mental fault with physical act
D must have the intent necessary for the crime AT THE TIME they committed the act constituting the crime; intent must have PROMPTED THE ACT
Causation
when a crime is defined to require not merely conduct BUT ALSO A SPECIFIED RESULT, D’s conduct must be BOTH the (1) cause-in-fact, AND (2) proximate cause of the specified result
principal
person who commits the illegal act or who causes an innocent agent to do so; liable for principal crime
HAVE TO HAVE REQUISITE MENTAL STATE
accomplice
person who aids or encourages the principal to commit the illegal conduct; liable for principal crime if the accomplice intended to aid or encourage the crime
accessory after the fact
person who aids another to escape knowing that he has committed a felony; liable for separate, less serious crime of being an accessory after the fact
Dual intent required for accomplice
To be convicted of SUBSTANTIVE CRIME as an accomplice: (1) intent to assist the principal; and (2) intent that the principal commit the substantive offense
If the substantive offense has recklessness or negligence as the mens rea, intent element is satisfied if…
(1) accomplice intended to facilitate the commission of the crime; and
(2) acted with recklessness or negligence (whichever is required by the statute)
What is generally NOT ENOUGH to establish accomplice liability?
mere knowledge that a crime will result
Scope of accomplice liability
crimes they did or counseled AND for any other crimes committed in the course of committing the crime contemplated to the same extent as the principal, AS LONG AS THE OTHER CRIMES WERE PROBABLE OR FORESEEABLE
withdrawal
a person who effectively withdraws from a crime before it is committed CANNOT be held guilty as an accomplice; must occur BEFORE the crime becomes UNSTOPPABLE
Withdrawal: if a person encouraged the crime, the person must ______________ the encouragement.
repudiate
Withdrawal: if the person aided by providing assistance to the principal, the person must do everything possible to….
neutralize the assistance
_______________ or taking other action to prevent the crime is sufficient to constitute withdrawal.
notifying the police
Conspiracy
(1) Agreement between two or more persons (mutual action);
(2) intent to enter into the agreement (MPC –> unilateral; CL –> bilateral); and
(3) intent by at least two persons to achieve the objective of the agreement
OVERT ACT(majority)/MERE PREPARATION
Conspiracy: Mental element
(1) intent to agree; and
(2) intent to achieve objective of the conspiracy
SPECIFIC INTENT
termination of conspiracy
usually terminates upon completion of the wrongful act
unless agreed to in advance, acts of concealment are not part of the conspiracy
liability for co-conspirator’s crimes
co-conspirator can be held liable for crimes committed by other conspirators if the crimes:
(1) were committed IN FURTHERANCE of the objectives of the conspiracy; and
(2) were foreseeable
defenses to conspiracy
factual impossibility is NOT a defense
withdrawal is NOT a defense to the conspiracy, but may be a defense to crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy (give co-conspirators notice of withdrawal and try to neutralize the assistance)
Solicitation
asking, inciting, counseling, advising, urging, or commanding another to commit a crime, with the intent that the person solicited commit the crime
defenses to solicitation
MPC: renunciation if D prevents the commission of the crime
defense that the solicitor could not be found guilty of the completed crime b/c of a legislative intent to exclude them
merger of solicitation with other crimes
if the person solicited agrees to commit the crime, but does not even commit acts sufficient for attempt, both parties can be held liable for conspiracy
SOLICITOR CANNOT BE PUNISHED FOR BOTH THE SOLICITATION AND THE OTHER OFFENSES
Attempt
an act done with the intent to commit a crime, that falls short of completing the crime
(1) specific intent PLUS (2) an overt act in furtherance of the crime
Attempt and overt act requirement
act or commission must constitute a SUBSTANTIAL STEP in a course of conduct planned to culminate the commission of a crime that strongly corroborates the actor’s criminal purpose
Defenses to attempt
abandonment (not at CL) –> fully voluntary and complete abandonment is a defense
legal impossibility (rare) –> D, having completed all acts that they had intended, would have committed no crime
factual impossibility –> substantive crime is incapable of completion due to some physical or factual condition unknown to D (NOT A DEFENSE)
Common law murder
unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought
STATES OF MIND THAT WOULD CONSTITUTE CL MURDER:
(1) intent to kill;
(2) intent to inflict great bodily injury;
(3) reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life; or
(4) intent to commit a felony
first degree murder
D makes decision to kill in a cool and dispassionate manner and actually reflected on the idea of killing, even for a brief period of time (premeditated)
D must have acted with intent or knowledge that their conduct would cause death
first degree felony murder
killing committed during the commission of an enumerated felony (burglary, arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping; any felony that is “inherently dangerous”)
killings performed in certain ways may be first degree murder
homicide of police officer: defendant must know the victim is a cop and the victim must be acting in the line of duty
second degree murder
usually classified as a depraved heart killing; killing done with a reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life
OR any murder that is not classified as first degree murder
felony murder
any death, even an accidental death, caused in the commission of, or in an attempt to commit, a felony (malice implied from intent to commit underlying felony)
felonies included in felony murder
burglary, arson, rape
Limitation on felony murder rule
(1) D must have committed or attempted to commit the underlying felony; defense that negates an element of the underlying offense will also be a defense to felony murder
(2) felony must be distinct from the killing itself
(3) death must have been a foreseeable result of the felony
(4) death must have been caused before the defendant’s immediate flight from the felony has ended (temporary safety and subsequent deaths are NOT felony murder)
(5) defendant is NOT liable for felony murder when a co-felon is killed
proximate cause theory to felony murder (minority rule)
felons are liable for the deaths of innocent victims caused by someone other than a co-felon
agency theory of felony murder (majority rule)
killing of innocent victim must be committed by the felon OR their agent with limited exceptions in cases in which the victim was used as a shield or otherwise forced by the felon to occupy a dangerous place
voluntary manslaughter
killing that would be murder but for the existence of adequate provocation, which is only adequate if:
(1) aroused by sudden and intense passion in the mind of an ordinary person;
(2) defendant was in fact provoked;
(3) not sufficient time between provocation and the killing for passions of a reasonable person to cool; and
(4) defendant in fact did not cool off between the provocation and the killing
imperfect self defense
murder may be reduced to manslaughter even though:
(1) defendant was at fault in starting the altercation; and
(2) defendant unreasonably BUT HONESTLY believed in the necessity of responding with deadly force
involuntary manslaughter
killing is involuntary manslaughter if it was committed:
(1) with criminal negligence (or recklessness under MPC); or
(2) in some states, during the commission of an unlawful act; foreseeability might also be a requirement
requires SUBSTANTIAL RISK
abandoned and malignant heart murder vas. involuntary manslaughter
CL abandoned and malignant heart murder requires high risk of death, which IM is based on recklessness and requires only a substantial risk
murder causation
D’s conduct must be BOTH the cause-in-fact and the proximate cause of the victim’s death
cause-in-fact to murder
result is a natural and probable consequence of defendant’s conduct, even if they did not anticipate the precise manner in which the result occurred
SUPERSEDING FACTORS BREAK THE CHAIN OF PROXIMATE CAUSATION
rules of causation
act that hastens an inevitable result is still the legal cause of the result; simultaneous acts of two or more persons may be independently sufficient causes of a single result
victim’s preexisting weakness or fragility does not break chain of causation
Limitations on felony murder rule
(1) year and a day –> death of victim must occur within one year and one day from infliction of injury or wound (majority of states have abolished)
(2) intervening act shields the D from liability if the act is a coincidence or is outside the foreseeable sphere of the risk created by D
3rd party’s negligent medical care and victim’s refusal of medical treatment for religious reasons are both FORESEEABLE RISKS, so D WOULD BE liable
battery
unlawful application of force to the person of another resulting in bodily injury OR an offensive touching (need not be intentional, force need not be applied directly)
GENERAL INTENT
aggravated battery
(1) battery with deadly weapon
(2) battery resulting in SBI
(3) battery of a child, woman, or police officer
assault
(1) attempt to commit battery; or
(2) intentional creation (other than mere words) of a reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily injury in the mind of the victim
aggravated assault
assault + one of the following:
(1) use of a deadly or dangerous weapon; or
(2) with the intent to rape, maim, or murder
false imprisonment
unlawful confinement of a person without the person’s valid consent
MPC: confinement must interfere substantially with he victim’s liberty
if alternate escape routes are available, NOT CONFINEMENT; routes have to be “reasonable”
kidnapping
unlawful confinement of a person that involves either:
(1) some movement of the victim; or
(2) concealment of the victim in a “secret” place
aggravated kidnapping
kidnapping for ransom, for the purpose of committing other crimes, offensive purposes, and child stealing (consent of child is irrelevant, incapable of giving consent as a minor)
rape
slightest penetration is sufficient
statutory rape
strict liability; carnal knowledge of a person under the age of consent; mistake of age is almost never a valid defense
