Criminal Law Multiple Choice Questions

A woman possessed a gun that had been modified to allow it to fire automatically. A federal law required gun owners to register such automatic weapons, but the woman failed to do so. The registration law did not specify a mens rea. Assuming strict liability is not applicable, which of the following would a federal prosecutor most likely need to prove to satisfy the mens rea requirement for the woman's violation of the law? A) That the woman knew that the gun was modified to fire automatically. B) That the woman was reckless in not knowing that the gun was modified to fire automatically. C) That the woman was negligent in not knowing that the gun was modified to fire automatically. Incorrect12% of students answered D) That the woman was malicious in not knowing that the gun was modified to fire automatically.

A) That the woman knew that the gun was modified to fire automatically.

A defendant challenged her criminal charges on the basis that she did not commit an actus reus. Which of the following facts, if true, would most support the defendant's claim? A) The defendant's conduct was not prohibited by statute. B) The defendant was intoxicated at the time of the alleged act. C) The defendant's alleged act was not intentional. D) The defendant was pressured to perform the alleged act.

A) The defendant's conduct was not prohibited by statute.

A woman was home one evening when a man rang her doorbell. When she opened the door, the man opened a briefcase filled with jewelry. The man said that he was selling the jewelry at a big discount. The woman selected a diamond ring from the case and paid the man $100. The woman was subsequently charged with possession of stolen goods under a statute that makes it a crime to knowingly purchase, obtain, receive, or possess any property that a person knows, or should know, is stolen, intending to keep it from its owner. Which of the following, if true, would be LEAST helpful to the woman's defense on the element of mens rea? A) The man was known around the neighborhood to be a troublemaker. B) The man was known around the neighborhood for his good character. C) The man's wife had recently died, and the woman knew that the wife had had a large jewelry collection. D) The man had told the woman that he was a traveling jewelry salesman.

A) The man was known around the neighborhood to be a troublemaker.

Two teens were throwing large rocks from a highway overpass onto the cars driving beneath it. The teens were trying to hit and kill the driver of a Volkswagen Beetle. One of the rocks thrown by the teens shattered the windshield of a Ford Focus, causing the driver to lose control of her car and and crash into the guardrail. The driver was killed in the accident. The teens were charged with murder under a state statute that defined the crime as the purposeful or knowing unlawful killing of a living person. The teens' defense was that because they did not intend to kill the driver of the Ford Focus, they did not have the required mens rea to be convicted of murder. Which of the following grounds would support a finding that the teens had the required mens rea to be convicted of murder? A) The teens acted with transferred intent. B) The teens acted without mistake of fact. C) The teens acted with purpose. D) The teens acted with motive.

A) The teens acted with transferred intent.

A state statute provided that "it shall be unlawful for any person to sell fortified wine, spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages to anyone less than 21 years old." What is the mens rea for the offense? A) There is no mens rea. B) Purposeful. C) Knowing D) Reckless.

A) There is no mens rea.

A woman was riding the bus with a duffle bag when she was approached by a police officer. The officer asked to search the bag, and the woman gave her consent. The officer found heroin in the bag and arrested the woman for possession. Which of the following, if true, would be most helpful to the woman's defense in defeating the element of actus reus? A) The state has a Good Samaritan statute, and another passenger on the bus saw the heroin in the bag. B) Another bus passenger saw the officer board the bus and slip the heroin into the woman's bag. C) The woman forgot to take the heroin out of her bag before leaving her house. D) When the officer approached the woman, the bag was at the woman's feet, not in her hands.

B) Another bus passenger saw the officer board the bus and slip the heroin into the woman's bag.

A woman agreed to let her friend store his duffle bag at her apartment for a few days. Because the woman knew her friend grew and sold marijuana to make extra money, she suspected, but did not confirm, that the duffle bag contained marijuana. The duffle bag did, in fact, contain marijuana and the woman was charged with its possession. Under the Model Penal Code (MPC), what, if any, was the woman's mens rea with respect to her marijuana possession? A) Purposeful B) Knowing C) Purposeful and knowing D) Because the woman did not confirm the presence of the marijuana, the woman had no mens rea with respect to her marijuana possession.

B) Knowing

A federal statute provided that it was unlawful to cause the death of another person on federal property. The statute did not specify a mens rea. What is the result of the statute's failure to specify a mens rea for the crime? A) The mens rea will be deemed to be purposeful. B) The mens rea will be deemed to be knowing. C) The mens rea will be deemed to be reckless. D) The statute is invalid.

B) The mens rea will be deemed to be knowing.

A state statute prohibited "knowingly offering for sale as 'ice cream' any product containing less than 10 percent milk fat." In a Model Penal Code (MPC) jurisdiction, to what material elements of the statute does the term "knowingly" apply? A) It applies only to the element "offering for sale." B) It applies only to the element "containing less than 10 percent milk fat." C) It applies to both the elements of "offering for sale" and "containing less than 10 percent milk fat." D) It cannot be determined to which element the term "knowingly" applies without reference to the statute's legislative history.

C) It applies to both the elements of "offering for sale" and "containing less than 10 percent milk fat."

A defendant was charged with possession of stolen credit cards. The defendant moved to dismiss the charge on the ground that a possession charge fails to allege a required culpable act. Should the court dismiss the charge? A) Yes, because possession is a state of being, not an act. B) Yes, because crimes require voluntary physical behavior C) No, because knowing possession is a voluntary physical act. D) No, because not all crimes require a culpable act.

C) No, because knowing possession is a voluntary physical act.

A visitor to a secluded, outdoor shooting range was shooting targets at the rifle range. One of the visitor's rounds missed the target, and struck and killed a trespasser who was hidden in the nearby woods. Did the visitor act purposefully, as defined by the Model Penal Code (MPC)? A) Yes, because the visitor consciously desired to discharge the rifle. B) Yes, because the visitor's intent to shoot the target was transferred to the trespasser. C) No, because the visitor did not consciously desire to kill the trespasser. D) No, because the visitor did not have a motive to kill the trespasser.

C) No, because the visitor did not consciously desire to kill the trespasser.

An investigation found that many packages of a particular brand of chocolate chip cookies were contaminated with a dangerous chemical. The manufacturer of the cookies was prosecuted for violation of a federal regulation prohibiting "the introduction into interstate commerce of any food that is adulterated or contaminated." The applicable federal statute states that violation of this regulation may be prosecuted as a strict liability misdemeanor. Which of the following is most likely to be an important issue in the prosecution of the manufacturer? A) Whether the manufacturer acted knowingly. B Whether the manufacturer is located in a state that follows the Model Penal Code. C) Whether the manufacturer introduced the contaminated packages into interstate commerce. D) Whether any consumers were sickened by the chemical.

C) Whether the manufacturer introduced the contaminated packages into interstate commerce.

A motorist witnessed another car strike a pedestrian, knocking her unconscious. The motorist drove away without stopping to assist the pedestrian. Under which of the following circumstances, if any, may the motorist be held criminally liable for failing to assist the pedestrian? A) There are no circumstances under which the motorist may be held criminally liable for failing to assist the pedestrian. B) If the motorist intended the pedestrian to die from her injuries. C) If the motorist knew the pedestrian. D) If a state statute required bystanders to render aid to those in peril.

D) If a state statute required bystanders to render aid to those in peril.

A bomber wishing to kill his neighbor attached an explosive device to the neighbor's car that would detonate when the car's ignition was started. The bomber knew that his neighbor and his neighbor's wife routinely drove the car to work on weekday mornings. As planned, the device detonated when the neighbor started the car's ignition, killing him and his wife. Under the Model Penal Code (MPC), what mens rea did the bomber have? A) Purposeful. B) Knowing. C) Willfully blind. D) Purposeful and knowing.

D) Purposeful and knowing.

An electrical fire broke out in a day-care facility that provided child care for children ages six weeks to three years. Is there any circumstance under which the facility's employees could be found criminally liable for failing to attempt to rescue the children attending day care? A) No, because the failure to act may never support criminal liability. B) No, because the facility's employees did not initially endanger the children. C) Yes, because the children could not rescue themselves. D) Yes, because the facility could be contractually bound to care for the children attending day care.

D) Yes, because the facility could be contractually bound to care for the children attending day care.