criminal law exam 2 scenarios

Preliminary crime

Buying the tools to commit a bank robbery

Anticipatory crime

A drug delivery on the way to someone, but was never delivered

Inchoate offense

Planning to burglarize a house, and taking the first steps to do so

Concurrence

A person decides to steal a specific item from a store (mens rea).At the moment they put the item in their bag and walk out without paying, they are committing the act of theft (actus reus).

Men’s rea

Intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, negligently

• an individual who punches someone in the face during an argument demonstrates the intent to harm, making it an intentional assault

Actus rea

Commission or omission

• physically stealing a CD (a voluntary act)

The model penal code

A typical analysis involves assessing whether the defendant's conduct (actus reus) and mental state (mens rea) align with the elements of a particular crime. 

Strict liability

A construction company using dynamite to clear a site has ___ if debris from the blasts causes damage to a nearby home, even if they followed all safety procedures.The activity itself carries inherent risks, so the responsible party assumes

Specific intent

a person who unlawfully enters a building with the intent to steal has ___, whereas someone who enters for an innocent reason does not.

Scienter

a person who unlawfully enters a building with the intent to steal has specific intent, whereas someone who enters for an innocent reason does not.

Intent

breaking into a store with the goal of taking goods is a purposeful act

Motive

a person stealing money due to overwhelming gambling debts

Proximate cause

Wilma shooting Betty and Betty dying after tripping while trying to escape shows Wilma's shooting as the _____ of death, as the tripping was a natural and foreseeable reaction, not a unforeseeable superseding act

Possession as a crime

During a lawful search, the officer finds a gym bag on the floor behind the front passenger seat.Inside the gym bag, the officer finds several bags of cocaine and a digital scale. prosecution must prove knowledge and legal nature

Presumptions

A person who possesses stolen property is presumed to have knowledge of its source

Inference

if a suspect fails to mention a key fact in their defense that they could have reasonably revealed earlier, leading to a negative conclusion about their credibility

Solicitation crime

offering money to commit vandalism or theft

Conspiracy

two individuals agreeing to rob a bank and one then purchasing the getaway car

Attempt crimes

lying in wait for a victim

Factual impossibly

trying to pickpocket an empty pocket

Legal impossibility

A person thinks they have cocaine but really they have talcum powder

Common design rule

A group of people agree to commit a crime, such as a robbery, they are all equally responsible

Post crime offenses

a person who commits a robbery and then tries to hide the weapon is not only guilty of robbery but also faces charges for tampering with evidence