C. Law Ch. 4 Flashcards
(23 cards)
Culpability of Blameworthiness
the idea that it’s fair and just to punish only people we can blame
Cause in Fact (But for,)
the objective determination that the defendant’s act triggered a chain of events that ended as the harmful result, such as the death on a homicide
Legal Cause
the subjective judgment that it’s fair and just to blame the defendant for the bad result
Mens Rea
guilty mind, the mental element, criminal intent
Motive
something that causes a person to act
Subjective Fault
fault that requires a “bad mind” in the actor
Objective Fault
requires no purposeful or conscious bad mind in the actor
Strict Liability
liability without either subjective or objective fault
General Intent
the intent to commit the criminal act as defined in a statute
Specific Intent
subjective fault; refers to criminal intent in addition to the criminal act
General Intent “plus”
first part refers to the intent to commit the actus reas of the crime, and the second part refers to some “special mental element” in addition to the intent to commit the criminal act
Purposely
the mental attitude that a person acts on purpose with respect to a material element of an offense when, if the element involves the nature of his conduct or a result thereof, it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result
Knowingly
the mental attitude that a person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when: 1) if the element involves the nature of his conduct or the attendant circumstances, he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances exist, and 2) if the element involves a result of his conduct, he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause such a result
Recklessly
the mental attitude that a person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree, that considering the nature and purpose of the actor’s conduct and the circumstances known to him, its disregard involves a gross standard of conduct that a law-abiding person would observe in the actor’s situation
Negligently
the mental attitude that a person acts negligently with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the actor’s failure to perceive it, considering the nature and purpose of his conduct and the circumstances known to him, involves a gross deviation form the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor’s situation
Principle of Concurrence
some mental fault has to trigger the criminal act in conduct crimes and the cause in result crimes
Causation
holding an actor criminally accountable for the results of her conduct
Factual Cause
also called, “but for” cause or “cause in fact”; if it weren’t for an actor’s conduct, the result wouldn’t have occurred
Legal (proximate) cause
a subjective question that asks, “Is it fair to blame the defendant for the harm triggered by a chain of events her action(s) set in motion?”
Intervening Cause
an even that comes between the initial act in a sequence and the end result
Superseding Cause
an intervening act or force that the law considers sufficient to override the cause for which the original wrongdoer as responsible
Mistake
a defense to criminal liability whenever the mistake prevents the formation of any fault-based mental attitude–namely: purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently
Failure-of-Proof Defense
mistake defenses in which defendants usually present enough evidence to raise a reasonable doubt that the prosecution has proved the mens rea required for criminal liability
