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Criminal Law > Actus Reus 1 > Flashcards

Actus Reus 1 Flashcards

1
Q

First actus reus principle

A

person should not be convicted solely on basis of thoughts but must also have done a social harm

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2
Q

Second actus reus principle

A

act must be voluntary

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3
Q

Third actus reus principle

A

No crim liability for an omission unless person failed to act in an instance where there is a legal duty to act

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4
Q

Fourth actus reus principle

A

Status crimes are unconstitutional (punish for conduct not for being type of person)

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5
Q

Most crimes in US have four elements

A

(1) voluntary act or omission when legal duty to act (2) prohibited mental state (3) chain of causation linking defendant actions with social harm (4) concurrence between mens rea and actus reus

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6
Q

Stanley facts

A

during search officers found obscene films

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7
Q

Stanley holding

A

1A protects mere private possession of obscene material within one’s own home

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8
Q

Stanley emphasized right to be free from __

A

unwanted govt intrusions into one’s property

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9
Q

Stanley says 1A protects the right to ____ even if materials obscene so long as ___

A

receive info and ideas, possession within confines of one’s private home

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10
Q

There was no compelling reason to outweigh Stanley’s privacy interest because ___

A

no evidence of distribution/selling

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11
Q

No actus reus in Stanley because the govt cannot dictate what a person ___

A

thinks, reads or watches in privacy of their own home

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12
Q

Stanley court thinks that criminalizing possession of certain materials would unduly ___

A

intrude on freedom of thought

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13
Q

A volitional act requires ____ and definitely requires more than just __

A

human agency/acting self, brain activity (not seizure hitting person)

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14
Q

Habitual acts (chain smoker lighting up without thinking about it) are ____

A

still voluntary

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15
Q

For voluntariness, consciousness is __

A

a matter of degree

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16
Q

Martin v State facts

A

officers arrested him at home and then took him onto highway where he engaged in disorderly actions

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17
Q

Martin v. State holding

A

M punished for involuntary conduct so can’t be upheld

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18
Q

Under Martin, to be convicted for being drunk in public you need to ___

A

have voluntarily put yourself there

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19
Q

State v. Decina facts

A

man with history of epilepsy loses consciousness while driving and swerved onto sidewalk killing 4 people

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20
Q

Decina holding

A

Conduct was voluntary

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21
Q

Under Decina, _______ his failure to consider these renders him criminally liable

A

aware of condition he knows may produce such consequences

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22
Q

Main difference between Martin and Decina

A

wide vs. narrow time-framing construct

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23
Q

Counterargument why Martin should be voluntary

A

voluntary act 1 (beating his wife) causes act 2 (public drunkenness) and is foreseeable in wider timeframe, probability of epileptic blackout lower than probability ending up in public after behavior likely to gain police attention

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24
Q

Seminal though case

A

Stanley v. Georgia

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25
Q

Involuntary conduct cases

A

Martin and Decina

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26
Q

Status cases

A

Robinson and Powell

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27
Q

Robinson facts

A

Police found scar tissue and needle marks on arm. Denied taking drugs and said from military service

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28
Q

Robinson statute

A

to be under influence of or addicted to drugs

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29
Q

Robinson statute did not require ___

A

use or possession

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30
Q

Robinson holding

A

SCOTUS says this violates the 8A, cruel and unusual punishment

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31
Q

Robinson reasoning

A

Addiction is an illness and punishment for having a disease is cruel

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32
Q

Powell facts

A

chronic alcoholic charged with being drunk in public

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33
Q

Powell holding

A

being drunk in public not a status

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34
Q

Why doesn’t Robinson apply in Powell

A

(1) Unlike P, R was arrested merely for addiction not criminal conduct, being drunk in public (2) If Robinson applied where to draw the line?

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35
Q

Powell dissent

A

Like Robinson no control over behavior. Once drunk would appear in public without volition, under compulsion of disease of chronic alcoholism

36
Q

Powell White concurrence

A

Maybe some cases where drunkenness a status but here he failed to show necessary actions (omission crime)

37
Q

To be an omission crime must ___ + ___

A

cause social harm, mens rea

38
Q

Criminal liability can be based on omission if defendant ___

A

had legal duty to act and was capable of acting, but did not

39
Q

5 situations where legal duty to act

A

(1) personal relationship (2) contractual duty (3) statutory duty to act (4) defendant created risk to victim (5) defendant voluntarily assumes care of someone in need

40
Q

What are two dimensions of capable to act?

A

physically capable + known the facts giving rise to need for action

41
Q

If mother in a lake and does not know the daughter is drowning five feet away then she is ____

A

not liable for failure to rescue

42
Q

Beardsley facts

A

affair with woman who overdosed. Knew she was in a stupor and asked assistant to move her to the movement. She died

43
Q

Beardsley holding

A

No legal duty here

44
Q

Beardsley reasoning

A

(1) moral duty not the same as legal duty (2) not husband and wife (3) more like a houseguest (no duties) than a wife

45
Q

Erb facts

A

Met woman for first time that day and drove to mother’s house. She used heroin and passed out. He didn’t know where she lived so he left her on a lawn and she died

46
Q

Erb holding

A

No legal duty

47
Q

Erb reasoning

A

(1) No criminal liability based on failure to act unless legal duty (2) He didn’t create the peril, she supplied and injected herself with the drug (3) didn’t know her, no special relationship

48
Q

Ibeagwa facts

A

two young unsupervised children drowned in a pool. mother was notified by a neighbor that they were unsupervised while she was at work

49
Q

Ibeagwa holding

A

can be liable, conduct showed conscious disregard for consequence of leaving young children unsupervised

50
Q

Ibeagwa reasoning

A

(1) omissions can be actus reus when legal duty present (2) special parental relationship (3) knew unsupervised

51
Q

Kuntz facts

A

K and long term partner had altercation. She stabbed him later claiming self defense. didn’t call for medical assistance after stabbing him

52
Q

Kuntz holding 1

A

Yes legal duty based on relationship + creating peril

53
Q

Kuntz holding 2

A

but when justifiably use force to fend off aggressor, no duty to assist in any way that conceivably creates risk of injury

54
Q

American bystander rule

A

no legal duty on a person to rescue or summon aid for another person at risk

55
Q

Kuntz qualification

A

Legal duty to act may attach once person is safe but only if (1) prosecutor can show knowledge of facts indicating duty to act AND (2) person physically capable of performing the act

56
Q

Lindaman facts

A

required to register as sex offender but didn’t

57
Q

Lindaman holding

A

Statutory duty to register so appropriate to convict for omission

58
Q

Bajakajian facts

A

traveled internationally with 350K and failed to report so forced to forfeit the money

59
Q

Bajakajian holding

A

Allowed forfeiture because money involved in crime but reduced the forfeiture to 15K and fined 5K

60
Q

Bajakajian reasoning

A

(1) full amount would violate 8A excessive fines clause (2) forfeiture of 350 grossly disproportionate to seriousness of the crime

61
Q

Smith v. State facts

A

high school principal didn’t report sex crime on campus for four hours

62
Q

Smith holding

A

Statute not unconstitutionally vague

63
Q

Smith reasoning

A

(1) statute doesn’t define immediate but dictionary provides sufficient clarity (2) before reporting conducted own investigation and performed unrelated tasks (3) irrelevant that unaware that student-on-student rape constituted child abuse

64
Q

Why did dictionary provide sufficient clarity in Smith?

A

Statute doesn’t need exclusive time limit, immediately means prompty without intervening events or delays (not 24 hours)

65
Q

Smith’s own investigation contradicted the ___ AND __

A

plain meaning of immediate, undermines purpose of protecting children in the statute

66
Q

Why is it irrelevant that Smith didn’t know student on student rape constituted child abuse?

A

mandatory reporters could avoid liability by simply refusing to learn statutory definitions

67
Q

Park facts

A

P cited for violating FDA sanitation regs. P was Pres and COO of Acme Foods. FDA had sent him two letters regarding unsanitary conditions in the warehouses

68
Q

Park holding

A

corporate officers can be held criminally liable when he had the ability to prevent the occurrence or correct it after the fact

69
Q

Park reasoning

A

(1) conceded that providing sanitary condition something responsible for (2) only way corporation can act is through individuals on its behalf (3) requirements stringent but no more so than public right to expect of those who voluntarily assume positions of authority

70
Q

Osborne facts

A

four explicit photos of a minor found in his home

71
Q

Osborne holding

A

Freedoms of 1A can be limited if govt strong enough interest -> Ohio can prohibit possession of child porn given gravity of interest in this context

72
Q

What is the govt interest in Osborne

A

protecting children from exploitation and victimization through resharing of explicit images

73
Q

How is Osborne distinct from Stanley

A

interest of protecting children/targeting child porn market more compelling that GA wanting to keep minds pure

74
Q

Possession ___ the act requirement

A

satisfies

75
Q

Is possession really a way of ____?

A

criminalizing bad thoughts

76
Q

Page facts

A

found oxy she acquired through old prescription. State said felony because possessed drug outside timeframe of intended use

77
Q

Page holding

A

person doesn’t violate the statute because they fail to take medication as prescribed

78
Q

Page reasoning

A

(1) valid prescription exception to possession statute (2) remains valid after prescription ends (3) defendant burden to prove valid prescription and then state must prove prescription invalid

79
Q

Possession cases

A

Page, Osborne

80
Q

Why criminalize possession?

A

(1) destroy the market (2) proxy offense (assumption someone carrying drugs up to no good)

81
Q

Criminalizing possession satisfies the act requirement when ___ or ___

A

you acquired it, failed to get rid of it (omission offense)

82
Q

Arguments for criminalizing revenge porn

A

(1) empirical connection between non-consensual porn and societal harm (2) need to destroy market through people who possess it (3) need criminalization to show moral condemnation

83
Q

Why does the Revenge Porn article suggest Stanley wrongly decided?

A

(1) certain possession of obscene material should be criminalized (2) maybe all adult porn should be since no method to verify consent

84
Q

Mitchell facts

A

Black man upset after watching movie where black boy beat by white man so he instigated friends to beat up white boy walking past

85
Q

Mitchell holding

A

Court can consider associations/beliefs when determining what sentence IF abstract beliefs motivate conduct

86
Q

Mitchell reasoning

A

(1) physical assault not “expressive conduct protected by 1A” (2) differentiates between thought crime and sentence enhancement (3) crimes motivated by racial bias deserve enhanced penalties because those crimes are more harmful to victims and society

87
Q
A

Criminal Law (10 decks)

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