Criminal Law

Comissions or Omissions 

voluntary and one of the actors own volition

No a reflex or convulsion 

When there is a legal duty to act:

• Statute
• Contract
• Statuts
• Voluntary assumption of care
• Creation of the peril
•  

• Knowledge of the peril
• Ability to help
•  

• Voluntary intoxication 
• Unreasonable mistake  

When a defendant acts intentionally with reckless disregard

The defendant was genearlly aware of the factors constituting a crime 

Public welfare and statutory rape

• Purpose
• Knolwedge
• Recklessness
• Negligence
• Strict liabiltiy  

• The defendant is the actual cause, the but for cause of the bad result.
•  
• Accelerating a death is also considered the actual cause  

Defendant is the proximate cause if his action would probably and naturally result in the bac result. 

Not proximate cause if an unforseeable intervening event causes the bad result

Preexistings weaknesses do not count for proximate cause  

Defendant must have the required mental state at the time he engages in the act

• The unlawful application of force
• against another resulting in 
• bodily injury or
• an offensive touching

General Intent 

 

Attempted burglary or 

Intentional creation other than by words or a reasonable fear in the mind of the victim of imminent bodily harm 

Specific Intent  

• Causing the death of another 
• With malice afore thought

• Intent to kill
• Intent to inflict serioius bodily harm
• Extreme recklessness
• Intentional comission of an inherently dangerous felony  

Creates inference of intent to kill

If a defendant accidentally kills one victim intending to hurt another victim. Intent is tranfered

Intentional killing committed with 

intention and deliberation  

All other murders such as: 

Depraved heart murder intent to do serious bodily harm murder  

• Fellony must be inherently dangerous 
• D must be guilty of the underlying felony
• Felony must be indepnednt from the death
• Death must be foreseeable
• Victim cannot be cofelon 

during comission of the felony or the immiate flight from the felony. Temporary safety ends the felony. 

Proximate cause therory: killing may even be committed by a third party 

Agency theory:  Killing must be committed by one of the co-felons. 

• An intentional killing 
• committed in the heat of passion
• upon adequate provcation  

must be subjective and objective 

must not have time to cool off and must not actually cool off 

A killing committed with criminal negligence or 

A killing committed during the commission of either a misdemeanor or a felony that does not give rise to felony murder provocation theory.  

• The unlawful confinement of a person 
• without their consent

General intent  

• False imprisonment +
• Moving or conceling the victim  

• Sexual intercouse 
• without victims consent
• accomplished by
• force or 
• threat of force 
• or while victim is unconscious 

General Intent 

 

• Trespassory 
• Taking
• And carrying away
• of the personal property
• of anther
• with the intent to
• permanently retain the property  

A taking under a claim of right, even if erroneous, is never a larceny

if defendant takes property without intent to steal but later developes that intent the intial taking is considered to have continued 

Conversion of personal property of another by a person already in lawfyul possession of that property with the intent to defraud 

Specfic intent 

No intent to defraud if the defendant intends to give the property back in its exact form 

for embezzlement person already has possession

Obtaining the title to the personal property of another by an intentional false statement with the intent to defraud 

in larceny defendant gets custody of the property in false pretenses he gets title and ownership

must be in the form of a present or past promise 

if defendent obtains only possession not title as the result of a false statement 

• Larceny from another's person or presence 
• by force or threat of immediate injury

specific intent  

Making or altering a writing so that it is false 

intent to defraud  

MPC groups all of them into one crime known as theft 

Breaking and entering the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony inside 

The malicious buring of a building

Malice 

material wasting and building itself must burn

control for a period of time long enough to have an opportunity to terminate possession 

defendatn must have dominion and control over it, not necessarily on his person

knowledge 

Recieving possession and control of personal property 

know that the property is stolen and have the intent to permanently deprive  the owner of his interest in the property  

aid and encourage the principal 

intend that the crime is committed  

accomplice is guilty of all crimes that he aids or encourages and all other committed crimes along wit hthe aided crime 

• Mere presence at the scene of the crime 
• Mere knolwedge of the crime
• Victims  

if an accomplice encourage the principal he may withdraw by repudiating the encourage ment before the crime is committed 

aider: must neutralize his support or otherwise prevent the crime from happening  

• defendant must
•  help
•  knowledge
• intent  

• attempt 
• solitication
• conspiracy  

• asking someone to commit a crime 
• with the intent that the crim is committed

specific intent  

• An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime plus
• an over act in furtherence of the crime

Agreement may be proved by conduct that is a concer of action to accomplish the objectives of the conspiracy 

no just the agreement 

defendant will be liable for other crimes committed if:

those crimes were committed in furtherence of the conspiracies objective 

and were forseeable  

An overt act beyond mere preperation 

Proximinty test: conduct that gets dangerouslly close to the commission of a crime 

Substantial step: conduct that strongly corroborates the actor's criminal purpose 

no factual impossibilty is never a defense to attempt 

yes 

solitication and attempt merge with the completed crime 

conspiracy does not

Mental disease or defect 

m'naughton test: did not know the nature of his conduct was wrong or did not understand the nature of his conduct 

irresistible impuse test: unable to control actions or was unable to conform hsi conduct to the law

MPC uses both cognitive and volutional  

• Insanity: not guilty 
• Incompetency: trial postponed till defendant can regain competency 

• only a defense to specific intent crimes 
• requires severe prostration of the faculties  

• rule of 7s 
• under 7 cannot be prosecuted
• under 14 rebuttable presumption against prosecution
• 14 and above prosecution is allowed  

• specific  intent crimes : any mistake will be a defense 
• malice: only reasonable mistake will be a defense
• strict liabilty: mistake will never be defense  

generally not a defense 

reasonably necessary to protect against the immediate use of unlawful force against himself 

may use deadly force in self defence if facing the imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm 

intitial aggressor rule: may not use deadly force if he is the initial aggressor, but he can regain this right if he withdraws from the fices and communicates this withrawal or the victim suddenly escalates a non deadly fight to a deadly one

retreat rule: in some states a defendant is required to retreat before using deadly force in self defense. Majoirty rule is that this is not required. Minority rule is that this is required uniless no retreat in complete safety or D is in home of the victim.  

• reasoanble mistake is still a complete defense 
• unreasoanble mistake:
• majority is no defense at all
• minority is mitigating but not exonerating