criminal law 1

Substantive criminal law

Declares what acts are crimes and establishes punishment.

Procedural criminal law

Regulates the steps used to convict and punish someone.

Main purpose of criminal law

Protect society.

Three harms criminal law protects against

Harm by others; self-harm; harm to societal morals.

Paternalistic law

Law designed to protect people from harming themselves.

Common law

Judge-made law derived from court decisions over time.

Kentucky and common-law crimes

Common-law crimes are abolished.

Florida and common law

Common law can operate if not inconsistent with higher law.

Police power

Power to protect health, welfare, morals, and safety.

Who has inherent police power?

States.

Commerce Clause

Allows federal regulation of interstate and foreign commerce.

Three Commerce Clause categories

Instrumentalities; persons/things; substantial effect on commerce.

Primary title for federal crimes

Title 18.

Arizona v. United States

Federal immigration authority preempted parts of Arizona law.

Model Penal Code

ALI model/guide for lawmakers; not itself state law.

Mala in se

Wrong or evil in itself.

Mala prohibita

Wrong because prohibited by law.

Crime seriousness order

Treason → felony → misdemeanor → infraction/violation.

Treason

Only crime described in the U.S. Constitution.

Infraction/violation

Least serious; usually fine or minor punishment.

Tort

Private wrong; usually seeks money damages.

Civil burden of proof

Preponderance of the evidence.

Criminal burden of proof

Beyond a reasonable doubt.

Principle of legality

No punishment without a law clearly prohibiting the behavior.

Bill of attainder

Law punishing a person/group without normal judicial process.

Ex post facto law

Retroactively criminalizes/increases punishment to offender's disadvantage.

Two ex post facto elements

Retrospective application + disadvantage to offender.

Due process

Government must follow established legal rules.

5th Amendment due process applies to

Federal government.

14th Amendment due process applies to

States.

Void-for-vagueness doctrine

Law cannot be so vague people cannot know what is prohibited.

Five elements of a crime

Parties; actus reus; mens rea; causation; concurrence.

Principal in the first degree

Person who actually commits the crime.

Principal in the second degree

Present and aids or encourages the crime.

Constructive presence

Not at exact scene but positioned to assist.

Accessory before the fact

Assists before crime but is not present when it occurs.

Accessory after the fact

Knowingly assists offender after the crime.

Complicity

Liability for the underlying offense as an accomplice.

Criminal facilitation

Separate, generally less serious offense for facilitating a crime.

Actus reus

Criminal act; generally requires voluntary conduct.

Possession as actus reus

Knowing receipt/control for time sufficient to end possession.

Four sources of duty

Statute; relationship; contract; assumption/continuance of care.

Filial responsibility laws

Duties of adult children regarding support/care of parents.

Mens rea

Criminal state of mind.

Specific intent

Intent to act plus achieve a further required objective.

General intent

Intent to perform the prohibited act.

MPC mens rea levels

Purposely; knowingly; recklessly; negligently.

Purposely

Conscious objective to cause the result.

Knowingly

Aware the result is practically certain.

Recklessly

Consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk.

Negligently

Should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.

Kentucky 'wantonly'

Comparable to MPC recklessly: conscious disregard of risk.

Transferred intent

Intent toward intended victim transfers to actual victim.

Actual/but-for cause

Result would not have occurred but for defendant's conduct.

Proximate cause

Sufficient legal connection between conduct and result.

Year-and-a-day rule

Traditional rule requiring homicide victim to die within a year and day.

Concurrence

Required mens rea exists at the time of the criminal act.

Attendant circumstances

Additional statutory facts/circumstances required for liability.

Strict liability

Mens rea is not required.

Vicarious liability

Liability through relationship to another person's prohibited conduct.

Homicide

Killing of one human being by another.

Six homicide categories

Justifiable; excusable; murder; voluntary; involuntary; negligent.

Justifiable homicide

Killing authorized or justified by law.

Excusable homicide

Killing excused by circumstances; no criminal culpability.

Historical common-law death

Cessation of breathing and heartbeat.

Delayed death after assault conviction

Later death can create a new homicide offense.

Feticide

Separate offense/statute addressing killing of a fetus.

Common-law murder

Unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.

Malice aforethought

Mental state supporting common-law murder.

Premeditation

Thinking about/planning the killing beforehand.

First-degree murder

Often willful, deliberate, premeditated or statutorily enumerated murder.

Second-degree murder

Murder not meeting the jurisdiction's first-degree requirements.

Depraved-heart murder

Extreme recklessness showing extreme indifference to human life.

Felony murder

Qualifying felony + resulting death may establish murder.

Texas capital murder

Murder plus statutorily specified aggravating circumstances.

Voluntary manslaughter

Intentional killing mitigated by recognized circumstances.

Involuntary manslaughter

Unintentional killing from sufficiently culpable conduct.

Negligent homicide

Unintentional death caused by criminal negligence.

Battery

Unlawful physical contact/use of force against another.

Assault

Attempted battery or apprehension of immediate harmful contact.

Aggravated assault

More serious assault due to injury, weapon, victim, or other factor.

False imprisonment

Unlawful confinement or restraint.

Kidnapping

Unlawful confinement/movement/restraint plus added statutory elements.

Hate/bias crime

Underlying crime committed with statutorily specified bias motivation.