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