Definitions
Liability without any culpable mental state with respect to any objective element.
Pure Strict Liability
Past voluntary wrongful or potentially harmful conduct specified in advance by statute or case law
Actus Reus
Highest level of culpability, according to the MPC.
Negligence
What does MPC stand for?
Model Penal Code
The power and intention to exercise control, or dominion and control, over an object not in one's actual possession.
Constructive possession.
Robinson v. California found a statute unconstitutional because it criminalized this instead of actual misconduct.
Status
This type of crime has no mens rea requirement.
Strict Liability
Categories of Culpability
1. Purposely
2. ----------
3. Recklessly
4. Negligently
Knowingly
A crime created and enforced in the absence of a statute defining the offense.
Common Law Crime
One of the following plus what implies a crime by omission when the scenario might not otherwise constitute a crime.
Statute, Contract, status relationship, voluntary assumption of care, and in some state the creation of the peril.
Duty.
There are four categories of mens rea at common law:
1. --------
2. Malice
3. General Intent
4. Strict Liability
Specific Intent
Three categories of criminal offense
1. Conduct
2. -------
3. Attendant circumstances
Result
an element that does not relate exclusively to the statute of limitations, jurisdiction, venue, or any other matter similarly unconnected with (I) the harm of evil sought to be prevented by the law or (ii) the existence of a justification or excuse for such conduct
There are two main reasons for specificity of a criminal act (i.e. past wrongful conduct specified in advance by statute or case law).
1. Fair Notice
2. ------------
Potential for arbitrary enforcement.
According to Elonis v. US, we must read into federal criminal statutes to determine whether mens rea separates wrongful conduct from this.
Innocent conduct
Under the MPC, strict liability is allowed for this type of offense only hence why there can be no jail time for SL in an MPC state.
If a material element involves attendant circumstances, and a person is aware of the existence of such circumstances or believes or hopes that they exist, the person acts ...
Purposely
Both sides of the spectrum came together on this case because it was a wildly ineffective way to deal with a drug crisis.
Johnson v. State
According to People v. Ryan, if a single mens rea is provided, it applies to all elements of the offense unless ____ indicates otherwise.
Legislation
The People v. Ryan court use this type of culpability to resolve the ambiguity of the term "knowingly" by using MPC rules 2.02(1) and 2.02(4) stating that a person must be guilty under each material element of the offense. It was also used in State v. Lima
Default culpability or recklessness