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Criminal Law

Terms in this set (105)

Jurisdiction - const limits
· States - broad police power
· Feds - only handful, including treason and currency counterfeiting
· No ex post facto laws
· No punishment without trial (bill of attainder)
· No crim liability without clear warning (DPC)
Jurisdiction - territorial considerations
· United States power to criminalize and pros crimes that -
o Occur anywhere in the US (fed owned and controlled territory)*
o Occur on ships and planes, or
o Committed by US nationals abroad
· States can only punish crimes having some connection to the state. Exs -
o Crime occurs in whole or part inside the state
o Conduct outside the state that involved an attempt to commit a crime inside the state
o A conspiracy to commit a crime if an overt act occurred within the state
o Conduct within the state to commit attempt, solicitation or conspiracy of a crime in another J when the state and the other J recog the crime
o Failure to perform outside the state a duty imposed by the state
Actus Reus - voluntary act req
o Willed by the D - not that wanted to do it, just must have had motor control over the act
o Exs involuntary - actions when unconscious, asleep, or hypnotized; reflexive or convulsive acts; otherwise not a product of actor's determination
o If an epileptic 1) knows possibility of seizure and 2) last act was voluntary - engages in vol act driving car and seizes while driving and causes a fatal accident - is criminally responsible
Actus Reus - failure to act
o Generally, failure to act isn't an AR (mere bystander no duty to act), but is in following 5 circs
§ 1) Duty imposed by statute
§ 2) Special relationship b/t D and V (parent/children)
§ 3) Voluntarily assuming duty of care that's cast aside
§ 4) D caused the danger
§ 5) Contract

D must have knowledge of facts giving rise to duty to act and yet fail to act; must be reasonably possible for D to perform the duty
Mens Rea CL states of mind - SI
o D committed AR and did it for the very purpose of causing the result that the law criminalizes - subjective desire, specific objective, or knowledge to accomplish the prohibited result
o FIAT
§ First degree murder
§ Inchoate offenses (conspiracy, attempt, solicitation)
§ Assault with intent to commit battery
§ Theft offenses (larceny, larceny by trick, false pretenses, embezzlement, forgery, burglary, robbery)
o When crime req "intent to..." it's a SI crime
Mens Rea CL states of mind - malice
o D must act with a reckless disregard of a high risk of harm
---> ITK can be inferred from accomplishment of act (not SI)
o Arson and murder
Mens Rea CL states of mind - GI
o Req only the intent to perform an act, and the act is unlawful
§ D doesn't need to know act is unlawful

o Catchall category, exs) manslaughter, battery, kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment
Mens Rea CL states of mind - SL
o No MR req, D must merely have committed the act

o Statutory/regulatory offenses - seriously threaten public health or inherently dangerous
§ Reg offenses for public welfare
§ Reg food, drugs, and firearms
§ Selling liquor to minors
§ Reg waste disposal

o Morals offenses
§ Statutory rape
§ Bigamy

o Presumption against SL - cts trad held must be some clear indication of congressional intent (express or implied) to have no MR req
§ Cts consider severity of associated penalty - light penalties more likely SL
MPC states of mind - hierarchy
o Purpose - highest culpability
o Knowledge
o Recklessness
o Negligence - lowest culpability

Proof of a more culpable mental state satisfies MR for lower one
MPC states of mind - purposely
o D's conscious objective is to engage in the conduct or cause certain result
MPC states of mind - knowingly or willfully
o D is aware that his conduct is of the nature req to commit the crime (or that circs req by the crime exist) and that the result is practically certain to occur based on his conduct
MPC states of mind - recklessly
o D acts with conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a material element of the crime exists or will result from his conduct, that constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct of a law-abiding person
MPC states of mind - negligently
o D should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a material element of the crime exists or will result from his conduct, and acts in a way that grossly deviates from the standard of care of a reasonable person in the same situation
MPC states of mind - MR not stated
o MR est if D acted recklessly
o If doesn't state culpable mind app to all material elements of the crime, then MR applicable to one material element is app to all material elements, unless contrary purpose plainly appears
Transferred Intent
When a defendant acts with an intent to cause harm to one person or object and that act directly results in harm to another person or object, the defendant can be liable for the harm caused under the doctrine of transferred intent

Ex) When D has req MR for committing a crime against victim A, but actually commits the crime against victim B --> law transfers the intent from A to B

o Doesn't apply to cases of mistaken identity, only "bad aim" (don't need TI)
o Usually confined to homicide, battery, arson
o Any defenses D could assert against intended V may also transfer to unintended V (like self-defense)

· Does not apply to attempted crimes, only completed ones

· MPC
o Doesn't specifically recognize TI doctrine
o But can satisfy MR even if actual result not within purpose or contemplation of D or within risk aware of, as long as result differs from intended, contemplated, or probable result only insofar as -
§ 1) diff person or diff property harmed, or
§ 2) contemplated injury or harm would have been more serious or more extensive than harm actually caused
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