Criminal Law

Mistake of fact is a defense for what crimes?

Reasonable mistake of fact - general intent or malice crimes

Unreasonable mistake of fact - specific intent crimes (reasonable mistake and diminished capacity also defenses)

Strict liability - mistake of fact never a defense (since they are no intent crimes)

Accomplices are liable for:

1. originally intended crime, and/or
2. all other foreseeable crimes committed by the principals

To be guilty as an accomplice, you must:

actually do something with the intent to assist in the crime. silent approval will not be enough (words of encouragement are enough)

3 Inchoate offenses (ASC)

1. Attempt
2. Solicitation - Asking someone to commit a crime (complete when ASKED; if other agrees, becomes conspiracy)

3. Conspiracy - Agreement b/w two parties with the intent to pursue an illegal activity, with some act in furtherance of that activity (minority/common law: no overt act required, just agreement)

Conspirators are liable for:

all reasonably foreseeable crimes committed by their co-conspirators

to withdraw from a conspiracy, one must:

inform all co-conspirators of his intent to withdraw, while there is still time for the other co-conspirators to abandon their criminal plans.

NOTE: will still be liable for the conspiracy itself, and for all foreseeable crimes already happened

Requirements for Attempt:

1. a specific intent to commit the target offense, and

2. a "substantial step" taken towards the completion of that offense

Do i) attempts, and ii) conspiracy merge into the target offense?

i) attempts merge when the offense is complete;

ii) conspiracy never merges

Name the 8 defenses (III San Diego Chargers Eat Men):

1. Insanity
2. Intoxication
3. Infancy
4. Self-Defense (&others & dwelling)
5. Duress
6. Consent
7. Entrapment
8. Mistake of fact (specific intent - any; general intent - reasonable mistake only; strict liability - Never)

4 Insanity tests

Insanity is defense to ALL crimes

1. M'Naghten Test (right/wrong): Lack ability to know wrongfulness of actions at time of conduct

2. Irresistible impulse: lack capacity for self-control and free choice (volitional test)

3. Durham rule: conduct a product of a mental illness

4. MPC: D lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law as a result of a mental disease or defect

Voluntary and involuntary intoxication are defenses for what?

1. Voluntary (knowingly and voluntarily ingested): specific intent but not general intent

2. Involuntary (not knowingly and voluntarily): defense to ALL crimes, including strict liability crimes

When can an initial aggressor use self defense?

If he retreats and states that he is done, but the initial victim continues to attack

What are the majority and minority rules for self defense?

majority: use of deadly force is ok any time V reasonably believes deadly force is about to be used on him

minority: V must attempt to retreat if it is safe to do so (except in home, for police, or in violent felony (rape or robbery))

Defense of others and Alter-ego rule

Majority: reasonable mistake of fact is a defense (as in self-defense)

Minority/Alter-ego: no legal rights greater than whom you are aiding. if they have no right to defend, neither do you

Duress available for what crimes?

All except homicide. Duress is NEVER a defense to commit a homicide.

Entrapment defense limitation

D can't argue defense of entrapment if he is predisposed to commit the crime in the first place

What are the common law crimes (get BAHK!)

1. Battery
2. Assault
3. Homicide (inc. murder w/ malice aforethought), Manslaughter (inc. vol and invol), and 1st degree)
5. Kidnapping

What are the two types of Assault?

1. Attempted battery (specific intent)

2. Threat (general intent)

What is malice aforethought in Murder?

One of the 4 intents that make a homicide a murder:

1. Intent to kill
2. Intent to do seriously bodily harm
3. Depraved heart (intentional performance of an act w/ subjective knowledge of a substantial likelihood of death or great injury AKA gross recklessness)
4. Felony murder

What are the 5 defenses to felony murder?

1. Defense to underlying felony is a defense to felony murder
2. Felony must be separate from the homicide itself
3. Deaths must be foreseeable
4. Def reaches point of apparent safety (original felony ended)
5. Not liable for death of co-felon, but still liable for death of innocent 3rd party

When is murder instead a voluntary manslaughter, and what are the requirements for the downgrade?

1. When it is "mitigated" by provocation (i.e., killing from passion)

Requires:
1. V actually provoked
2. RP would have been provoked
3. Def had not yet cooled
4. A RP would not have yet cooled

NOTE: minority will allow an "imperfect self defense" where Def unreasonably believed he needed to kill in self defense. Since it was an unreasonable mistake, he still gets mansl, but not murder.

Note 2: minority will also allow diminished capacity to downgrade murder to v. mansl

When is murder instead an involuntary manslaughter?

1. Result of on unintentional homicide

- criminal negligence, were someone dies bc you were negligent (not gross, which is depraved heart)

- Misdemeanor mansl: someone dies during commission of a misdemeanor

Is misdemeanor manslaughter a misdemeanor or felony?

It is a FELONY

What are the sex offenses?

1. Rape (general intent)
2. Statutory rape (strict liability)

What are the defenses to statutory rape?

Um, none. it is strict liability

1. Consent NOT a defense
2. Mistake of fact (her age) NOT a defense

Is a reasonable mistake of fact a defense to Specific Intent crimes? General Intent?

how about an unreasonable mistake of fact?

Reasonable mistake of fact: defense to both general AND specific intent crimes

Unreasonable mistake of fact: defense to specific intent crime only

What are the 6 property crimes (FEELR B!)

1. False pretenses
2. Embezzlement
3. Extortion
4. Larceny
5. Robbery
6. Burglary

F - False pretenses. What is it?

Specific intent to trick (lying) someone into conveying title to property to you via a present or past fact.

-via an act in the future will not trigger

E - Embezzlement. What is it?

Specific intent to convert property from LAWFUL possession

- no carrying away necessary
- once title passes, can't be embezzlement (or larceny)

E - Extortion. What is it?

Blackmail. Malicious threat to do something, even legal

How is extortion different from robbery?

1. Don't have to take anything
2. Threats can be of future harm, not just imminent
3. Harm does not have to be to a person
4. Threat does not have to be physical

L - Larceny. What is it?

Wrongfully taking and carrying away another's personal property by trespass + intent to permanently deprive

TRICK: if you intend to return the item or you believe that it is yours, then it is not larceny bc the requisite intent is not there

R - Robbery. What is it?

Larceny + Assault

Elements of larceny + taking in the presence of the person by physical harm or threat of imminent harm (by force)

- V must know about the threat
- Threat must be imminent and to a human. Otherwise it is extortion if to an animal or in the future

What are the 2 crimes against the habitation?

1. Arson
2. Burglary

What is arson?

Malicious burning of the dwelling house of another

Burning: majority: charring. Minority: blackening. Damage from water or smoke is not sufficient

Dwelling house: common law requirement, but any structure is ok

Anyone's house is sufficient, but at common law, had to be another's house

What is Burglary?

Specific intent crime

Specific intent to Break & Enter a dwelling house at night with the intent to commit a felony or theft inside (at time of B&E, not once inside)

What are the 10 specific intent crimes (intent not inferred from the crime)? "SACA 6 property crimes (FEELR B!)"

1. Burglary
2. Assault (attempted battery)
3. Forgery
4. Conspiracy
5. Attempt
6. Larceny
7. False pretenses
8. Embezzlement
9. Robbery
10. Solicitation

and 1st degree murder

What are the two Malice crimes?

1. Murder (malice aforethought)
2. Arson

Solicitation is:

Specific intent to ask a person to commit a crime

What is conspiracy?

Specific intent to agree and to pursue an unlawful objective, with an overt act (majority only)

Specific intent crimes:

1. 1st degree murder
2. Solicitation
3. Attempt
4. Conspiracy
5. Assault (attempted battery)
6. 6 property crimes
-False pretenses
-Extortion
-Embezzlement
-larceny
-robbery
-burglary