Crim Final Flashcards
Policy - Theories of Punishment
- Utilitarian View: forward-looking
- Deterrence: Punishment may deter the criminal from committing future crimes. Punishment may deter persons other than the criminal from committing similar crimes for fear of incurring the same punishment.
- Rehabilitation: Imprisonment provides the opportunity to mold and reform the criminal into a person who, upon return to society, will conform her behavior to societal norms.
- Incapacitation: While imprisoned, a criminal has fewer opportunities to commit acts causing harm to society.
- Retribution View: backward-looking. Punishment is imposed to vent society’s sense of outrage and need for revenge. Blameworthiness. Does the criminal deserve it?
Mens Rea & Actus Reus Definition
Mens Rea: Ones culpable mental state at the time of the crime
Actus Reus: voluntarily act or the omission a legal duty
Start the Rule statement with
For a reasonable jury to find a defendant guilty of _____ under the _____, the prosecution must prove….
Attempt Define, Mens and Actus
DEFINE: intent to commit a criminal offense and engages in conduct that constitutes the beginning of the crime rather than the mere preparation for the offense.
Mens Rea: Intent; the conscious objective to achieve a particular result to commit a crime
Actus Reus: conduct that constitutes the intending offense- “dangerous proximity,” “last act test,” and “physical proximity test,”
Conspiracy Define, Mens and Actus
DEFINE: an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act or series of unlawful acts. Mens Rea: Intent; the conscious objective to achieve a particular result to commit a crime
(Both the intent to commit crime and Intent to agree)
Actus Reus: actually, enter into an agreement with such the agreement being the product of a voluntary act.
*No overt act in furtherance for Common Law
*Yes overt act in furtherance for NYPL and MPC & Both are UNI LATERAL
Complicity Define, Mens and Actus
DEFINE: When a person solicits, requests commands or intentionally aids such person to engage in such conduct.
Mens Rea: Intent; In that he intend his action to further the criminal action or conduct of the principal
Actus Reus: aiding and abetting or encouraging other person’s conduct.
Murder 1 Define, Mens and Actus
Murder 1- Unintentional Intentional
DEFINE: “Unlawful killing of another person with Malice Aforethought with the Attendant circumstances of Premeditation and Deliberation”
Malice Aforethought: encompasses the mental states of intent or recklessness.
Attendant Circumstances of: Premeditation and Deliberation;
Premeditation: is the planning that occurred beforehand.
Deliberation: is the careful consideration of the defendant’s options and consequences.
Mens Rea: Intentionally; in that they had the conscious objective to cause a result or engage in such a conduct.
Actus Reus: Causing the death of another.
NYPL: Just Murder 2 but with Special Circumstance
Murder 2 (Intentional) Define, Mens and Actus
Murder 2- Intentional Intentional *with NO Premeditation and Deliberation
DEFINE: “Unlawful killing of another person with Malice Aforethought”
Malice Aforethought: encompasses the mental states of intent or recklessness.
Mens Rea: Intentionally; in that they had the conscious objective to cause a result or engage in such a conduct.
Actus Reus: Causing the death of another.
“Murder in the second degree under the common law encompasses felony murder, intent to inflict serious bodily injury, and depraved heart murder.”
NYPL: No Malice forethought
MPC: Purposefully (No degree just Murder & Manslaughter), No Malice forethought
“Murder in the second degree under the NYPL/MPC encompasses Intentional Murder, Felony murder, and Depraved/Extreme indifference”
Murder 2 (Felony Murder) Define, Mens and Actus
Murder 2- Felony Murder Unintentional
DEFINE: “Unlawful killing of another person in the pursuit of the underlying crime (BARRK) or immediate flight from the enumerated felony, the death was of a non-participant.”
Malice Aforethought: (Implied) encompasses the mental states of intent or recklessness.
Underlying Crime: the prosecution must prove the actus reus and mens rea of the underlying crime and that in the pursuit of the underlying crime (BARRK) or immediate flight from the enumerated felony, the defendant caused the death of a non-participant.
Mens Rea: Intentionally; in that they had the conscious objective to commit the underlying crime.
Actus Reus: committing a felony
NYPL: no BARRK crimes are stated, No Malice forethought
MPC: no BARRK crimes are stated and Purposefully (No degree just Murder & Manslaughter), No Malice forethought
Robbery Define, Mens and Actus
DEFINE: the defendant must be guilty of larceny along with presence of force or the immediate threat of force.
Larceny DEFINE: Unlawful taking & asportation of personal property without consent of the owner
Larceny Mens Rea: Intent; to permanently deprive the owner of the property
Larceny Actus Rea: Voluntary asportation, is defined as the action of carrying away the property.
Mens Rea: Intent to permanently deprive
Actus Reus: using force or the immediate threat of force
Murder 2 (Intent to inflict serious bodily injury) Define, Mens and Actus
Murder 2- Intent to inflict serious bodily injury Unintentional ONLY COMMON LAW
DEFINE: “Unlawful killing of another person through the Intent to inflict serious bodily injury, and thereby cause the serious bodily injury, but death results
Malice Aforethought: (Implied) encompasses the mental states of intent or recklessness.
Mens Rea: Intentionally; in that they had the conscious objective to cause a result or engage in such a conduct.
Actus Reus: voluntarily caused serious bodily injury to another person and death results from the injury.
NYPL: DOES NOT EXIST
MPC: DOES NOT EXIST
Murder 2 (Depraved Heart) Define, Mens and Actus
Murder 2- Depraved Heart Unintentional
Malice Aforethought: (Implied) encompasses the mental states of intent or recklessness.
Required: Exhibited extreme reckless behavior, so depraved that it shows a complete disregard to human life
Mens Rea: Recklessly; in that they were aware of and consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists.
Actus Reus: voluntarily acted or omitted a legal duty, in an extremely reckless manner.
NYPL: No Malice forethought
MPC: Extreme indifference and Purposefully (No degree just Murder & Manslaughter), No Malice forethought
Manslaughter- Adequate Provocation Define, Mens and Actus
Manslaughter- Adequate Provocation Intentional (Mitigate likely Intentional & Inflict bodily harm)
DEFINE: An intentional homicide committed in a sudden heat of passion as a result of a adequate provocation can be mitigated to voluntary manslaughter if…
(1) There was a provocation that would cause a reasonable person to lose control of himself and act spontaneously. (objective)
(2) The provocation must have actually provoked the defendant. (subjective)
(3) The period of time between the provocation and the actual killing cannot be long enough for a reasonable person to have cooled off (objective)
(4) The defendant himself must not have cooled off between the time of the provocation and the time that he actually committed the killing. (subjective)
*Words alone are not adequate provocation
Self-Defences / Justification (Common Law, NYPL, MPC)
Self-Defences / Justification
Common Law
Imperfect Self-Defense: If the person unreasonably believe that the harm was imminent
Perfect Self-Defense: (Same as NYPL) A person may use physical force upon another when and to the extent he reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself from a the other person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by such other person.¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
{Not Affirmative}
NYPL
DEFINE: A person may use physical force upon another when and to the extent he reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself from a other person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by such other person.¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
{Not Affirmative}
MPC
It is an affirmative defense in which the use of force upon or towards another is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion.
{Affirmative}
Mental Disorder (Common Law, NYPL, MPC)
Mental Disorder
Common Law & NYPL
It is an affirmative defense if at the time of such conduct as a result of a mental disease or defect, he lacks the substantial capacity to know or appreciate either (1) the nature and consequences of such conduct or (2) that such conduct was wrong.
{Affirmative}
MPC
It is an affirmative defense if at the time of such conduct as a result of a mental disease or defect, he lacks the substantial capacity to either appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to requirement of the law.
{Affirmative}
M’Naghten’s Rule: * Common Law
RULE: A rule stating that a defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity if, as a result of a mental disease or defect, he either (1) did not know the nature or quality of the criminal act or (2) if he did know the act’s nature and quality, he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.
{Affirmative}
