Criminal Law

Elements of crime

Accomplice Liability

Inchoate Crimes

Crimes involving persons

Crimes involving property

Defenses

Mens Rea

Actus Reus

At Cl

Strict Liability - no mens rea needed-(statutory rape, public health, and safety regulations)

Specific intent - purposeful (1st degree murder, assault, inchoate crimes, property crimes)

Malice - gross negligence (murder, arson)

General intent - criminal negligence (rape, battery, kidnapping)

For MPC

Purposely - conscious object

Knowingly - have awareness of it

Recklessly - gross deviation from norm, consciously disregard substantial and unjustifiable risk

Negligently - gross deviation from norm in failing to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk

watch for transferred intent

phys or external component

voluntary act/omission which violates a legal duty

Accessory to someone else's crime, aided, encouraged, or advised and intended to assist with the crime

CL

Principal in 1st degree - present at scene and commits 1 element of the crime, liable for crimes committed

Principle in the 2nd degree - present at scene and assists but doesn't do any element of the crime, liable for crimes committed


Accessory before the fact - not at scene, helped beforehand, liable for foreseeable crimes committed

Accessory after the fact - not at scene, helped after, only liable for crime of being an accessory after the fact

MPC?

All are specific intent crimes

Conspiracy - reqs an agreement to commit the crime and specific intent to achieve it. Liable for the conspiracy, the target crime, and any foreseeable crimes done by co-conspirators to further conspiracy

Attempt

Solicitation - ask/encourage someone to commit a crime w/ the intent to commit that crime

majority (not cl) reqs an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, can be a minor one

Cl -can withdraw by telling coconspirators with time to cancel plan. Still liable for conspiracy and the crime, but not any further crimes

mpc - if voluntarily withdraw and thwart, defense against conspiracy. Impossibility is not a defense

CL - reqs an act with a dangerous propensity towards completion of the crime

mpc - reqs a substantial step beyond mere preparation towards completion of the crime

homicide

cl reqs unlawful killing and "malice aforethought", 4 types of malice

Intent to inflict serious bodily injury

Gross recklessness (depraved heart)

Intent to kill

felony murder - killing during course of felony, no intent needed (under cl, can be done by anyone, under modern approach must be the specific person doing the killing)

Manslaughter

voluntary - an intentional killing in the heat of passion, aka sudden and intense reaction with adequate provocation and no cooling off period (words alone are insufficient)

involuntary - unlawful killing with neg/recklessness, or a killing during a crime not included in felony murder

mpc

1st degree murder - specific intent, aka premeditated murder

1st degree felony murder - must be a felony enumerated in statute, usually rape, burglary, robbery, arson, kidnapping

2nd degree - a catch all for all other murders

Larceny

Embezzlement

False pretenses

taking away another's property by trespass with the intent to permanently deprive them of the property

conversion of property held in trust with the intent to defraud

take title by misrepresentation with the intent to defraud

Robbery is larceny by threat/force

Burglary

At CL - breaking and entering a dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony in the dwelling

MPC - can be any structure, doesn't have to be night

insanity

intoxication (can be any substance)

infancy

mistake

defense of self/others

defense of property

duress

necessity

entrapment

CL - M'Naughten rule, mental illness must have precluded knowing right from wrong or understanding the nature and quality of the act

MPC - Insanity must have resulted in lack of substantial capacity to appreciate wrongfulness of conduct or to conform conduct to the law

Involuntary - defense to all elements of a crime

Voluntary intoxication -may defend against crimes needing intent or knowledge if intoxication got in the way of that

of fact - must negate the state of mind. must be reas for gen intent crimes. Can be any mistake for specific intent. doesn't work for strict liability

of law - not a defense

can use non-deadly force if believe it's necessary to defend against imminent unlawful force.

Deadly force only if defending against imminent unlawful deadly force or serious bodily injury