Crimes & Mens Rea
What are the four categories of mens rea recognized at common law?
Specific intent, general intent, malice, and strict liability.
What two additional elements distinguish first-degree murder from second-degree murder?
Premeditation and deliberation.
When may voluntary intoxication serve as a defense?
Only to specific intent crimes if it negates the required intent.
What three requirements make a search warrant valid?
Probable cause, particularity, and issuance by a neutral and detached magistrate.
When do Miranda rights attach?
During a custodial interrogation.
What is the difference between larceny by trick and false pretenses?
In larceny by trick, the defendant obtains possession of the property. In false pretenses, the defendant obtains title to the property.
What circumstances reduce an intentional killing from murder to voluntary manslaughter?
The killing occurs in the heat of passion caused by adequate provocation without sufficient time to cool off.
How does a mistake of fact defense differ for specific intent crimes versus general intent crimes?
For specific intent crimes, the mistake may be reasonable or unreasonable. For general intent crimes, the mistake must be reasonable.
What does ASPACE stand for?
Automobile exception, Search incident to arrest, Plain view, Administrative searches, Consent, and Emergency circumstances.
When does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attach?
When formal criminal proceedings have been initiated against the defendant.
What additional element distinguishes robbery from larceny?
The taking must be from the victim's person or presence by force or threat of force.
What are the requirements for felony murder?
The defendant commits or attempts to commit an inherently dangerous felony, and a person other than a co-felon dies during the felony or immediate flight from it.
Why is duress unavailable as a defense to homicide?
Because duress cannot excuse the intentional killing of another person.
What are the limits of a search incident to a lawful arrest?
Police may search the arrestee, the clothing, and the area within the arrestee's immediate control (wingspan).
Under the Blockburger test, when are two offenses considered different for Double Jeopardy purposes?
When each offense requires proof of an element that the other does not.
What must the prosecution prove to establish common law burglary?
A breaking and entering of the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony or larceny at the time of entry.
What are the elements of criminal attempt under the majority (MPC) approach?
The defendant has the specific intent to commit the crime and takes a substantial step strongly corroborative of that criminal purpose.
What are the requirements for self-defense?
The defendant reasonably believed that force was necessary to prevent the imminent use of unlawful force.
What two separate showings are required for a Terry stop and frisk?
Reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot for the stop, and reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous for the frisk.
What two requirements must be satisfied for a valid waiver of Miranda rights?
The waiver must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.
A defendant lawfully possesses another person's property but later fraudulently converts it to his own use. What crime has the defendant committed?
Embezzlement.
Which inchoate crimes merge into the completed offense, and which one does not?
Attempt and solicitation merge into the completed crime. Conspiracy does not merge.
Under the M'Naghten Rule, what must a defendant prove to establish the insanity defense?
That, because of a disease of the mind, the defendant lacked the ability to know the wrongfulness of the act or understand the nature and quality of the act.
List the five major exceptions to the exclusionary rule summarized by the acronym SIICK.
No standing, impeachment, inevitable discovery (or independent source/attenuation), civil proceedings, and knock-and-announce violations.
Compare the Fifth Amendment right to counsel with the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
The Fifth Amendment right arises during custodial interrogation and is not offense-specific. The Sixth Amendment right attaches after formal charges, applies only to charged offenses, and covers all critical stages of the prosecution.