1 Az Criminal Law

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Criminal Law: Broadly

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1) requires an act or omission to act, plus a culpable mental state of intent, knowledge, recklessness or cirminal negligence.
2) Criminal degree of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt."

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Strict Liability:

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Act plus Mens Rea.
Act must be voluntary--conscious exercise of will.
IF a statute does not expressly prescribe a culpable mental state that is sufficient for commission of the offense, then no culpable mental state is required.
Strict liability offenses are public welfare offenses-not malum in se, and carry only a minor penalty.

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Defintions of Culpable Mental States
Intent:

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Requires that D have the conscious DESIRE to engage in the conduct.
IN AZ: mental state of intentionally includes the mental state of knowingly.

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Defintions of Culpable Mental States
Knowledge

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Requires that the D must have believed or been aware of his conduct.

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Defintions of Culpable Mental States
Recklessness

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Person aware of and consciously disregards substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstances exists. Risk must be of such a nature that disregard of that risk constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct a reasonable person would observe in the situation.

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Definitions of Culpable Mental States
Criminal Negligence

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With respect to a result or circumstance requires that the person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstance existed or that the result would occur. The risk must be of such an nature that disregard of that risk would constitute a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise in that situation.
The difference between recklessness and criminal negligence is that recklessness requires intentional disregard of a substantial risk.

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Accomplice Liability

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In AZ person can be found guilty as an accomplice if the person, with intent to promote or facilitate commission of the crime, solicits or commands, aids, counsels, agrees or attempts to aid another in planning of committing the crime, or provides the means or opportunity for another in planning or committing the crime.

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Accomplice Liability: Intent

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D must have the conscious desire to engage in the criminal conduct. The fact that the principal is not or cannot be convicted is irrelevant to accomplice.
Accomplice liability is also not dependent on intent or knowledge of principal. Accomplice is liable for the crime itself and all other probable or foreseeable crimes.

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INCHOATE OFFENSES:
Solicitation

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In AZ a person can be found guilty for solicitation if that person, with intent to promote or facilitate the commission of a crime commands, encourages or requests another to commit the offense.

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INCHOATE OFFENSES:
Conspiracy

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Person can be found guilty for conspiracy, if that person, with intent to promote or facilitate commission of the crime, agreed with another person to commit the crime, and one of the parties committed an OVERT act in furtherance of the conspiracy--except when the crime is a felony against a person, armed burglary or arson of an occupied structure. Fact that co-conspirator was not convicnted is not a defense.
IN AZ, THERE IS NO MERGER.

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INCHOATE OFFENSES:
Attempt:

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Person commits attempt by acting with the intent required for the offense attempted and either 1) Intentionally engages in conduct that would constitute an offense if the circumstances were as the person believed them to be; or 2) commits any step in furtherance to accomplish the crime (mere preparation is not enough--i.e. buying duct tape. However, attempting to open the window on a home IS.)

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INCHOATE OFFENSES:
Renunciation Defense

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Renunciation is a defense in AZ; IF D:
1) Notified person of the renunciation; OR retrieved whatever materials he gave OR notified the authorities OR acted to prevent the crime.
2) Renunciation must be COMPLETE. Not merely postponing crime.
3) Renunciation was voluntary--not because risk of getting caught had gotten higher, harder to commit crime, etc.

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Crimes Against the Person:
1st Degree Murder
Premeditated

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Person can be found guilty of 1st degree premeditated murder if she acted after premeditation and with intent/knowledge that her conduct would cause death.
Premeditation requires only that intent or knowledge precede the killing by enough time to permit reflection (a turning over in the mind--can be a matter of a moment). Intent requires that the D had the conscious desire to engage in the conduct that he knew or intended would cause death. Knowledge requires that the D must have believed or been aware of the conduct.

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Crimes Against the Person:
1st Degree Murder
Felony Murder

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Person can be found guilty of first degree felony murder if, acting alone or with another, commit or attempt to commit certain felony offenses, and in the course and furtherance of such offense or in flight from the offense, cause the death of another. Conduct causes a result if it is the "but-for" cause.
Felony murder includes accidental deaths, and need not be foreseeable (the element of foreseeability of death is included in the nature of the types of crimes leading to felony murder)
Co-felons are liable for felony murder even if the killing was directly caused by someone other than the felons.

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Crimes Against the Person:
1st Degree Murder
Defenses

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Liability can't be based on the death of a co-felon caused by resistance of the victim or police pursuit.
Deaths caused while fleeing a felony are felony murder, but deaths that arise after D has found some place of temporary safety are not.
D can only be guilty of felony murder if he is guilty of the underlying offense.

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Eleven Felony Murder Offenses

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a) Burglary
b) Arson
c) Sexual Assault
d) Kidnapping
e) Robbery
f) Escape
g) unlawful flight from pursuing law enforcement vehicle.
h) Sexual conduct with a minor
i) Child molestation
j) Child abuse
k) sale or importation of narcotics.

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First Degree Murder:

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Police officer in line of duty: D must have known that victim was LEO.

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Second Degree Murder

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Person without premeditation intentionally causes the death of another, OR knowing that his conduct will cause death or serious physical injury to another, causes death. OR Under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life,recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death, and thereby causes the death of another.

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Second Degree Murder:
Knowledge, Intent, Recklessness

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Intent requires that D have the conscious desire to engage in the conduct.
Knowledge requires that the defendant must have believed or been aware of the conduct.
Recklessness with respect to a result or to a cricumstances requires that the person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that to disregard it would constitute a gross deviation from the standard of conduct of a reasonable person

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Manslaughter:

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Person can be found guilty of manslaughter if the person: Recklessly caused the death of another;
Intended to cause the death of another upon sudden quarrel or heat of passion; OR
Engaged in conduct creating a grave risk of death and thereby caused a death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life; OR.
Killed while being coerced to kill by use or threatened use of imminent unlawful deadly force upon his person or upon the person of another, which a reasonable person would not be able to resist.

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Manslaughter: Adequate Provocation

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1) Provocation must have been one that would arouse sudden and intense passion in the mind of an ordinary person such as to cause him to lose his self-control.
2) D must have in fact been provoked.
3) There must not have been sufficient time between the provocation and the killing to allow the passions of a reasonable person to cool
4) His passions did not in fact cool.

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Negligent Homicide:

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Person can be found guilty of negligent homicide if he causes the death of another with criminal negligenve. Criminal negligence with repect to a result or circumstances requires that a person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstance existed or that the result would occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that disregard of the risk constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct of a reasonable person under the circumstances.

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Homicide: Causation

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D must have caused V's death. Conduct causes a result if it is a but-for cause--e.g. but-for the conduct, the result would not have occurred.
D is liable for all natural and probable consequences of his conduct, unless chain of causation is broken by some superseding factor: e.g. grossly negligent medical care or intentional malpractice.

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Homicide Causation: Transferred Intent

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Transferred Intent: when actual result differs from intended result only in that a different person or piece of property is harmed, OR when the intended harm would have been more serious than the harm caused. Transferred intent also occurs when the actual result involves similar harm as that intended, and the actual harm occurs in a manner that the person knew or should have known is rendered substantially more probable by such conduct. Applies to attempted first degree murder.

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Homicide: Antecedent Condition of Victim

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If some pre-existing condition contributed to V's death, this will not prevent D being the proximate cause of V's death.

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Assault and Related Offenses:
Assault

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Person commits assault by
1) Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing physical injury to another
2) Intentionally placing another in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury
3) Knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure , insult or provoke that person.

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Assault and Related Offenses:
Aggravated Assault

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A person commits agg assault if:
1) serious injury is caused.
2) Deadlly weapon or dangerous instrument is used.
3) Assault is committed after D enters the private home of another with intent to commit assault
4) V is LEO and D knows this
5) Assault is committed while vic. is bound, restrained, or otherwise impaired in her capacity to resist.

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Endangerment:

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Person commits endangerment if he recklessly endangers another person with a substantial risk of imminent death or physical injury

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Threatening and Intimidating:

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Person threatens to cause physical injury or serious property damage.

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Unlawful Imprisonment:

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Person commits unlawful imprisonment when he knowingly restrains another person.
Restraint = restricting a person's liberty by force, intimidation or deception. Not necessary that V know of the restraint. The fact that a V is released unharmed does not negate the crime, only mitigates the severity.

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Kidnapping:

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Person commits kidnapping by knowingly restraining another person by force, intimidation, deceoption, movement or confinement with the intent to
1) Hold V hostage, as a shield or for ransom.
2) Inflict death, physical injury, or sexual offense on V.
3) Place V or another in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury.
Enough that the restraint was done to aid in committing the felony, even if the felony is never attempted. V's release, unharmed does not negate crime, just mitigates severity.

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Burglary:

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Person commits burglary if he enters structure with intent of committing any theft or felony therein.
3rd degree burglary: Commercial structure or yard.
2nd degree burglary: residential structure
1st degree burglary: knowingly possessed explosives or deadly weapon in course of theft or felony.
Entry = intrusion into property.
Structure = any building for lodging, business, transportation.
Residential Structure = any structure for residence / lodging.
No CL requirement of "breaking"

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Theft and Related Offenses:
Theft

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Person commits theft if:
1) Knowingly and without lawful authority
2) controls the property of another
3) with intent to deprive him of that property
Intent = only intent to deprive.
One who lawfully comes into possession of property can commit theft when he develops the requisite intent.
Control means to act to exclude others from use except on D's terms.
Culpable state for theft = knowing.

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Extortion:

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Theft by extortion:
1) knowingly obtains or seeks to obtain property or services by means of a threat
1) to cause physical injuyr or
2) engage in conduct constituting a crime.
3) reveal a secret--even if true--which would expose V to hatred, contempt or ridicule
4) accuse V of a crime.

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Robbery

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1) in the course of taking property of another from his person or immediate presence,
2) against his will
3) threatens to use or uses force against any person
4) with intent either to coerce surrender of or prevent resistance to, taking the property.
Robbery requires "intent" to coerce or prevent resistance.

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Agg. Robbery

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1) Commits robbery with one or more accomplices actually present.

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Armed Robbery

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Person commits armed robbery if he is armed with, uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon, or simulated deadly weapon in the course of committing robbery.

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Defenses;
Ignorance or mistake of law

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S.O.L: Iggnance is no excuse.

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Defenses:
Ignorance or mistake of fact

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A defense only if it negates a culpable mental state required for the crime.
No defense to a strict liability offense.

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Defenses:
Insanity

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S.O.L: Pretty much.
Person may be found GBI if at the time of the commission of the offense he was afflicted with a mental disease or defect of such severity that he did not know the act was wrong. (M'naghten)
Must be shown by clear and convincing evidence. So that D can be committed to ASH or the like for the same length of time that he could have been imprisoned.

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Self-Defense:
Non-Deadly Force

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Person can threaten or use physical force against another when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe it necessary to protect himself or another against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful physical force.
-can't be used for mere verbal provocation
-Can't be used by original aggressor unless:
-->She withdraws and communicates that withdrawal to original V.
--> Original V escalates the fight by using deadly force, and no chance to withdraw was available.

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Self-Defense:
Deadly Force

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Person can threaten or use deadly force to the degree a reasonable person woudl believe it is immediately necessary for protection against another's use of deadly force.
No strict duty to retreat, although availability of safe retreat may demonstrate that deadly force was not immediately necessary.
If self-defense fails, no imperfect self-defense for unreasonable belief in need to use deadly force.

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Defense:
Voluntary Intoxication

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Haa! You're kidding, right?
Voluntary intoxication is defined as the intoxication resulting from consumption (without direct duress) of any substance the person knows or should know has a tendency to cause intoxication. In AZ temporary intoxication resulting from voluntary consumption of alcohol or drugs does not constitute insanity and is not a defense for any criminal act or requisite state of mind.
Voluntary intoxication is NOT sufficient to show D's unawareness of risk to mitigate from recklessness to criminal negligence.

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Involuntary Intoxication

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Receives the same treatment as insanity.
You're pretty much screwed.

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Duress:

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Conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense is justified if a reaonable person would believe that he was compelled to engage in the conduct by the threat or use of immediate physical force against his person or that of a third person. Force must be of the kind that a reasonable person in the same situation could not have resisted. Defense is unavailable if person willingly put himself into the situation, or knowingly, intentionally or recklessly entered a situation where it was probable he would be subjected to duress.
NOT available in situations involving homicide or serious bodily injury.