Criminal Law Ch 2

The minimum term of imprisonment for a felony conviction in Texas is:

180 days

In Texas, the penalty category with the most serious punishment is called a:

capital felony

Which of the following criminal offenses is specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution?

counterfitting

A special form of conspiracy statute found in federal law is known by the acronym RICO. The letters RICO stand for:

Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations.

A soldier who kills an enemy soldier during time of war is immune from being convicted of murder because of the:

public duty defense

The most common attendant circumstance that determines whether behavior is an offense is:

the location of the offense

An accused may be held criminally responsible even if his victim's resultant injuries are more serious than the accused intended.

true

Behavior may or may not constitute a crime depending solely on the location where it occurs.

true

Some conduct may constitute a crime only when it occurs at a particular time of day.

true

The most common form of conduct subject to criminal liability is an affirmative act by the offender.

true

Under Texas law, a person convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor may be sentenced to either jail time or a monetary fine or both penalties.

true

Roger is late for work. As he approaches an intersection in his car he observes that the traffic signal is red. Not seeing any other cars, Roger decides to proceed through the intersection without stopping. As he enters the intersection, Terry, riding a motorcycle, comes over the hill into the intersection and strikes the side of Roger's automobile. Terry is thrown from the motorcycle and seriously injured. Under these facts it would be accurate to say that Roger:

was acting recklessly when he ran the red signal

Assume Adam purposefully fires a pistol at Baker. The bullet misses Baker but strikes and kills Charlie, an innocent bystander. At his trial for murdering Charlie, Adam argues that he is not guilty because he did not intend to shoot Charlie; he was trying to kill Baker. Which of the following is the most likely outcome of this situation?

Adam will be found guilty of murdering Charlie due to application of the doctrine of transferred intent.

George learns that Randy has been secretly having sexual relations with his wife Kate. George grabs his pistol, gets in his car, and drives to Randy's house intending to shoot Randy. Randy, who is sitting on his front porch, sees George exit his car with pistol in hand. Fearing the worst, Randy jumps off the porch in an effort to escape. However, Randy hits the ground awkwardly and breaks his ankle. Meanwhile, George, seeing Randy writhing in pain, changes his mind and returns home. In this instance:

George is not criminally responsible for Randy's injury because an intervening cause (jumping from the porch), not George's conduct, produced the injury.

Federal criminal statutes are located in Title 18 of the:

US code

The federal statute that makes state law applicable on federal lands in circumstances where the act or omission has not been declared a federal crime is known as the:

assimilative crimes act

Texas law uses the "when and where" test of causation in criminal prosecutions.

false

The term actus reus is related to conduct as the term mens rea is related to:

culpable mental state

The culpable mental state known as criminal negligence is identical to the standard used for proving negligence in a civil lawsuit.

false

Ignorance of the existence of a law is NOT a legal defense for violating the law:

ever

Under Texas law, defenses take a variety of forms. A type of defense that the prosecutor must disprove in establishing the elements of the crime is known as an:

exception

"Transferred intent" is a necessary element of proof in every criminal homicide prosecution.

false

An affirmative defense in a criminal trial arises when the prosecutor affirms the facts as presented by the defendant.

false

If an offender is aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a result will occur, the offender has acted with the culpable mental state of:

recklessness

In asserting the defense of self-defense, which of the following is a key element in establishing the lawfulness of the use of force?

the person defending themselves was attempting to repel the other party's unlawful use of force

"Concurrence" is the legal term used to describe the necessary time-based linkage of the mens rea and the actus reus of a crime.

true

A criminal defendant convicted of a Class A misdemeanor could receive a longer sentence of incarceration than she would have received if convicted of a state jail felony.

true

All federal criminal statutes must be related to a power of Congress specified in the U.S. Constitution.

true

American criminal law punishes only voluntary conduct.

true

An accused is criminally responsible if the harmful result would not have occurred but for his conduct.

true