essential elements of a crime

Question 1

elements of a crim

Answer 1

1) physical act (actus reus)

2) mental state (mens rea), and

3) concurrence of the act and mental state

*crime may also require proof of a result and causation (meaning the act caused the harmful result).

Question 2

actus reus

Answer 2

voluntary physical act or failed to act under circumstances imposing a legal duty to act.

An act is a bodily movement.

Question 3

omission as an “act”

Answer 3

1) legal duty to act (by statute, by K, by relationship, voluntary assumption of care, D created the peril)

2) D has knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty to act

3) It is reasonably possible to perform the duty

Question 4

possession as an “act”

Answer 4

statutes generally require only that D have control of the item for a long enough period to have an opportunity to terminate the possession.

does not need to be exclusive to one person, and may be “constructive,” if the contraband is located in an area within the defendant’s “dominion and control.”

Question 5

Possession state of mind requirement

Answer 5

Absent a state of mind requirement in the statute: D must be aware of their possession of the contraband, but they need not be aware of its illegality.

many statutes add a state of mind element (for example, “knowingly”) to possession crimes. defendant ordinarily must know the identity or nature of the item possessed.

defendant may not consciously avoid learning the true nature of the item possessed; knowledge may be inferred from a combination of suspicion and indifference to the truth.

Question 6

solicitation - specific intent required

Answer 6

intent to have the person solicited commit the crime

Question 7

conspiracy - specific intent required

Answer 7

Intent to have the crime completed

Question 8

attempt - specific intent required

Answer 8

Intent to complete the crime

Question 9

first degree premeditated murder- specific intent required

Answer 9

Premeditated intent to kill

Question 10

assault - specific intent required

Answer 10

Intent to commit a battery

Question 11

larceny - specific intent required

Answer 11

intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest in the property taken

Question 12

embezzlement - specific intent required

Answer 12

intent to defraud

Question 13

false pretenses - specific intent required

Answer 13

intent to defraud

Question 14

robbery - specific intent required

Answer 14

Intent to permanently deprive the other of their interest in the property taken

Question 15

burglary - specific intent required

Answer 15

Intent to commit a felony in the dwelling

Question 16

forgery - specific intent required

Answer 16

intent to defraud

Question 17

The intent necessary for malice crimes (common law murder and arson)

Answer 17

reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur. Defenses to specific intent crimes (such as voluntary intoxication) do not apply to malice crimes.

Question 18

general intent

Answer 18

all crimes other than SCAFALEFRBF-MA are general intent, unless they qualify for strict liability.

D must be aware that they are acting in the proscribed way and that any required attendant circumstances exist.

D does not have to be certain that all the circumstances exist; it is sufficient that they are aware of a high likelihood that they will occur.

Question 19

Inference of general Intent from Act

Answer 19

A jury may infer the required general intent merely from the doing of the act.

Question 20

strict liability offense intent required

Answer 20

can be found guilty from the mere fact that they committed the act. defenses that negate state of mind, such as mistake of fact, are not available

Question 21

MPC categories of intent

Answer 21

purposely
knowingly
recklessly
negligently

Question 22

MPC - purposely

Answer 22

their conscious object is to engage in certain conduct or cause a certain result.

Question 23

MPC - knowingly with respect to the nature of their conduct

Answer 23

aware that their conduct is of a particular nature or that certain circumstances exist.

deemed to be aware of these circumstances when they are aware of a high probability that they exist and deliberately avoid learning the truth.

Question 24

MPC - knowingly with respect to the result of their conduct

Answer 24

they know that their conduct will necessarily or very likely cause a particular result.

Question 25

MPC - recklessly

Answer 25

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. *Recklessness involves both objective (“unjustifiable risk”) and subjective (“awareness”) elements.

Question 26

MPC - negligence

Answer 26

fail to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk, where such failure is a substantial deviation from the standard of care. objective standard is used. However, it is not just the reasonable person standard that is used in torts. The defendant must have taken a very unreasonable risk.

Question 27

vicarious liability offenses

Answer 27

one in which a person without personal fault may nevertheless be held liable for the criminal conduct of another (usually an employee). trend is to limit vicarious liability to regulatory crimes and to limit punishment to fines.

Question 28

Enterprise Liability—Liability of Corporations and Associations

Answer 28

At common law, a corporation does not have capacity to commit crimes. Under modern statutes, corporations may be held liable for an act performed by: (1) an agent of the corporation acting within the scope of their office or employment; or (2) a corporate agent high enough in hierarchy to presume their acts reflect corporate policy.

Question 29

transferred intent applies to which crimes?

Answer 29

homicide, battery, and arson. It does not apply to attempt. Note: A person found guilty of a crime on the basis of transferred intent is usually guilty of two crimes: the completed crime against the actual victim and attempt against the intended victim. Thus, if D intends to shoot and kill X, but instead shoots and kills V, D can be guilty of the murder of V (under the transferred intent doctrine) and the attempted murder of X.

Question 30

what is transferred intent

Answer 30

intend the harm that is actually caused, but to a different victim or object. Defenses and mitigating circumstances may usually be transferred.

Question 31

concurrence of mental fault w/ physical act

Answer 31

D must have had the intent necessary for the crime at the time they committed the act constituting the crime, and the intent must have prompted the act.

Question 32

causation

Answer 32

Some crimes (such as homicide) require result and causation. when a crime requires a specified result (such as death), the defendant’s conduct must be both the cause-in-fact and the proximate cause of the specified result.