General Elements of Crimes
Public welfare offenses do not require the actor to have mens rea and only require a showing of
actus reus
strict liability offenses
The crime described below is:
the wrongful taking and carrying away of property of another with the intent to permanently deprive
what is theft/larceny
This element is the distinguishing factor in the severity of different homicide crimes
what is mens rea
This element of attempt must strongly corroborate the defendant’s criminal purpose and demonstrate that they have crossed the line of legality.
what is substantial step
Under complicity, an accomplice may be convicted as this.
a principal
when a defendant acts wantonly they act with a
conscious disregard of a known substantial and unjustifiable risk
The crime described below is:
the fraudulent conversion of the property of another by an individual who is already in lawful possession of that property
what is embezzlement
This doctrine allows individuals to be charged with 1st degree murder if a death occurs during the commission of a dangerous felony.
what is felony murder
Solicitation is complete at this moment.
when the request is made
This inchoate crime requires an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime.
what is conspiracy
there are 3 different limitations to prosecutorial discretion. Which limitation prevents prosecutors from punishing a defendant for exercising their legal rights (right to jury trial, denial of a plea deal)
what is vindictive prosecution
other limitations: constitutional constraints and lack of evidence
This defense is available to a defendant if in good faith they believed the property they were taking was rightfully theirs
what is good faith claim of right
The prosecution must only prove this element when a statute includes a specific result (i.e. death)
what is causation
A defendant postpones a robbery until next week. This likely fails abandonment because renunciation is not this.
complete
renunciation must be voluntary (demonstrating a true change of heart not a reaction to fear of getting caught), occur before commission of crime is committed, and not be due to external factors
To be charged as an accomplice, a defendant must intend to
assist the principle and that the underlying crime occur
vagueness may invalidate criminal law because it is
too vague to give notice OR authorizes or encourages discriminatory enforcement
The state of mind of theft crimes
what is specific intent
(intent to commit the act and the intent to permanently deprive the victim of the property)
the common law provocation doctrine allowed a defendant's murder charge to be reduced to manslaughter if they could demonstrate provocation by showing:
1. adequate provocation
2. provocation caused the defendant to kill the victim
3. ?
what is a lack of a cooling off period
killing must have followed the provocation closely enough that the reasonable man would not have "cooled off" or regained his composure and self control
If a defendant solicits another to rob a bank and then successfully robs it, solicitation likely does this.
what is merge into the completed robbery
Attempt merges into completed crime
Solicitation merges into completed crime
Solicitation merges into attempt if crime is attempted
Conspiracy does NOT merge
Buying gloves after agreeing to commit burglary may satisfy this conspiracy requirement.
what is the overt act requirement
This test asks whether each offense requires proof of an element that the other does not in order to determine whether two charges are the same offense for Double Jeopardy purposes.
the blockburger test
The crime described below is:
acquiring the title to the property another by the use of fraud
what is false pretenses
victim consents to give up title of property (ex: using a fake check to buy a car)
This prong of causation asks if the defendant's actions started the physical chain of events and if they were a substantial factor in causing the harm suffered by the victim
what is cause in fact
if defendant had not acted, would the victim still have suffered harm?
A defendant points a gun and pulls the trigger intending to kill, but the gun is unloaded without his knowledge. Name the likely charge and why.
What is attempt, because factual impossibility is no defense when the defendant intended the crime and took a substantial step?
If one conspirator unexpectedly commits a bizarre unrelated arson during a fraud scheme, this element may defeat Pinkerton liability.
What is foreseeability / furtherance of the conspiracy?