Essential Elements of a Crime Flashcards
(21 cards)
What are the essential elements of a crime?
What are the added elements for a crime that requires a certain result (e.g., murder)?
- A physical act (actus reus)
- A mental state (mens rea)
- A concurrence of the act and the mental state
Added Elements
4. Proof of Result
5. Causation (Actual + Proximate)
What constitutes a physical act for a crime?
A voluntary bodily movement (non reflexive, conscious)
OR
An omission ONLY IF a legal duty arises
Under what five circumstances can a legal duty to act arise?
- By statute
- By K (e.g., lifeguard, nurse)
- Relationship (e.g., parent-child)
- Voluntary assumption of care
- If D created the peril
What are the four common law mental states?
- Specific Intent
- Malice
- General Intent
- Strict Liability
What is a specific intent crime?
A crime that requires (1) the doing of an act and (2) doing it with a specific intent or objective.
Can specific intent be imputed from merely doing the act?
No, but the manner in which the crime was committed may provide circumstantial evidence of intent
What two defenses are available for specific intent crimes that are not available for other crimes?
(1) Voluntary Intoxication
(2) Unreasonable Mistake of Fact
What are the major specific intent crimes? What intent does each require?
- Solicitation: Intent to have the person solicited commit the crime
- Conspiracy: Intent to have the crime completed
- Attempt: Intent to complete the crime
- First degree premeditated murder: Premeditated intent to kill
- Assault: Intent to commit a battery
- Larceny: Intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest in the property taken
- Embezzlement: Intent to defraud
- False pretenses: Intent to defraud
- Robbery: Intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest in the property taken
- Burglary: Intent to commit a felony in the dwelling
- Forgery: Intent to defraud
What is the mnemonic for specific intent crimes?
Students Can Always Fake A Laugh, Even For Ridiculous Bar Facts.
What intent is required for malice crimes?
What two crimes are “malice crimes” at common law?
Requires a reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur
1st degree murder + arson
What is the required intent for general intent crimes?
D must be aware that they are acting in the proscribed way and that any required attendant circumstances exist (OR D is aware of a high likelihood that they will occur)
May a jury infer the required general intent merely from the doing of the act?
Yes. The doing of the act can lead to an inference of general intent.
What is a strict liability / public welfare criminal offense?
D can be found guilty from the mere fact that they committed the act (e.g., selling alcohol to minors)
Mitigating factors bearing on intent are NOT considered
How do we know if a law is a specific intent crime?
If the crime…
1. Is in the administrative, regulatory, or morality area; AND
- Contains no adverbs (e.g., knowingly, willingly, willfully, intentionally) referring to mental state
What are the mental states under the MPC? (just list)
Is each a subjective or objective standard?
- Purposely (S)
- Knowingly (S)
- Recklessly (S)
- Negligently (O)
Which has the general/specific intent distinction: common law or MPC?
Common law
When does a person act “purposely” under the MPC?
A person acts purposely when their conscious object is to engage in certain conduct or cause a certain result.
When does a person act “knowingly” under the MPC?
A person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of their conduct when they are aware that their conduct is of a particular nature or that certain circumstances exist
When does a person act “recklessly” under the MPC?
A person acts recklessly when:
- they consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a prohibited result will follow, and
- this disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in that situation
When does a person act “negligently” under the MPC?
A person acts negligently when:
- they fail to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk,
- where such failure is a substantial deviation from the standard of care.
(OBJECTIVE)
How does the doctrine of transferred intent work for criminal offenses?
To what crimes does it apply? (3)
D may be liable when he intends the harm that is actually caused, but to a different victim or object
(Compare to tort - not crime-to-crime)
Homicide, battery, arson
