Criminal Law

Question 1

How is a legal duty to act created?

Answer 1

Contract, status relationship, statute, voluntary assumption of care, creation of peril

Question 2

What 3 requirements must be satisfied for an omission to give rise to criminal liability?

Answer 2

Legal duty to act
Awareness of facts giving rise to duty
Ability to help

Question 3

Common law mental states

Answer 3

1. Specific intent
2. Malice
3. General intent
4. Strict liabilit

Question 4

Define specific intent

Answer 4

crime requires not just desire to do act but desire to achieve a specific result

Question 5

What are the 11 specific intent crimes?

Answer 5

Crimes against the person
- Assault
- 1st degree premeditated murder
Property crimes
- Larceny
- Embezzlement
- False pretenses
- Robbery
- Forgery
- Burglary
Inchoate crimes
- Solicitation
- Conspiracy
- Attempt

Question 6

Common law defenses to specific intent crime

Answer 6

1. Unreasonable mistake of fact

2. Voluntary intoxication

Question 7

Malice definition and crimes

Answer 7

when D acts intentionally or with reckless disregard of obvious or known risk

• Murder
• Arson

Question 8

General intent definition and crimes

Answer 8

D need only be generally aware of factors constituting crime; need not intend a specific result

D can usually infer general intent from doing of the crime

• battery
• forcible rape
• false imprisonment
• kidnapping

Question 9

Strict liability definition and crimes

Answer 9

Crime just requires doing the act; no mental state requirement

• Regulatory crimes implicating public health
• Statutory rape

Question 10

New York mental states (5)

Answer 10

1. Intent – when it is D’s conscious desire to achieve result
2. Knowledge – when D is aware of what he is doing and result is practically certain to arise from his conduct
3. Recklessness – when D is aware of substantial and unjustifiable risk and consciously disregards it
4. Negligence – when D should have been aware of substantial and unjustifiable risk
5. Strict liability – no mental states required

Question 11

Causation requirement

Answer 11

Actual Cause - D is actual cause (cause-in-fact). Bad result wouldn’t have happened but for D’s act

Proximate Cause - D is proximate cause if bad result is natural and probable result of D’s behavior

Question 12

Common law battery elements

Answer 12

1. Unlawful application of force to another resulting in bodily injury or offensive touching
2. Mental state: general intent

Question 13

Common law assault elements

Answer 13

a. Intentional creation other than by mere words of a reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm
b. Mental state: specific intent

Question 14

NY assault elements

Answer 14

1. Intentionally causing physical injury to another person

Question 15

New York 2nd Degree Assault

Answer 15

Intentionally causing serious physical injury to another person

(1st Degree: 2nd degree + a weapon)
(3rd Degree: non-serious physical injury)

Question 16

What is malice aforethought? How do you satisfy this with mental state?

Answer 16

i. Intent to kill
ii. Intent to inflict serious bodily harm
iii. Extreme recklessness (reckless indifference to human life)
iv. Intentional commission of an inherently dangerous felony

Question 17

Common law timing of homicide

Answer 17

death must occur within 1 yr and 1 day of homicidal act. In NY can occur at any time

Question 18

Requirements for NY non-slayer defense

Answer 18

a. Did not kill victim
b. D did not have deadly weapon
c. D had no reason to believe co-felons had deadly weapons, AND
d. D had no reason to believe his co-felons intended to do anything that was likely to result in death

Question 19

Elements of First Degree murder in NY

Answer 19

1. Intent to kill and
2. D is more than 18 yrs old and
3. At least one aggravating factor:
   a. Victim is law enforcement engaged in official duties at time of killing
   b. D committed murder for hire
   c. Felony murder where V intentionally killed
   d. Killing for purpose of witness intimidation
   e. More than one V intentionally killed in same criminal transaction

Question 20

Second Degree murder in NY

Answer 20

1. Intentional killing that doesn’t qualify for 1st degree
2. Highly reckless killing demonstrating depraved indifference to human life by engaging in conduct creating a “grave risk” of death (generally more than one victim. With one victim you need torture)
3. Felony murder where V is not co-felon and is killed unintentionally

Question 21

Common law voluntary manslaughter

Answer 21

1. Intentional killing committed in heat of passion upon adequate provocation

4 requirements:

a. Provocation was objectively adequate (sudden and intense passion aroused in mind of reasonable person) – words alone inadequate
b. D was actually provoked
c. D did not have time to cool off
d. D did not actually cool off

Question 22

Extreme Emotional Disturbance in NY

Answer 22

a. An intentional killing committed under influence of reasonable and extreme emotional disturbance
b. EED is affirmative defense to 2nd Degree murder, so D must prove EED by preponderance of evidence

Question 23

NY 2nd degree manslaughter

Answer 23

recklessness. D is aware of and consciously disregards substantial and unjustifiable risk of death

Question 24

NY 1st degree manslaughter

Answer 24

EED manslaughter and an intent to cause serious physical injury

Question 25

NY criminally negligent homicide

Answer 25

Mental state: criminal negligence. D should have been aware of substantial and unjustifiable risk of death.

Question 26

Aggravated murder

Answer 26

1. When D, over age of 18, causes death of child under age of 14 in an especially cruel and wanton manner

Question 27

What is “aggravated” in homicide context?

Answer 27

When victim is police officer killed in the line of duty, it aggravates homicide