Criminal Law

Jurisdiction

The legal situs of the crime (conduct or result happened there). If crime of omission, where act should have been performed.

Merger

Generally, no merger of crimes. However, solicitation and attempt merge into the substantive offense. Conspiracy does not.

I. Essential Elements of a crime

A. An act

1. Any bodily movement

Exceptions: conduct not a product of own volition; reflexive or convulsive act (e.g., seizure); unconscious or asleep (sleepwalking).

2. An omission when there is a legal duty to act arising

by statute
by contract
voluntary assumption of duty of care and then failing to adequately perform
due to relationship b/w parties (e.g., parent-child)
where your party created the peril

B. Mental State

1. specific intent
1. inchoate crimes: solicitation, conspiracy, attempt
2. 1st Degree Murder (unless specified, 'murder' is common-law murder, not this)
3. assault
4. common-law offenses against property: larceny, embezzlement, false pretenses, robbery, burglary, forgery


2. malice - reckless disregard that obvious high-risk a harmful result will occur (murder & arson)


3. general intent (most crimes are this, e.g., rape, battery)


4. strict liability (no intent at all)


• if crime is in an administrative, regulatory, or morality area
• if don't see any adverbs in statute (e.g., "knowingly")

Intent may transfer from one person to the next -- intent to murder X, shot Y instead, intent xfers to Y. Additionally, attempted murder against X. The two crimes don't merge b/c different victims.

II. Accomplice Liability -- Liable for the crime itself and all other foreseeable crimes. Must be actively in on the crime, not just present.

Mass.: a person can be convicted on the testimony of an accomplice, unless immunity was granted. if it was, corroboration required.

III. Inchoate Offenses

A. Solicitation -- asking person to commit crime. Once they say yes -> conspiracy.

B. Conspiracy

1. agreement - not necessarily express, and everyone doesn't have to know each other
2. intent to agree
3. intent to pursue unlawful objective (impossibility of object is no defense)

Each co-conspirator are liable for all the crimes committed in furtherance of conspiracy, that were foreseeable.

Majority rule: agreement plus overt act (any little act will do, e.g., recruiting others)
Minority rule (including Mass): agreement only

Mass.: If you conspire only, you're not liable for substantive crimes of the other co-conspirators.

Withdrawal from the conspiracy may be a defense to crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy after withdrawal, but not to the conspiracy itself (b/c 'conspiracy' has already been committed -- it's already complete).

C. Attempt -- Specific intent plus substantial step in direction of commission of the crime beyond mere preparation. Mere preparation is not enough for attempt.

IV. Defenses

A. Insanity -- defense to all crimes including strict liability

M'Naughton -- at time of conduct, lacked the ability to know the wrongfulness of the act or to understand the nature and quality of their actions.
Irresistible Impulse -- lacked the capacity for self-control and free choice
Durham test -- conduct was a product of mental illness
MPC (Mass) -- lacked ability to confirm conduct to the requirements of law

B. Intoxication

voluntary -- only a defense to specific intent crimes
involuntary (a form of insanity) -- defense to all crimes including strict liability

C. Infancy

minority rule (including Mass.) requires retreat to the wall if safe to do so, prior to using deadly force, however,

1. no retreat reqd out of home
2. no retreat reqd if victim of rape or robbery
3. no retreat reqd if cop

E. Defense of a Dwelling -- no deadly force solely to defend property. Property, no, people, yes.

F. Duress (gun to head scenario) -- Defense to all crimes save homicide

G. Mistake of Fact

Mental State of Crime Charge	Application of Defense
specific intent	yes, any mistake
malice and general intent	only a reasonable mistake
strict liability	no, never

H. Consent -- almost never a defense

I. Entrapment -- very narrow, b/c the predisposition of the defendant to commit the crime negates it.

V. Common Law Crimes -- All states have tweaked these via statute.

A. Battery -- general intent crime, never strict liability -- a completed assault

Unlawful force resulting in unwanted touching or bodily harm. Typically misdemeanor.
Aggravated batteries (deadly weapon, serious bodily harm, child or cop) may be prosecuted as felonies.

B. Assault -- attempted battery (specific intent crime), or creation of reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm (general intent crime)

Aggravated assaults, too.

C. Homicide (victim must be human -- and dead)

Intent to kill. (note: intentional use of deadly weapon? Infer intent to kill.)
Intent to do serious bodily harm.
Depraved heart/highly reckless (intentional performance of an act entailing substantial likelihood of risk to human life).
Intent to commit a felony.

D. Manslaughter

Voluntary: heat of passion/provoked killing.
Involuntary:

• criminal negligence
• misdemeanor manslaughter (committing a misdemeanor or unenumerated felony (something not on the felony murder list))

E. 1st Degree Murder -- no uniform definition

Mass.: if premeditated, particularly vicious, or committed in the course of a felony that is punishable by death or life imprisonment.

F. Felony Murder

Intent not to kill, but to commit felony, yet someone dies. Felony may be attempted, not even completed.
Defenses:

1. Defense to underlying felony
2. The felony must be somethign other than the killing
3. The death must be foreseeable
4. Deaths caused while fleeing are felony murder, but once reach a place of temporary safety, deaths after are not
5. Not liable for death of co-felon as a result of resistance by victim or police

Mass.: One perp. must do the killing, and a non-perp must die, for it to be felony murder.

G. Sex Offenses

1. Rape - unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman, by a man, not her husband, without her effective consent. The slightest penetration is sufficient.
Achieved via force or threat of force/great and immediate bodily harm; incapable of consenting due to unconsciousness/intoxication/mental condition; fraudulent caused to believe the act is not intercourse.
2. Statutory Rape -- carnal knowledge of female under age of consent. Strict liability crime.

H. Property Crimes

1. Larceny (achieves possession, not title))

taking
and carrying away
of another's property
w/o their consent
w/ intent to permanently deprive them of it

2. Embezzlement

Fraudulent
Conversion (deal with the property in a manner inconsistent with the trust arrangement providing lawful possession)
of property
of another
by a person in lawful possession of that property

- Illegally converts property already lawfully in possession. No need to be for benefit of self, or for there to be a carrying away.

3. False pretenses (achieves title)

Obtaining title
To property of another
By an intentional (knowing) false statement of past or present fact ("by" - major or sole cause being the misrepresentation)
With intent to defraud the other (know its a lie, subject victim to risk of loss)

- Persuade owner to convey title under false pretenses or representation. Not a false promise for future, but false representation of present or past fact.

4. Robbery

Larceny plus assault. Taking from person or in their presence, by violence/force or putting them in fear of imminent harm. Picking a pocket is NOT robbery.

5. Extortion (blackmail)

Threats of future harm.
Don't have to take from person or presence.

I. Offenses Against Habitation

1. Burglary

breaking (actual or constructive, via threat or fraud)
entering (body crossing plane of house)
dwelling house
at night
w/intent to commit felony inside -- intent must exist at the time

2. Arson

malicious burning
of a dwelling house
of another
causing a material wasting of fiber of the building by fire (not smoke/water/explosion)