crj 222 ch 2

summary

Strict liability offenses, which are based on the presumption that causing harm is in itself blameworthy, represent an exception to general understandings of the nature of crime since they require no accompanying culpable mental state. Strict liability offenses make it a crime simply to do something, even if the offender has no intention of violating the law or causing the resulting harm.

knowing state of mind or behavior

behavior is action undertaken with awareness that the outcome is practically certain. action undertaken with awareness ex. She needed to be taught a lesson for roaming carelessly in the street. If it cost her her life, then so be it.

At the common law, two forms of mens rea were recognized:

general intent specific intent.

jury instructions

jury instructions Directions given by a judge to a jury concerning the law of the case.

reasonable failure to act

may be noncriminal, even when serious harm results. Exceptions exist, such as failure to report child abuse and sexual assault, failing to file tax return, and failing to report a human corpse Hence the captain of a passenger airplane may decide to avoid an emergency landing that would save the life of a heart attack victim if such a landing might endanger the other passengers.

the Model Penal Code (MPC) established a general scheme that outlines four states of mind: also mens rea scheme

purposeful, knowing, reckless, negligent

motive

refers to a person's reason for committing a crime. motive refers to the reason a person chose to act To prove murder at the common law, a defendant's specific intent (or "purpose" under the MPC) to cause the victim's death is required.

inference

A conclusion drawn from other facts. Juries often infer intent from a defendant's behavior. they draw from a person's actions and from all the circumstances surrounding those actions. The deadly weapon doctrine used in murder cases is an example of an inference. proving mens rea or a guilty mind through other facts or actions

transferred intent

A legal construction by which an unintended act that results from intentional action undertaken in the commission of a crime may also be illegal. intent, a defendant's specific intent to cause harm to one person is transferred to the victim on whom the harm actually falls.

criminal negligence

(1) Behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences. (2) Negligence of such a nature and to such a degree that it is punishable as a crime. (3) Flagrant and reckless disregard for the safety of others, or willful indifference to the safety and welfare of others. A person who acts negligently, and thereby endangers others, may be found guilty of a crime when harm occurs, even though no negative consequences were intended and when the risk was not foreseen. No awareness is required to be negligent. ex.I should have been watching the road instead of talking on my cell phone and using my GPS.

elements of crime

(1) The basic components of crime. (2) In a specific crime, the essential features of that crime, as specified by law or statute. and describe the most essential aspects of criminal conduct. all crimes can be said to share certain features, or elements, and the notion of crime itself can be said to rest on such general principles.

conceptual essence of criminality.

(1) causation, (2) a resulting harm (as previously mentioned), (3) the principle of legality, and (4) necessary attendant circumstances.

There are three essential aspects of all crimes:

(1) the criminal act (which, in legal parlance, is termed the actus reus), (2) a culpable mental state (mens rea), (3) a concurrence of the two.

deadly weapon doctrine

A rule that empowers a jury to infer a defendant's specific intent to take the life of the victim when the defendant used an item in such a manner that it is known to be capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. Which in the manner it is used or is intended to be used is known to be capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.

canon of construction

A rule that guides courts in interpreting constitutions, statutes, and other law. used to guide courts in criminal cases.

specific intent

A thoughtful, conscious intention to perform a specific act in order to achieve a particular result. If the defendant intended to cause the outcome of the act, then specific intent exists.

strict liability crime

A violation of law for which one may incur criminal liability without fault or intention. Strict liability offenses do not require mens rea. requires no culpable mental state and presents a significant exception to the principle that all crimes require a conjunction of action and mens rea. Strict liability offenses (also called absolute liability offenses) make it a crime simply to do something, even if the offender has no intention of violating the law or causing the resulting harm.

murder in the first degree

All killing that is perpetrated by any kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing, with express malice aforethought, is murder of the first degree. . . . Murder is classified into two degrees and if you should find the defendant guilty of murder, you must determine and state in your verdict, whether you find the murder to be of the first or second degree. . . .

actus reus

An act in violation of the law; a guilty act. Generally, a person must commit some act before being subject to criminal sanctions, and a necessary first feature of most crimes is some act in violation of the law. a necessary first feature of most crimes is some act in violation of the law also called actus reus "'Act' means a bodily movement."

reckless behavior or state of mind (also recklessness)

An activity that increases the risk of harm. behavior that consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur. ex.Maybe if I hadn't been going 20 mph over the speed limit, I would have seen the stop sign.

omission to act

An intentional or unintentional failure to act, which may impose criminal liability if a duty to act under the circumstances is specified by law. or a failure to act, however, may be criminal when the person in question is required by law to do something, that is, when the law specifies a duty to act. Classic federal examples of such offenses include the failure to file a tax return or to register for the military draft. An example of a state-imposed duty to act is child-neglect laws,

summary

Degrees of culpability, or types of mensrea, can be distinguished. At the common law, the distinction between specific and general intent was important. Today, the four most commonly specified levels of culpability are purposeful, knowing, reckless, and negligent. It is important to note that mensreais not the same thing as motive. A motive refers to a person's reason for committing a crime. Mensrearefers to the offender's mental state at the time the crime was committed.

intent ex.

For example, suppose a defendant struck a victim in the leg with an axe. The defendant intended to frighten the victim into complying with his request to not trespass on his property. Later, the victim died from a resulting infection. At common law, the defendant committed a general-intent crime. The outcome would have been different if the defendant had hit the victim with the axe with the specific intent of causing her death. If such were the case, then the defendant would be responsible for the specific-intent crime of murder.

notes on concurrence

Hence, as discussed in this chapter, the essence of criminal conduct consists of a concurrence of a criminal act with a culpable mental state. The critical issue of concurrence is what distinguishes murder from homicide committed in self-defense, for example, or rape from consensual sex. Some legal scholars add the concept of harm, or a harmful result, to the list of elements that conceptually constitute the essence of crime. We do not do so here, however, because—as we shall later see—some crimes do not involve a clear-cut harm, whereas others can be effectively committed before actual harm occurs.

conduct

In the criminal law, behavior and its accompanying mental state. more than mere behavior or action. encompasses both the behavior and the mental state that were present at the time of the behavior.

scienter

Knowledge; guilty knowledge. A specific form of mens rea is known as scienter. Scienter refers to a defendant's "guilty knowledge," whereas mens rea refers to a defendant's "guilty intent." To prove scienter, the prosecution must establish that a defendant knew a particular fact when the act occurred Scienter is also required in the crime of receiving stolen property. If the receiving party doesn't know the property's stolen character, the crime has not been committed. In some cases actual knowledge is not required to prove scienter.

strict liability

Liability without fault or intention. Is based philosophically on the presumption that causing harm is in itself blameworthy, regardless of the actor's intent. Routine traffic offenses are generally considered strict liability offenses that do not require intent and may even be committed by drivers who are not consciously aware of what they are doing. Statutory rape provides another example of the concept of strict liability.

murder in the second degree

Murder of the second degree is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought, where there is manifested an intention unlawfully to kill a human being, but the evidence is insufficient to establish deliberation and premeditation.

actual possession

Possession in which one has direct physical control over the object or objects in question. Both knowing possession and mere possession constitute actual possession

mere possession

Possession in which one may or may not be aware of what he or she possesses.Someone who merely transports something for another, on the other hand, may be unaware of what he or she possesses. Similarly, a person on whom drugs are "planted," and who remains unaware of their presence, cannot be found guilty of drug possession.

knowing possession

Possession with awareness of what one possesses. A person who knowingly possesses something is well aware of what he or she has and has probably taken steps to obtain it.

purposeful behavior or state of mind

Purposeful is the MPC equivalent of specific intent at the common law; hence it refers to a desire to cause the outcome that resulted. ex. I'm glad I killed her the first time so I didn't have to go back and finish the job.

constructive possession

The ability to exercise control over property or objects, even though they are not in one's physical custody. at a given time, a person may not have actual physical custody of the material in question, but he or she is still able to control or influence it.

summary

The concurrence of an unlawful act and a culpable mental state provides the third fundamental aspect of crime. Concurrence requires that the act and the mental state occur together in order for a crime to take place.

criminal liability

The degree of blameworthiness assigned to a defendant by a criminal court and the concomitant extent to which the defendant is subject to penalties prescribed by the criminal law To convict a defendant of a particular crime, prosecutors must prove to a judge or jury that all the statutory elements are present. If even one element of an offense cannot be established beyond a reasonable doubt, criminal liability has not been demonstrated, and the defendant will be found not guilty.

general intent

The form of intent that can be assumed from the defendant's behavior. General intent refers to an actor's physical conduct. If the defendant intended to act but did not intend the consequence, then general intent is present.

summary

The legal essence of crime consists of three essential elements: actusreus(an act in violation of the law), mensrea(a guilty mind), and the concurrence of the two. Some scholars suggest that another four elements are also inherent in the concept of crime: causation, a resulting harm, the principle of legality, and necessary attendant circumstances.

legislative history

The record of debates, committee reports and meetings, legislators' statements, and other evidence of what the legislature intended when it enacted a particular statute.

concurrence

The simultaneous coexistence of (1) an act in violation of the law and (2) a culpable mental state. Concurrence requires that the act and the mental state occur together in order for a crime to take place. The concurrence of an unlawful act and a culpable mental state provides the third fundamental aspect of crime. Mens rea must precede, if only by a moment, and concur with the actusreus.

mens rea

The specific mental state of the defendant at the time of the crime; a guilty mind. the second general element of crime. Mensreaconcerns a person's statement of mind in regards to the criminal act The importance of mensreaas a component of crime cannot be overemphasized, which can be seen in the fact that some courts have held that "[a]llcrime exists primarily in the mind."

summary

To be something is not a crime, but to do something may be. For purposes of the criminal law, the word act means a performance, a deed, or a movement, as distinguished from remaining at rest.

possession

an act if the item was knowingly received or was within the control of the individual for a period long enough to terminate possession.

Mens rea v. Motive

•For example, whether or not a person intended to cause the death of her victim is a mensreaquestion. The reason she may have wanted her victim to die (e.g., to collect on a life insurance policy) is a motive. •As a matter of law, mensreamust be proven for a conviction. Motive does not have to be proven. •As a practical matter, a prosecutor may need to prove motive to a jury to obtain a conviction.