General Principles

Question 0

Felony - Defined

Answer 0

Punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year
At Common law includes
Burglary
Arson
Robbery
Rape
Larceny
Murder
Manslaughter
Mayhem
'Bad March Apples Rarely Make Lovely Rude Meals'

Question 1

Types of Crimes - List 4

Answer 1

Felony
Misdemeanor
Malum Prohibitum
Malum In Se

Question 2

Misdemeanors

Answer 2

Crime punishable by imprisonment for less than one year or fine only.

At common law, crimes that are not felonies are misdemeanors

Question 3

Malum Prohibitum

Answer 3

Act that is wrong only because it violates a statute

Speeding, failing to register a firearm

Question 4

Malum In Se

Answer 4

Act that is inherently wrong or evil.

Involves general criminal intent

Moral turpitude

Question 5

Void for Vagueness Doctrine

Answer 5

Criminal statutes must be specific 
give fair notice 
to a person of ordinary intelligence 
of prohibited conduct 
Due process clause 5th and 14th amendment

Question 6

Ex Post Facto Law

Answer 6

Retroactively makes conduct criminal; or
enforces stricter punishment for the same conduct; or
alters procedural or evidentiary rules that makes conviction easier

Question 7

Elements of a Crime

Answer 7

Actus reus
Mens rea
concurrence in time
causation
No justification or excuse

Question 8

Actus Reus

Answer 8

1. voluntary act causing unlawful result
2. failure to act where there is a duty
3. vicariously liable for the acts of another

Question 9

Liability for Omisson

Answer 9

D has a legal duty to act
D can physically perform the act

Legal duty to act arises where:
Statutory
contractual
relationship
Voluntary undertaking abandoned
Failure to render aid after creating risk of peril

Question 10

How a legal duty to act will arise

Answer 10

Statute - filing tax returns
contract - failure to rescue for lifegurard
Relationship - parent child; spouses
unreasonable abandonment of a voluntary undertaking rescue
creates risk of peril to another

Question 11

Reflexive v Habitual Acts and Actus Reus

Answer 11

Reflexive, convulsive, unconscious acts are NOT voluntary.

Habitual Acts are voluntary

Actions under duress are voluntary which may raise defense of duress

Question 12

Various Degrees of Mens Rea (6)

Answer 12

Intentional
Knowing
Purposeful
Willful
Reckless
Criminally Negligent

Question 13

Intentional Acts

Answer 13

desires act to cause result

Knows act is Substantially Certain to produce result

A defendant acts with intent if he acts with purpose or knowledge

Question 14

Knowing Acts

Answer 14

Engaging in conduct he knows with near certainty will produce result.

lack of knowledge can excuse conduct under the defense of mistake of fact

Question 15

Purposeful Acts

Answer 15

Acting with conscious objective to bring about prohibited result

Question 16

Willful Acts

Answer 16

One who acts with purpose or knowledge and moral turpitude.

May imply evil purpose in crimes involving moral turpitude.

Question 17

Reckless Acts

Answer 17

Conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk

Considering nature, purpose, and circumstances, disregard involves a substantial deviation from the conduct of a law abiding person

D was aware conduct creates an unjustified risk but ignores the risk and engages in the conduct anyway.

Question 18

Criminal Negligence - Mens Rea

Answer 18

creates a high risk of death or serious bodily injury
without subjective awareness he is doing so,
a reasonable person would be aware of the risk created.

D was not subjectively aware of risk creation, but should have been.

Beyond the tort standard of ordinary negligence

Less than wanton or willful standard

Question 19

Specific Intent - Defined

Answer 19

Intended conduct bring about a specific harm.

expects his act will have a particular result,
even if he does not necessarily want a particular result

Honest but unreasonable mistake of fact and voluntary intoxication will nullify specific intent.

Question 20

Specific Intent Crimes - List

Answer 20

Attempt
Solicitation
Conspiracy
Larceny and larceny by trick
False Pretenses
Embezzlement
Forgery
Burglary
Assault
Robbery
Intent to Kill Murder
Voluntary Manslaughter

Question 21

General Intent - defined

Answer 21

requires a Desire or state of mind to do a particular act

generally includes recklessness or criminal negligence.

Honest and Reasonable mistake of fact will nullify general intent

Question 22

General Intent Crimes - List

Answer 22

Rape
Battery
Kidnapping
False Imprisonment
Involuntary Manslaughter
Depraved-Heart Murder
*standard is used as a catch all on the exam where conduct does not fall within the categories of specific intent, malice, or strict liability.

Question 23

Malicious Intent

Answer 23

Intentional or reckless disregard
obvious or known risk
particularly harmful result will occur

Question 24

Common Law Malice Crimes

Answer 24

Arson | Common Law Murder

Question 25

Strict Liability Crimes

Answer 25

``` Conduct prohibited by statute Merely doing the prohibited act attaches liability Involve Regulatory offenses Public welfare offenses Morality Crimes ```

Question 26

Transferred Intent Doctrine

Answer 26

D intends criminal conduct against one party instead harms another actions bring about unintended and criminal result

Question 27

Concurrence in Time

Answer 27

Mens Rea actuates the act or omission mental state put action the act or omission ie. Common law burglary requires b&e of a dwelling of another at night with the Intent to commit a felony therein. D does not enter with intent to commit a felony therein and once inside decides to steal, did not have the mens rea for burglary.

Question 28

Criminal Causation

Answer 28

Actual Cause - But for test and Substantial Factor test Proximate Cause - harm was within the risk created by conduct may be the direct or indirect cause

Question 29

Dependent intervening Cause

Answer 29

An intervening force that is a result or response to D's act Totally abnormal response to D's act D runs over V with car causing non-fatal injuries. V is rushed to hospital and negligently treated and dies. D proximately caused death since negligent treatment will not be considered abnormal.

Question 30

Independent Intervening Cause

Answer 30

One that would have occurred regardless of D's actions | Normally supersedes D's acts except where it was foreseeable

Question 31

What to look for in criminal cases - theorem

Answer 31

A guilty hand moved by a guilty mind, sometimes causing a bad result, absent justification or excuse

Question 32

How the actus reus element may be met

Answer 32

A voluntary conscious act causing an unlawful result. An unlawful result is a result neither justified nor excused. Reflex acts lack volition therefore not a legal act Habitual Acts or conditioned responses are legal acts Acts performed under duress are voluntary acts

Question 33

Mens rea for inchoate crimes

Answer 33

Almost always mean purpose only

Question 34

"With intent to"

Answer 34

Generally indicates a specific intent crime

Question 35

Nullification of Specific Intent and General Intent Mens Rea

Answer 35

An honest but unreasonable mistake of fact or voluntary intoxication will nullify a specific intent. Only an honest and reasonable mistake of fact will nullify general intent.

Question 36

How malice is proved - express and implied

Answer 36

Express: 1. purpose to kill 2. knowledge conduct would kill 3. intent to cause grievous or serious bodily harm w/o specific purpose to kill Implied: D caused death as a result of extreme recklessness or criminally negligent conduct manifested by a wanton disregard for the value of human life. Malice may be implied where the killing was unintentional and in the case of felony murder.

Question 37

Acceleration

Answer 37

conduct speeds an inevitable death, even briefly, conduct is actual cause of death because he accelerated an inevitable result.

Question 38

Proximate Causation

Answer 38

Cause in fact must be the proximate cause of harm to be a legal cause. Proximate cause is when the harm produced was within the OBJECTIVELY FORESEEABLE range of possibilities.

Question 39

Breaking the Causal Chain - Questions to ask

Answer 39

Foreseeability. Was the intervening cause a dependent or responsive cause? Was it responsive to the initial cause? totally abnormal responses to act are not foreseeable. If the cause was independent or mere coincidence it will normally supersede D's responsibility unless it was foreseeable.

Question 40

What kind of mistake will nullify Specific intent crimes

Answer 40

Honest but UNreasonable mistake of fact

Question 41

What kind of mistake will nullify general intent

Answer 41

Honest and reasonable mistake of fact

Question 42

Express Malice - D has the intent to kill another human being. Intent to kill is established by

Answer 42

1. Acted with purpose to kill 2. Knowledge conduct would kill 3. Intent to inflict serious/grievous bodily harm w/o intent to kill

Question 43

Implied Malice: Causing death as the result of extreme reckless or criminally negligent conduct manifesting in the wanton disregard for human life. May be established where:

Answer 43

1. Killing was unintentional 2. Felony Murder. Unlawful killing + Malice = Murder