Party Liability
principal |
person who actually commits the actus reus of the crime |
Accomplice |
person who aids or abets the principal prior to or during the crime; must intend to help principal; mere knowledge is insufficient |
Accomplice Liability for Other Crimes |
accomplice is liable for any crimes that are the natural and probable consequence of the accomplice’s conduct |
Withdrawal |
to legally withdraw, an accomplice must repudiate prior act, do all that is possible to countermand prior assistance, and do so before the Chaim of motion is unstoppable |
Accessory after the fact |
person who aids a felon to avoid apprehension after the felony is committed; must know felony was committed |
Responsibility- Insanity
M'Naughten |
The defendant is not guilty if, because of a mental disease or defect, the defendant did not know either (i) the nature and quality of the act, or (ii) the wrongfulness of the act. |
Irresistible Impulse |
The defendant is not guilty if a mental disease or defect prevented him from being able to conform his conduct to the law. |
Durham Rule |
The defendant is not guilty if the crime would not have been committed but for the mental disease or defect. |
Model Penal Code |
The defendant is not guilty if a mental disease or defect either prevents the defendant from knowing the wrongfulness of the conduct or prevents the defendant from being able to conform his conduct to the law |
Responsibility- Intoxication
Voluntary |
is a defense to specific intent crimes if the intoxication prevents the formation of the required intent; not a defense to crimes involving malice, recklessness, or negligence, or for strict-liability crimes |
Involuntary Dissolution |
defense to both general and specific intent crimes, as well as malice crimes when the intoxication serves to negate an element of the crime |
Responsibility- Mistake of Fact
General Intent |
Only reasonable mistake may be used as a defense |
Specific Intent |
Any mistake of fact is a potential defense; even unreasonable mistakes |
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Homicide
Killing a person |
a living person must die |
Causation |
Actual and Proximate Cause (Intervening or Superseding causes) |
Common Law Murder |
the unlawful killing of a human being committed with malice aforethought |
Malice aforethought |
intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life, intent to commit a felony |
Felony Murder |
a defendant can be found guilty for the unintended but foreseeable killing that is proximately caused by or during the commission or attempted commission of an inherently dangerous felony; BARRK |
Defenses to Felony Murder |
death was unforeseeable; point of safety |
Death of a bystander (majority rule) |
defendant will not be liable for the death of a bystander caused by a police officer or as a result of resistance by the victim of the felony because neither person is the felon’s agent. KEY=agency |
Death of a co-felon |
defendant will not be liable for the death of a co-felon if a victim or police officer kills the co-felon |
First Degree Murder |
Premeditated and deliberate |
Premeditated |
defendant had enough time to plan and reflect on the idea of the killing |
Deliberate |
made the decision to kill in a cool and dispassionate manner |
Second Degree Murder |
Homicide with necessary malicious intent (to kill, to do great bodily injury, or depraved heart) |
Voluntary Manslaughter |
murder committed in response to adequate provocation (heat of passion) |
Provocation |
Objective: reasonable person would have been provoked (words not enough). Subjective: defendant actually provoked |
Time to cool off |
Objective: There must not have been sufficient time for an ordinary (reasonable) person to cool off; Subjective: The defendant also must not have actually cooled off. |
Involuntary Manslaughter |
an unintentional homicide committed with criminal negligence or during an unlawful act |
Criminal Negligence |
Grossly negligent action that puts another person at a significant risk of serious bodily injury or death. MPC also requires awareness |
Unlawful Act |
unlawful act that does not rise to felony murder and a death occurs as a result |
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Other Crimes Against the Person
Criminal Battery |
The intentional unlawful application of force to another person that causes bodily harm to that person, or constitutes an offensive touching |
Criminal Assault |
An attempt to commit a battery, or intentionally placing another in apprehension of imminent bodily harm |
Kidnapping |
The unlawful confinement of a person against that person’s will coupled with either movement or concealment of that person |
False Imprisonment |
The unlawful confinement of a person without consent. Other person must be aware of confinement or must be harmed |
Rape |
Unlawful sexual intercourse with a person against his/her will by force or threat of immediate force. |
Crimes Against Property
Larceny |
The trespassory taking and carrying away of the personal property of another, without consent, with the specific intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property at the time of the taking |
Embezzlement |
The fraudulent conversion of the property of another by a person who is in lawful possession of the property |
False Pretenses |
defendant obtains title to the property of another person through reliance of that person on a false representation of material fact made by the defendant with the intent to defraud. Representation must be false and material |
Robbery |
A larceny by force or intimidation when the taking of property is from the victim or in his presence |
Burglary |
he breaking and entering of the dwelling of another at nighttime with the specific intent to commit a felony therein |
Inchoate Crimes
Conspiracy |
An agreement between two or more people to accomplish an unlawful purpose with specific intent to agree and commit the criminal object + an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. NO merger |
Liability for Co-conspirator crimes |
conspirator is liable for the conspiracy and all the crimes of a co-conspirator committed in furtherance of the conspiracy |
Withdrawal (majority rule) |
Attempt |
requires a substantial step toward the commission of a crime coupled with the specific intent to commit the crime. Mere preparation is not enough. MERGES |
Abandonment |
once the defendant has taken a substantial step toward the commission of the offense, the defendant may not legally abandon the attempt to commit the crime |
Solicitation |
Individual invites, requests, or commands another person to commit a crime. MERGES |
Defenses
Self-Defense |
the use of reasonable force to protect oneself at a reasonable time; Deadly force may only be used to protect against the use of deadly force |
Imperfect Self-Defense |
Too much force for the circumstances may mitigate a murder charge down to voluntary manslaughter |
Duress |
third party’s unlawful threat causes a defendant to reasonably believe that the only way to avoid death or serious bodily injury to himself or another is to violate the law, and that causes the defendant to do so |
Duress and Homicide |
duress is not a defense to intentional homicide, but it is available for criminally negligent homicide |
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