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Questions and Answers

What are the two elements of crime?

Actus Reus and Mens Rea

What are the four theories of punishment discussed in the text?

Retribution, utilitarianism, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation

What does the rule of lenity state?

The government must prove each element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

The prosecution must prove that the defendant acted with a culpable mental state.

If a statute can reasonably be interpreted favorably to the government, and equally favorably to the defendant, it should be read in the light more favorable to the defendant. (correct)

A criminal statute should be understandable to ordinary law-abiding persons.

The actus reus of a crime is the mental state of the perpetrator.

False Signup and view all the answers

Which defense argues that a defendant's act was involuntary due to unconsciousness or automatism?

Insanity Signup and view all the answers

The general rule regarding omissions is that there is a criminal liability for failing to act.

False Signup and view all the answers

What are the two categories of social harm?

Result Crimes and Conduct Crimes Signup and view all the answers

Which type of mens rea includes a specific intent beyond simply performing the actus reus of a crime?

Specific intent Signup and view all the answers

The model penal code defines four levels of mens rea.

True Signup and view all the answers

What is willful blindness?

Deliberate avoidance of acquiring knowledge of the criminal act's circumstances. Signup and view all the answers

The principle behind strict liability offenses is that the defendant's conduct needs to be intentionally harmful.

False Signup and view all the answers

Which of these represents a defense where a defendant claims they did not have the necessary mens rea for the crime because they made a mistake or were ignorant of a fact?

Mistake of Fact Signup and view all the answers

What are the two steps of causation?

Actual Cause and Proximate Cause Signup and view all the answers

What test is used to determine whether the harm would not have occurred in the absence of the defendant's conduct?

But-For Test Signup and view all the answers

The apparent safety doctrine applies when the defendant's active force has caused harm and come to rest in a position of apparent safety.

True Signup and view all the answers

What are the two types of intervening causes?

Responsive and Coincidental Signup and view all the answers

Under the Model Penal Code, if the defendant acted recklessly, even if they caused less harm than intended, they are only responsible for the harm that resulted.

True Signup and view all the answers

Willful, premeditated, and deliberate murder is known as second-degree murder under Common Law.

False Signup and view all the answers

The depraved heart murder requires a high degree of probability that the act will result in death, a base anti-social motive, and an awareness of the risk of death to another.

True Signup and view all the answers

Which of these is NOT considered an objective element under the Thomas Test?

The actor's subjective awareness of the risk of death to another Signup and view all the answers

What is the key difference between Common Law reckless killing and MPC reckless killing in the context of homicide?

Common Law considers recklessness as a lesser offense, while MPC considers it a more serious offense. Signup and view all the answers

The felony murder rule applies even if the killing was not a direct and necessary result of the felony.

False Signup and view all the answers

What is a merger doctrine in relation to felony murder?

The felony must be a separate and independent crime from the killing. Signup and view all the answers

The provocation requirement under Common Law voluntary manslaughter only applies if the provocation was severe enough to cause a reasonable person to lose control and kill the other person.

True Signup and view all the answers

What are the two elements of MPC manslaughter?

Extreme Emotional Disturbance (EMED) and Reckless Killing Signup and view all the answers

When a person kills another person due to recklessness, it falls under the category of involuntary manslaughter under Common Law.

True Signup and view all the answers

Define negligence in the context of homicide.

Taking a risk that you didn't know was a risk but should have. Signup and view all the answers

Which of these is considered a defense to illegal activity when undertaken to prevent a greater harm?

Necessity Signup and view all the answers

The duress defense argues that an individual committed an illegal act because they were coerced by a threat of immediate serious bodily harm.

True Signup and view all the answers

The insanity defense is always applicable in cases of murder.

False Signup and view all the answers

Under the M'Naghten Test, a defendant can argue insanity if they did not understand the nature and quality of their actions, or if they did not know that what they were doing was wrong.

True Signup and view all the answers

An attempt is considered a complete crime under Common Law.

False Signup and view all the answers

Under the Model Penal Code, an attempted crime is considered complete when the defendant starts taking a "substantial step" towards its commission, regardless of whether the intended crime was ultimately successful.

True Signup and view all the answers

The impossibility defense applies when the crime the defendant intended to commit was objectively impossible due to a legal or factual reason, but the defendant's intent and actions were still criminal.

False Signup and view all the answers

Abandonment is a valid defense to an attempt crime when the defendant demonstrates a voluntary and complete renunciation of their criminal purpose before their actions constitute a substantial step towards the crime.

True Signup and view all the answers

Solicitation is a complete crime once the solicitation is communicated, even if the solicited party does not act on it.

True Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes conspiracy from other inchoate crimes?

Conspiracy requires a shared agreement or understanding between two or more people to commit a crime. Signup and view all the answers

Under the Pinkerton Doctrine, co-conspirators who did not directly participate in the actual crime can still be held liable for the crime if the crime was a foreseeable consequence of their agreement.

True Signup and view all the answers

Which of these is NOT a valid type of accomplice liability in Common Law?

Indirect Accomplice Signup and view all the answers

The Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine holds a defendant liable for crimes that are a foreseeable consequence of their actions, even if they did not intend to cause those crimes.

True Signup and view all the answers

The Model Penal Code defines accomplice liability solely based on the actus reus of the crime.

False Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Introductory Material

Criminal law and procedure context
Nature of criminal law and procedure
Pre-trial stages: Alleged crime -> arrest -> preliminary hearing -> information -> trial
Trial stages: Opening arguments -> prosecution's case in chief -> defense case -> jury instructions -> jury deliberation -> verdict
Theories of punishment: Retribution, utilitarianism, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation

Punishment

Retribution: "Just deserts," moral blameworthiness, backward-looking
Utilitarianism: Greatest good for the greatest number, forward-looking
Deterrence: Specific (deterring the defendant) and general (deterring others)
Incapacitation: Removing the offender from society
Rehabilitation: Improving the offender's skills and character, reducing recidivism

Legality

Legality Principle: Nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege (no crime without a law, no punishment without a law)
Rule of Lenity: When a statute can be interpreted in favor of the government or the defendant, ambiguities are interpreted in the defendant's favor.
Three elements of legality: Understandable to ordinary persons, avoid policy delegation to law enforcement/judges, favor of the accused.
Mass incarceration spikes is a topic that relates to the principle of legality.

Actus Reus

Actus Reus= physical external part of a crime.
Voluntary Act: Conscious bodily movement, the physical aspect of a crime.
Social Harm: Negation, endangering, or destruction of a socially valuable interest, commonly associated with a crime.
Involuntary Acts: Defense, because "consciousness" is a requirement of Actus Reus, like a reflex or convulsion.

Mens Rea

Mens Rea= mental state (guilty mind)
Types of Mens Rea:
- General intent: Intent to perform the act that constitutes the crime.
- Specific intent: An additional mental state beyond the act, like intent to harm someone.
Knowledge, “willful blindness”, and mistake of fact/law
United States v. Cordoba-Hincapie: Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea/bad act doesn't make you guilty unless the mind is also guilty/ intent is required.
Intent: Purpose of the act.
Knowledge: Awareness that an event or circumstance is substantially certain to occur.
Strict Liability: No mental state required - typically public welfare violations or morality crimes.

Causation

Step 1: Actual cause ("but-for" cause)
Step 2: Proximate cause (legal cause) is the link in the casual chain
Intervening causes: External event after the defendant's conduct that contributes to the harm.
Superseding intervening causes: External event that is unforeseeable, so the defendant is not responsible for the overall outcome.
Factors to consider when evaluating an intervening cause: De minimis contribution, Foreseeability, Intended Consequences.
Concurrent sufficient causes: Multiple causes, each sufficient to cause the harm.
Consequences Doctrine: If the outcome happens (resulting injury or death) is a natural outcome (unforeseeable) in the same fashion as the result the defendant intended, then the defendant is still responsible.

Homicide

Intened Killing: 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder
Common Law 1st Degree Murder: requires premeditation and deliberation, must be proof that they planned to do the intentional act (and the death happened because of that action).
Common Law 2nd Degree Murder: requires intent but no premeditation or deliberation.
Unintentional Killing: Depraved heart murder (objective and subjective components)
Negligent killings= Involuntary Manslaughter
Felony Murder: Death caused during the commission of a felony or while fleeing the felony.
MPC Felony Murder: Same types of crimes, but includes more intentional elements.

Defenses

Background: Identifying and understanding defenses in criminal law.
Five major types of defenses: Failure-of-proof, Offense modifications, Justifications, Excuses, Non-exculpatory public policy defenses.
Self-defense: Elements of necessity, imminence, proportionality, and reasonable belief.
Defense of others: Similar to self-defense but protects an innocent third party.
Defense of property/habitation: Use of force to protect property, but must be proportionate and reasonable, with imminent threat.
Necessity: Justification for a crime due to inevitable consequences to prevent a greater harm.
Duress: A choice between two bad options due to a threat of immediate harm, or imminent death
Insanity: The extent to which a defendant understands or is cognitively capable of their actions. Elements of an insanity defense
Civil disobedience: Purposeful violation of a law, usually for political change, with a necessity justification

Attempt

Actus Reus: Preparation, perpetration, and completion are necessary steps
Mens Rea: Dual intent (intent to act and intent for the substantive crime to be committed).

Conspiracy

Conspiracy Elements: An agreement between two or more people to commit a criminal act or legal act accomplished by illegal means.
Requires specific intent

Accomplice Liability

Accomplice is who aids, assists, supports, supplements, and abets another in a crime.
Elements of Accomplice Liability:
- Intent to assist;
- Intent that the crime succeed.
Theories of Accomplice Liability

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Questions and Answers

What are the two elements of crime?

What are the four theories of punishment discussed in the text?

What does the rule of lenity state?

The actus reus of a crime is the mental state of the perpetrator.

Which defense argues that a defendant's act was involuntary due to unconsciousness or automatism?

The general rule regarding omissions is that there is a criminal liability for failing to act.

What are the two categories of social harm?

Which type of mens rea includes a specific intent beyond simply performing the actus reus of a crime?

The model penal code defines four levels of mens rea.

What is willful blindness?

The principle behind strict liability offenses is that the defendant's conduct needs to be intentionally harmful.

Which of these represents a defense where a defendant claims they did not have the necessary mens rea for the crime because they made a mistake or were ignorant of a fact?

What are the two steps of causation?

What test is used to determine whether the harm would not have occurred in the absence of the defendant's conduct?

The apparent safety doctrine applies when the defendant's active force has caused harm and come to rest in a position of apparent safety.

What are the two types of intervening causes?

Under the Model Penal Code, if the defendant acted recklessly, even if they caused less harm than intended, they are only responsible for the harm that resulted.

Willful, premeditated, and deliberate murder is known as second-degree murder under Common Law.

The depraved heart murder requires a high degree of probability that the act will result in death, a base anti-social motive, and an awareness of the risk of death to another.

Which of these is NOT considered an objective element under the Thomas Test?

What is the key difference between Common Law reckless killing and MPC reckless killing in the context of homicide?

The felony murder rule applies even if the killing was not a direct and necessary result of the felony.

What is a merger doctrine in relation to felony murder?

The provocation requirement under Common Law voluntary manslaughter only applies if the provocation was severe enough to cause a reasonable person to lose control and kill the other person.

What are the two elements of MPC manslaughter?

When a person kills another person due to recklessness, it falls under the category of involuntary manslaughter under Common Law.

Define negligence in the context of homicide.

Which of these is considered a defense to illegal activity when undertaken to prevent a greater harm?

The duress defense argues that an individual committed an illegal act because they were coerced by a threat of immediate serious bodily harm.

The insanity defense is always applicable in cases of murder.

Under the M'Naghten Test, a defendant can argue insanity if they did not understand the nature and quality of their actions, or if they did not know that what they were doing was wrong.

An attempt is considered a complete crime under Common Law.

Under the Model Penal Code, an attempted crime is considered complete when the defendant starts taking a "substantial step" towards its commission, regardless of whether the intended crime was ultimately successful.

The impossibility defense applies when the crime the defendant intended to commit was objectively impossible due to a legal or factual reason, but the defendant's intent and actions were still criminal.

Abandonment is a valid defense to an attempt crime when the defendant demonstrates a voluntary and complete renunciation of their criminal purpose before their actions constitute a substantial step towards the crime.

Solicitation is a complete crime once the solicitation is communicated, even if the solicited party does not act on it.

What distinguishes conspiracy from other inchoate crimes?

Under the Pinkerton Doctrine, co-conspirators who did not directly participate in the actual crime can still be held liable for the crime if the crime was a foreseeable consequence of their agreement.

Which of these is NOT a valid type of accomplice liability in Common Law?

The Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine holds a defendant liable for crimes that are a foreseeable consequence of their actions, even if they did not intend to cause those crimes.

The Model Penal Code defines accomplice liability solely based on the actus reus of the crime.

Study Notes

Introductory Material

Punishment

Legality

Actus Reus

Mens Rea

Causation

Homicide

Defenses

Attempt

Conspiracy

Accomplice Liability

Studying That Suits You

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