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July 2025 CBX > Criminal Law > Flashcards

Criminal Law Flashcards

(70 cards)

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1
Q

What is the formula for a Prima Facie Case?

A

Actus Reus + Mens Rea + Concurrence + Causation

This is the foundational structure for establishing a crime.

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2
Q

Define Actus Reus.

A

A voluntary affirmative act or a failure to act when a legal duty exists.

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3
Q

What are the circumstances that create a legal duty?

A

A legal duty exists when:
* A statute or law requires action
* The relationship between the defendant and the victim imposes a duty
* A contract obligates the defendant to act
* The defendant voluntarily assumes a duty and excludes others from helping
* The defendant created the risk of harm

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4
Q

Define Mens Rea.

A

A required mental state of mind.

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5
Q

What are the two types of intent under Common Law?

A

General Intent and Specific Intent.

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6
Q

What does ‘Purposely’ mean in the Model Penal Code?

A

Defendant’s conscious or primary objective was to cause the relevant harm.

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7
Q

What is Willful Blindness?

A

The mental state for knowledge is satisfied if the defendant was reckless and took deliberate steps to avoid learning the truth.

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8
Q

What is Recklessness in criminal law?

A

Defendant was aware of a substantial and unjustified risk that the harm would occur.

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9
Q

Define Negligence in the context of criminal law.

A

Defendant’s failure to perceive a substantial and unjustified risk that the harm would occur was a substantial deviation from the standard of care.

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10
Q

What is Transferred Intent?

A

A defendant’s intentional mens rea can transfer to an unintended victim if the defendant’s actus reus resulted in the same or similar crime as the intended crime.

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11
Q

What are strict liability crimes?

A

Crimes that require no mens rea.

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12
Q

What is Vicarious Liability?

A

A defendant can be responsible for the actions of another under theories of conspiracy liability, accomplice liability, and felony murder.

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13
Q

What is required for Concurrence in criminal law?

A

The defendant must have the required mens rea at the time the defendant acts.

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14
Q

What is Causation?

A

For completed crimes, the defendant’s act must be the actual and proximate cause of the victim’s harm.

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15
Q

Define Actual Cause.

A

The defendant’s act must be the but-for cause of the harm or be a substantial factor in producing the harm.

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16
Q

What is Proximate Cause?

A

The harm was the direct and natural result of the defendant’s actus reus.

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17
Q

What are Intervening Events?

A

Events that occur between the defendant’s act and the eventual harm that can break the causal chain if not foreseeable.

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18
Q

Define Common Law Murder.

A

An unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.

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19
Q

What are the four mental states that satisfy malice aforethought?

A
  1. Intent to kill
  2. Intent to inflict serious bodily harm
  3. Extreme recklessness
  4. Felony murder
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20
Q

What is Felony Murder?

A

Applies if five requirements are met during the commission of a felony.

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21
Q

List the five requirements for Felony Murder.

A
  1. Homicide occurs during commission of a felony
  2. Defendant possesses the mens rea for the felony
  3. The felony must be inherently dangerous
  4. The felony must be independent from the homicide
  5. Death must be foreseeable
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22
Q

Define First-Degree Murder.

A

An intentional killing with premeditation and deliberation, or a killing during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony.

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23
Q

What is the difference between Premeditation and Deliberation?

A

Premeditation means planning in advance; deliberation is when the defendant carefully considers how to commit the crime.

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24
Q

What constitutes Second-Degree Murder?

A
  1. Intentional killing without premeditation
  2. Unintentional killing with intent to inflict serious harm
  3. Depraved heart murder
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25
What is Voluntary Manslaughter?
A killing done in the heat of passion or resulting from an imperfect use of self-defense.
26
What are the three requirements for Heat of Passion?
1. Severely provoked by the victim 2. A reasonable person would also be provoked 3. Killing occurs before cooling off
27
Define Involuntary Manslaughter.
An unintentional killing that occurs when the defendant recklessly or negligently causes death.
28
What is the Model Penal Code's definition of Murder?
Includes all intentional killings and killings done with extreme indifference.
29
What is the definition of Larceny?
A trespassory taking and carrying away of personal property of another with the intent to steal.
30
What are the four elements of Larceny?
1. Trespassory 2. Taking 3. Carrying away 4. Intent to steal
31
What is the Continuing Trespass Doctrine?
If a defendant's initial conduct is a trespassory taking without intent to steal, but later forms the intent, they will still be guilty of larceny.
32
Define Robbery.
Includes all elements of larceny plus use of actual physical force or threat of force.
33
What is False Pretenses?
A fraudulent statement that results in the victim passing title in the property to the defendant.
34
What is Embezzlement?
The defendant is in lawful possession of another’s property and fraudulently converts it to his own use with intent to deprive.
35
What constitutes Burglary under Common Law?
Unlawfully breaking and entering a dwelling house of another with intent to commit a felony.
36
What is the definition of Kidnapping?
Unlawfully restraining and transporting a person through force or threat of force.
37
What is the definition of Assault?
Putting another in reasonable apprehension of imminent unlawful harm or committing an attempted battery.
38
What is Rape?
Engaging in sexual intercourse by force or threat of force without consent.
39
What is Statutory Rape?
Having sexual intercourse with another person under the age of consent.
40
What is the definition of Arson?
Maliciously burning the dwelling house of another.
41
What are the four tests for Insanity?
1. M’Naghten Test 2. Irresistible Impulse Test 3. Model Penal Code 4. Durham Rule
42
What is Diminished Capacity?
If the defendant suffers from a mental disability that prevents forming the required mens rea, they can be acquitted.
43
What is the age set by the MPC for criminal prosecution instead of juvenile adjudication?
16 years old.
44
What is the difference between Involuntary and Voluntary Intoxication?
Involuntary applies if drugged against will; voluntary does not apply if mens rea formed before intoxication.
45
What are the two main requirements for Self-Defense?
1. Defendant must not be the initial aggressor 2. The force used must be reasonable
46
What are the three elements for self-defense to apply?
1. Defendant must not be the initial aggressor or must have regained the right to use self-defense. 2. Defendant must honestly and reasonably believe they face an imminent threat of unlawful bodily contact. 3. Force used must be reasonably necessary to prevent the threatened harm.
47
In which jurisdictions is there a duty to retreat when using deadly force?
In a minority of jurisdictions, a duty to retreat exists if deadly force is used.
48
Is there a duty to retreat when using nondeadly force or under the Castle Doctrine?
No duty to retreat exists if nondeadly force is used or if the defendant is in their home or workplace.
49
What are the requirements for the defense of others to apply?
1. Defendant must honestly believe there is an imminent threat of unlawful bodily contact to another person. 2. Force used must be necessary to prevent the threatened harm.
50
When is deadly force allowed to defend property?
Deadly force is allowed only when defending one's dwelling and reasonably believing that force is necessary to prevent entry by an intruder intending to commit a felony or inflict serious bodily harm.
51
What must occur for a law enforcement officer to use force during an arrest?
Force can be used to effectuate a felony arrest if the individual is fleeing or poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to others.
52
What does the necessity defense require?
1. The action was taken to avoid significant harm. 2. There was no adequate legal alternative. 3. The harm caused was less than the harm avoided.
53
What is the distinction between common law and the Model Penal Code (MPC) regarding necessity defenses?
Under common law, necessity is not a defense to intentional killings or when the defendant created the situation; under the MPC, it allows a necessity defense to intentional killings but not if the defendant created the situation.
54
What are the requirements for a duress defense?
1. Defendant must reasonably believe there is an ongoing threat of death or serious bodily harm. 2. The unlawful action must be necessary to prevent the threatened harm.
55
How does the MPC differ from common law regarding duress as a defense to intentional killings?
Under the MPC, duress is a defense to intentional killings and does not require the threat to be immediate or imminent.
56
What is the mistake of fact defense?
Mistake of fact is not a defense, but a mistake of a material fact can negate the mens rea requirement.
57
What distinguishes mistake of law from mistake of fact?
Mistake of law does not shield from liability, but can negate mens rea; it applies when a defendant reasonably relies on a statute or official interpretation that is later overturned.
58
What is the merger doctrine?
A lesser included offense merges with the greater offense where all elements of the lesser offense are also elements of the greater offense.
59
What is required for an attempt to be established?
1. Purpose to commit the acts in question and the target offense. 2. Conduct that goes beyond mere preparation.
60
Define the Dangerous-Proximity Test in attempts.
The Dangerous-Proximity Test assesses how dangerously close the defendant is to completing the last act of a crime.
61
What does the Substantial-Step Test require?
The Substantial-Step Test requires a major step or action; preparatory steps are not sufficient.
62
What is legal impossibility in the context of attempt as a defense?
Legal impossibility is a defense where the defendant believes she is committing a crime, but her actions do not constitute a crime.
63
What constitutes solicitation?
1. Purposeful promotion of criminal conduct. 2. Communication encouraging, commanding, or requesting another person to commit a crime.
64
Is renunciation a defense to solicitation under common law?
No, renunciation is not a defense under common law.
65
What is required for a conspiracy to exist?
1. An agreement to commit a crime. 2. Purpose or conscious objective to enter into the agreement. 3. An overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.
66
What is the Pinkerton Rule in conspiracy liability?
Members of a conspiracy are criminally liable for crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy if the crime was reasonably foreseeable.
67
What does the term 'bumping knowledge to purpose' refer to?
A defendant could be guilty if she knows her services are being used to facilitate the commission of a crime.
68
What is required for a defendant to be guilty as an accomplice?
1. Purposefully promotes the criminal conduct. 2. Has the same mens rea as the crime. 3. Provides or attempts to provide assistance.
69
When can withdrawal serve as a defense to accomplice liability?
Withdrawal is a defense if the defendant withdraws before the principal commits the crime and nullifies the help provided.
70
What is the definition of accessory-after-the-fact?
A person who helps the principal avoid capture or punishment after the crime has been committed.

July 2025 CBX (3 decks)

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