Crim Law Basics

Jurisdiction

A state has Jx over a crime if any act constituting an element of the offense was committed in the state or an act outside the state caused a result in the state

Merger Common Law

At common law, if a person engaged in conduct constituting both a felony and a misdemeanor, they could be convicted of only felony. The misdemeanor merged.

Modern Approach to Merger

Solicitation merges into the completed crime if the solicitee completes the crime. A person who completes a crime after attempting it may not be convicted of both the attempt and the completed crime. Conspiracy does not merge, however.

Essential Elements of a crime

Usually: actus reus, mens rea, and a concurrence of the two, plus result and causation often,

Actus Reus requirements

Must be voluntary. Can include an omission when there is a legal duty to act, the defendant has knowledge of the facts giving rise to the duty, and it is reasonably possible to perform the duty

Legal Duty to Act Circumstances

(1) By statute (such as filing taxes); (2) by contract (such as a lifeguard or a nurse); (3) by relationship of the parties (parent/spouse for instance); (4) voluntary assumption of care; and (5) the defendant created the peril for the victim

Possession and Constructive Possession

Possession is an act if D had control of the item long enough to have an opportunity to terminate possession. It does not need to be exclusive to one person and may be “constructive” if the item is in an area within the defendant’s “dominion and control”

State of Mind for Possession

Absent a specification in the statute, D must be aware of their possession of the contraband but not necessarily the illegality of the item. Statutes that include “knowingly” generally require knowledge of the illegality of the item.

Specific Intent Crimes

Solicitation; Conspiracy; Attempt; First degree premeditated murder; Assault; larceny; embezzlement; false pretenses’ robbery; burglary; forgery.

Malice: Common law murder and Arson

The intent necessary for malice (common law murder and arson) is a reckless disregard of an obvious or high risk that the particular harmful result will occur. Defenses to specific intent crimes do not apply to malice crimes

General Intent for a Crime

General intent means that the defendant has an awareness of a high likelihood of the factors constituting the crime. General intent may be inferred merely from doing the act.

Strict Liability Crimes

No awareness of all of the factors is necessary. D can be found guilty merely if they committed the crime

MPC categories of Fault

Purposely, Knowingly, Recklessly

MPC: Purposely

A person acts purposefully when their conscious object is to engage in certain action or cause a certain result

MPC: Knowingly

A person acts knowingly with the respect to the nature of their conduct when they are aware that their conduct is of a particular nature or that certain circumstances exist. A person is deemed to have this knowledge when they are aware of a high probability that they exist and the person deliberately avoids learning the truth. A person also acts knowingly when they act knowing that their conduct will necessarily or very likely cause a particular result

MPC Recklessly:

A person is reckless when they consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a prohibited result will follow, and this disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the situation

State of mind: Negligence

A person acts negligently when they fail to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk, where such a failure is a substantial deviation from the standard of care. Different from the reasonable person standard in torts.

Vicarious Liability offenses

When a person without personal fault may nonetheless be held viable for the criminal conduct of another. Generally limited to regulatory crimes with fines as punishment

Enterprise Liability: Corporations and Associations

At common law, a corporation does not have capacity to commit crimes. Under modern statutes, corporations may be held liable for an act performed by: (1) an agent of the corporation acting within the scope of their office or employment; or (2) a corporate agent high enough in the hierarchy to presume their acts reflect corporate policy

Criminal Transferred Intent

D can be liable when they intend the harm that is actually caused but to a different victim or object. Defenses and mitigating circumstances usually transfer as well. Applies to homicide, battery, and arson. A person guilty of a crime on the basis of transferred intent is also likely guilty of an attempt crime against their target individual

Concurrence of Actus Reus and Mens Rea

The defendant must have the intent necessary for the crime at the time they commit the act constituting the crime, and the intent must have prompted the act

Causation

Some crimes such as homicide require result and causation. When a crime is defined to require not merely conduct but also a specified result, the defendant’s conduct must be both the actual cause and the proximate cause of the specified result