Criminal Law (Sjcl)

Front 1

What is Voluntary Manslaughter?

Back 1

The unlawful killing of a human being by another human being without malice aforethought with legally adequate provocation and with no cooling off period.

Front 2

For second degree murder, does the activity have to be inheritly dangerous?

Back 2

yes, the activity must constitute a danger to human

Front 3

What is the second degree felony murder rule?

Back 3

A homicide that isa direct causal result of the commission of a felony inherently dangerous to human life.

Front 4

What are the six felonies enumerated in the Penal Code to constitute first degree murder?

Back 4

murder by poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, or by any willful, deliberate and premeditated killing, or in the commission of , or attempt to commit, arson, rape, robbery, or burglary, is murder of the first degree.

Front 5

Does implied malice have a physical and mental component?

Back 5

The physical component is satisfied by the performance of an "act, the natural consequences of which are dangerous to life. The mental component is the requirement that the defendant "knows that his conduct endangers the life of another and acts with a conscious disregard for life.

Front 6

When is a felony complete?

Back 6

When the parties who committed the crime reach a point of safety. This would break the chain of events.

Front 7

Define premeditated and delibrate murder.

Back 7

"All murder which is perpetrated by any kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing with express malice aforethought is murder of the first degree.

Front 8

What is murder?

Back 8

The unlawful killing a human being, or a fetu, with malice aforethought.

Front 9

What does willful mean?

Back 9

intentional

Front 10

what does deliberate mean?

Back 10

Means formed or arrived at or determined upon as a result of careful throught and weighing of considerations for and against the proposed course of action. The word "premeditated" means considered beforehand.

Front 11

What are three categories of evidence pertinent to the determination of premeditatin and deliberation?

Back 11

1. Planning activity to the determination of premeditation and deliberation
2. Motive
3. Manner of killing

Front 12

What crimes are inherently dangerous?

Back 12

1. burning a car
2. supplies heroin
3. kidnapping
4. supplying alcohol to a drunk

Front 13

what crimes are not inherently dangerous?

Back 13

1. conspiracy to possess drugs
2. grand theft
3. possession of firearm by ex-felon
4. possession of sawed off shotgun
5. possession of medicine without a license.

Front 14

What is the Independent-Felony (merger) limitation

Back 14

The felony-murder rule does not apply if the underlying felony is an offense that is an "integral part" or is "included in fact" in the homicide itself, ie the felony is not sufficiently independent of the death and the felony disappears, subsumed by the homicide.

Front 15

What does Furman state in regards tothe Death Penalty?

Back 15

Death Penalty must be applied fair and consistently. All mitigating circumstances must be heard.

Front 16

For manslaughter, do you still have to have inten to kill?

Back 16

yes

Front 17

What is involuntary manslaughter?

Back 17

A killing with an intent to kill or do serious bodily injury, or with a conscious disregard of an extreme risk of death or serious bodily injury, where the presence of mitigating factors precludes a determination that the killing was malicious.

Front 18

What is misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter?

Back 18

A homicide occuring in the course of a misdemeanor only if the offense is malum in se.

Front 19

What is "heat of passon" in regards to voluntary manslaughter?

Back 19

Means any intense or vehement emotional excitement of the kind prompting violent and aggressive action, such as rage, ange, hared, furious resentment, fright or terror. Such emotional state of mind must be of such a degree as would cause an ordinary man to act on impulse without reflection.

Front 20

What is provocation?

Back 20

It is adequate if it is calculated to deprive a reasonable man of self-control and to cause him to act out of passion rather than reason.

Front 21

What are the two kinds of malice in california?

Back 21

1. express malice
2. implied malice

Front 22

What is express malice?

Back 22

manifest and deliberate intent unlawfully to take like.

Front 23

what is implied malice?

Back 23

Wanton recklessness disregard, awareness of extremely high risk, intention to cause serious bodily injury, intention to commit a felony.

Front 24

What is first degree murder?

Back 24

willful, deliberate, premediated lying in wait, a serious felony.

Front 25

what is second degree murder?

Back 25

All other murders that do not qualify for first degree murder.

Front 26

What is lying in wait?

Back 26

Concealment and watchful waiting. Mere watching and waiting is not enough. Concealment does not have to be for a particular period of time, just long enough to show state of mind.

Front 27

what is killing by torture?

Back 27

intent to cause cruel pain and suffering?

Front 28

What is deliberation?

Back 28

to measure and evaluate the major facets of a choice or problem. The process of determining upon a course of action to kill as a result of through, including weighing the reasons for and against the action and considering the consequences of the action.

Front 29

What is premediation?

Back 29

To think beforehand, Defendant gave thought before acting to the idea of taking a human life and reached a definite decision to kill.

Front 30

What are the three different types of manslaughter?

Back 30

1. voluntary manslaughter
2. involuntary manslaughter
3. misdemanor manslaughter

Front 31

what is voluntary manslaughter?

Back 31

the unlawful killing of a human being by another human being w/o malice aforethought with legally adequate provication and no cooling off period.

Front 32

what are the elements of provocation?

Back 32

1. legally adequat provocation
2. subjective in nature/actual
3. the provocation has to cause the person to be acting from passon.
4. no reasonable period or actual opportunity to cool-off.

Front 33

what are some of the things at common law considered legally adequate provocation?

Back 33

1. serious battery, unprivileged physical attack
2. mutual combat
3. extreme cases of physical attack
4. maybe unlawful arrest
5. witnessing or learning of adultry

Front 34

Is mistake in provication a mitigation?

Back 34

mistake of fact in profication is not a complete defense, but a mitigation.

Front 35

What are the two types of manslaughter?

Back 35

1. involuntary manslaughter
2. misdemeanor manslaughter

Front 36

What is involuntary manslaughter?

Back 36

Involuntary manslaughter consists of death resulting through wanton or reckless conduct.

Front 37

what is misdemeanor manslaughter?

Back 37

The unintentional killing of a human being resulting from the perpetration or attempted perpertration of an unlawful act that does not amount to a dangerous felony.

Front 38

In regards to misdemeanor manslaughter, what is the difference between the C/L and Modernly?

Back 38

C/L- any commission of a misdemeanor which results in death is actionable.
Modernly: we look at relation to culpability. Look at nexus between the act and the death.

Front 39

What is the barf of the felony murder rule C/L?

Back 39

a person is guilty of murder if he kills another person during the commission or attempted commission of any felony.

Front 40

What is the barf for the felony-murder rule (modern)

Back 40

a death that results from the perpetration or the attempted perpretration of an enumerated, inherently dangerous felony (arson, rape, robbery, burglary) is first degree murder.

Front 41

In regards to the Felony murder rule, does the intent to commit the felony constitute the implied malice required?

Back 41

yes, it works for both modernly and for the common law

Front 42

Does the felony murder rule extend to accomplises in the commission of a felony?

Back 42

yes

Front 43

What is an inherently dangerous felony?

Back 43

it looks at the offense in the abstract, one that carries thesubstantial risk that the felonious conduct will result in the death to an innocent person.

Front 44

What are crimes that are inherently dangerous?

Back 44

1. burning a car
2. suppling heroin
3. kidnapping
4. supplying alcohol to a drunk

Front 45

What are some crimes that are not inherently dangerous?

Back 45

1. conspiracy to possess drugs
2. grand theft
3. possession of firearm by ex-felon
4. possession of saw off shotgun
5. possession of medicine without a license.

Front 46

What is he Independent-Felony (merger) Limitation

Back 46

The felony-murder rule does not apply if the underlying felony is an offense that is an "integral part" or is "included in fact" in the homicide itself.

Front 47

what is the two components of the Res Gestae Requirement in regards tothe Felony Murder Rule?

Back 47

1. Temporal and geographic proximity
2. A causal requirement- The but for test.

Front 48

what is a felony?

Back 48

any crimes punishable by death or imprisonment exceeding one year

Front 49

what is a misdemeanor?

Back 49

all crimes punishable by imprisonmet for less than one year or by a fine only.

Front 50

at commonlaw, which felonies which crimes were felonies?

Back 50

1. murder
2. manslaughter
3. rape
4. sodomy
5. mayhem
6. robbery
7. larceny
8. arson
9. burglary

all other crimes were considered misemeanors

Front 51

what is malum in se?

Back 51

a crime that is wrong in itself.

Front 52

what is malum prohibitum?

Back 52

a crime that is only wrong only because it is prohibited by legislation.

Front 53

At commonlaw, if a person engaged in conduct constituting both a felony and a misdemeanor, could she be convicted of both?

Back 53

no, the misdemeanor was regarded as merged into the felony.

Front 54

What is merger of solicitation or attempt into a completed crime?

Back 54

one who solicits another to commit a crime (where solicitation itself is a crime) cannot be convicted of both the solicitation and the completed crime (if the person solicited does complete it).

Front 55

what are the essential elements of a crime?

Back 55

1. actus reus- the physicial act (or unlawful ommission by the defendant)
2. Mens Rea- (guilty mind) the state of mind or intent of the defendant at the time of his act.
3. Concurrance: The physicial act and the mental state existed at the same time and,
4. Harmful result and causation- A haremful result caused (both factually and proximately) by the defendants act.

Front 56

What is the barf for a physicial act?

Back 56

For there to be criminal liability, the defendant must have either performed a voluntary physical act or failed to act under circumstances imposing a legal duty to act. For this purpose, an act is defined as a bodily movement.

Front 57

What is the purpose of the mens reas requirement?

Back 57

The reason that the mens req is normally required is to distinguish between inadvertent or accidental acts and acts performed by one wth a "guilty mind" The later type of act is more blameworty and arguably, can be deterred. However, in some cases (strict liability crimes) mens rea is not required.

Front 58

What is specific intent?

Back 58

If the definition of a crime requires not only the doing of an act, but the doing of it with a specific intent or objective, the crime is a "specific intent" crime.

Front 59

Why is it significant to identify specific intent?

Back 59

There are two reasons
1. need for proof- the existence of a specific intent cannot be inferred from the doing of the act. if the prosecution must produce evidence tending to prove the existence of the specific intent.
2. applicability of certain defenses
-some defenses such as voluntary intoxication and unreasonable mistake of fact, apply only to specific intent crimes.

Front 60

What is transferred intent?

Back 60

If a defendant intended a harmful result to a particular person or object and in trying to carry out that intent, cause a similar harmful result to another person or object, her intent will be transferred from the intended person or object to the one actually harmed. Any defenses or mitigating circumstances that the defendant could have asserted against the intended victim (self defense, provication) will also be transferred in most cases. This doctrine most commonly applies to homicide, battery, and arson. It does not apply to attempt.

Front 61

What is a strict liability offense?

Back 61

a strict liabilty offense is one that dos not require awareness of all of the factors constituting the crime. Generally, the requirement of a state of mind is not abandoned with respect to all elements of the offense, but only with regard to one of some of the elements. The major significance of a strict liability offense is that certain defenses, such as mistake of fact, are not available.

Front 62

What is the barf for strict liability offenses?

Back 62

strict liability offenses also known as public welfare offense, are generally regulatory offenses. They generally involve a relately low penalty and are not regarded by the community as involving significant moral inpropriety.

Front 63

What is the mpC code analysis of fault?

Back 63

It advocatesthe elimination of the ambiguous common law distinction between general and specifc intent. Instead it proposes four categories into which the mental component of a criminal offense can be characterized.
1. purposely
2. knowingly
3. recklessly
4. negligence

Front 64

What is purposely?

Back 64

Purposely- a person acts purposely with respet to his conduct when it is his conscious object to engage in certain conduct or cause a certain result. (ie burglary)

Front 65

What is knowingly?

Back 65

Knowingly- A person acts knowingly with repect to the nature of his conduct when he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that certain circumstances exists. He acts knowingly with respect to the result of his conduct when he knows that his conduct will necessarily or very likely cause such a result.

Front 66

What is recklessly

Back 66

Recklessly- a person acts recklessly when he consciously disregards a substantial or unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that is a prohibited result will follow, and this disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in this situation.

Front 67

What is negligence?

Back 67

Negligence- A person acts negligently when he fails to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or a result will follow, and such failure constitute a substantial deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances. To determine whether a person acted negligently, an objective standard is used.

Front 68

What is vicarious liability?

Back 68

Vicarious liability offenses- A vicarious liability offense is one in which a person w/o personal fault may nevertheless be held vicariously liable for the criminal conduct of another. Because of the imposition of criminal liability for faultless conduct is contrary to the basic premise of criminal justice that crime requires fault on the part of the accused, some jurisdictions have held that imprisonment in such cases violates the due process guarantees of the state constitution. The current trend in legislatures is to limit vicarious liability to regulatory crimes and to limit punishment to fines.

Front 69

What is enterprise liability under the commonlaw?

Back 69

At commonlaw, a corporation could not commit a crime because it was unable to form the necessary criminal intent.

Front 70

What is enterprise liability modernly?

Back 70

Modernly- statutes often provide for the liability of corporations and sometimes even unincorporated associates (eg partnerships). Under such provisions, corporations may be held liable under the following conditions: acts done by agents of the corporation acting on half of the corporation and W/I the scope of his office or employment, or under the Superior Agent rule, that criminal liability is imposed in situations in which the conduct is performed or participated in by agents sufficiently high in the corporate hierarchy to presume that their acts reflect corporate policy.

Front 71

What are the four types of accomplice liability pursuant to the commonlaw?

Back 71

1. principals in the 1st degree
2. principals in the 2nd degree
3. accessories before the fact
4. and accessories after the fact.

Front 72

What is a principal in the first degree?

Back 72

persons who actually engage in the act or ommission that constitutes the criminal offense.(c/l)

Front 73

what is principals in the second degree?

Back 73

persons who aid, command, or encourage the principal and are present at the crime (c/l)

Front 74

What are accessories before the fact?

Back 74

persons who aid, abet, or encourage the principal but are not present at the crime.(c/l)

Front 75

What are accessories after the fact?

Back 75

persons who assist the principal after the crime (c/l)

Front 76

Modernly, in regards to accomplice liability,what is a principal?

Back 76

one who, with the requisite mental state, actually engages in the act or ommission that causes the criminal result.

Front 77

Modernly, in regards to accomplice liability, what is an accomplice?

Back 77

one who, with the intent that the crime be committed, aids, counsels, or encourages the principal before or during the commission of the crime.

Front 78

Modernly, in regards to accomplice liability, what an accessory after the fact?

Back 78

one who receives, relieves, comforts, or assists another, knowing that he had committed a felony, in order to help the felon escape arrest, trial, or conviction. The crime committed by the principal must be a felony and it must be completed at the time the aid is rendered.

Front 79

To be convicted as an accomplice under the prevailing common law rule, must a person have given aid, counsel, or encouragement with the intent to aid or encourage the principal in the commission of the crime charged?

Back 79

yes

Front 80

What is an accomplice scope of liability?

Back 80

an accomplice is responsible for the crimes he did or counseled and for any other crimes committed in the course of committing the crime contemplated, as long as the other crimes were probable or foreseeable.

Front 81

What is an inchoate offense?

Back 81

it is one committed prior to and in prepraration for what may be a more serious offense. It is a complete offense in itself, even though the act to be done may not have been completed.

Front 82

What are the elements of solicitation?

Back 82

the inciting, counseling, advising, inducing, urging, or commanding another to commit a felony with the specific intent that the person solicited commit the crime.

Front 83

What defenses are applicable to solicitation?

Back 83

Impossibility and withdrawal is no defense. However, exemption from intended crime is a defense.

Front 84

What is the barf for conspiracy?

Back 84

conspiracy is an agreement to commit a crime with an overt act.

Front 85

Must a conspiracy have a requirement of two or more parties?

Back 85

yes, a conspiracy must invole a "meeting of the minds" between at least two independent persons. Therefore, if one person in a two party conspiracy is only feigning agreement (eg undercover police officer, the other person cannot be convicted of conspiracy.

Front 86

What is the Wharton rule?

Back 86

Regarding conspiracy, there is no crime of conspiracy unless more parties participate in the agreement than are necessary for the crime. (remember dueling)