BAR FLASHCARDS - Crim L 1 - Overview
State has jurisdiction over crime if:
- Act committed in state or
- Result occured in state
JURISDICTION
Generally, a state has jurisdiction over a crime if:
• Any ACT constituting an element of the offense was COMMITTED in the state
• An act outside the state caused a RESULT in the state
• The crime involved the neglect of a duty imposed by the law of the state
• There was an attempt or 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
MERGER: Common Law
At common law, if a person engaged in conduct constituting both a felony and a misdemeanor, they could be convicted only of the felony. Misdemeanor merged into the felony.
Merger: Modern Law
- Soliciation and attempt do merge into completed crime
- Conspiracy does not merge into completed crime.
Modern Law Merger
MPC merger
Generally, there is no merger of crimes in American law.
SOLICITATION - MERGER: However, a person who solicits another to commit a crime may not be convicted of both the solicitation and the completed crime (if the person solicited does complete it). Merger solicits with conspiracy as well.
ATTEMPT - MERGER: Similarly, a person who completes a crime after attempting it may not be convicted of both the attempt and the completed crime.
CONSPIRACY - NO MERGER: Conspiracy, however, does not merge with the completed offense (so, for example, a person can be convicted of both robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery).
MPC: Under the M.P.C., a defendant may not be convicted of more than one inchoate crime (that is, attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation) when their conduct was designed to culminate in the commission of the same offense. For example, a defendant who conspired to commit burglary and then actually attempted to commit burglary could not be convicted of both conspiracy and attempt.
Merger under MPC
A D may not be convicted of more than 1 inchoate crime when their conduct was desigend to culminate in the commission of the same offense.
For example, a defendant who conspired to commit burglary and then actually attempted to commit burglary could not be convicted of both conspiracy and attempt.
3 inchoate crimes
Solicitation, attemt, conspiracy
Rules Against Multiple Convictions for Same Transaction
Double jeopardy prohibits trial or conviction of a person for a lesser included offense if they have been put in jeopardy for the greater offense. For example, a defendant who was convicted of felony murder based on an armed robbery cannot be convicted later of the armed robbery in the same incident because the armed robbery is a lesser included offense of the felony murder. However, a court can impose multiple punishments at a single trial where the punishments are for two or more statutorily defined offenses specifically intended by the legislature to carry separate punishments, even though the offenses arise from the same transaction and constitute the same crime.
Classification of Crimes
There are two classes of crimes: FELONIES and MISDEMEANORS.
Felonies are generally punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year; other crimes are misdemeanors.
