Criminal Law Outline
Prof. Williams—Spring 2015
· Some Basics
o Criminal Law: State v. Defendant (no plaintiff)
§ Burden of proof: Beyond a reasonable doubt (highest legal standard)
o Two Sources of Criminal Law
§ Common Law
§ Model Penal Code (MPC)
§ Why do we punish? Retribution theory and Utilitarianism
o Five types of punishment:
§ Incapacitation: rendering harmless to society a person otherwise inclined to crime
§ Retribution (MOST COMMON): Intentional Infliction of pain and suffering on a criminal to the extent he deserves it because he has willingly committed a crime.
§ General deterrence: pressure that the example of one’s criminal’s pain and suffering exerts on potential criminals to not commit the crimes they are contemplating
§ Specific deterrence: pressure that the bad memories of an incarceration keep one from committing crimes again
§ Rehabilitation: skills or values acquired to convert a criminal into a law-abiding citizen
· Elements of a Crime
o 1) Actus Reus
o 2) Mens Rea
o 3) Causation
· Actus Reus Requirements:
o Actus Reus can be satisfied by a Legal Act:
§ Legal act
· Act + Volition = Legal Act
· What is an act—Bodily movement
· What is volitional—conscious choice to move your body
§ Or
§ Omission
· Omission + Duty to Act = Legal Act
· Duty comes from:
o Status of relationship (ex: parent/child)
o Statutory duty (ex: to pay taxes)
o Contractual duty (ex: babysitter)
o Assumption of care (ex: after a rescue)
o Creation of risk (ex: car accident)
o Voluntary/Involuntary
§ Voluntary: A movement controlled by the mind, not just the brain
§ Ex:
· “I raised my arm”
· “My arm came up” (not responsible for involuntary or unconscious movement or movements that is not the product of effort)
§ Watch out for test questions on this issue
§ Ex: D gets in car and drives to corner store and hits V
· Situation 1: D has a sudden onset of seizure = brain (involuntary);
· Situation 2: D has previous history of seizure = mind (voluntary)
§ What is NOT a voluntary act?
· Sleepwalking
· Thoughts
· Seizures (if there is no prior history)
· Spasms
· Reflexes
· A pushes B into C
o Result: No voluntary act for B
o Actus Reus Omissions:
§ General Rule: An individual has NO legal duty to act to prevent harm to another; subject to a few limited exceptions
§ Examples of Actus Reus Omissions:
· 1) Parents have a duty to protect their minor children, and spouses may have a duty to each other (Relationship exception)
· 2) A driver may have a duty to stop and render aid (Statutory Duty Exception)
o Ex. Bad Samaritan Laws
· 3) A babysitter has a duty to protect the children in his/her care and a Dr. has a duty to provide medical care for their patients (Contractual Exception)
· 4) A person who wrongfully harms another’s person or places a person or property in jeopardy of harm has a duty to aid (Creation of Risk Exception)
· 5) A person who voluntarily gives aid to another in harm has a duty to continue to provide aid, at least where an omission would put the person in a worse position if the actor has not initiated help (Assumption of Care Exception)
· Status Crimes
o Cannot be convicted on a status (who you are)
o Conviction must contain an act, and status is NOT an act!!
§ Addicted = status; Using = conduct
· Robinson v. State of California: Criminal penalties may not be inflicted upon a person for being in a condition he is powerless to change
o If homeless, cannot be charged with being drunk in public because you have nowhere to go
· Mens Rea Introduction:
o Mens Rea means “a guilty mind” or culpable mental state. It is generally required for nearly every crime.
o Purpose: Can only deter conduct of those who know they have done wrong
o Common Law Rules v. MPC
o Subjective v. Objective
o Motive is NOT mens rea
· Common Law Mens Rea:
o Specific Intent: Intent to do the crime
o General Intent: Intent to do the act that caused the crime
o Recklessness
o Negligence
o Transferred Intent: Law transfers the actor’s state of mind from the intended victim to the unintended one
o Strict Liability: No mens rea but still have to prove actus reus
· MPC Mens Rea:
o Purposely: “Conscious object”
o Knowi
tes mens rea so the necessary elements of a crime cannot be proven.
§ Different rules for different Mens Reas:
· Specific Intent Crimes: Reasonable OR unreasonable mistake permitted (must be in good faith)
· General Intent Crimes: Reasonable mistake ONLY permitted (must be in good faith)
· MPC: Mistake can negate: Purpose, Knowledge, Reckless
o Negligence CANNOT be negated-RPP Standard
· Strict Liability: No mistake of fact permitted
o Mistakes of Law (i.e. ignorance of the law)
§ Common Law: Mistake of law is not a defense because everyone is presumed to know the law
§ Marrero Exception: Can be a defense only if a public servant (someone charged with interpreting the law) tells you something wrong and you rely on it
· Key: Did Defendant go to whoever’s job it is to enforce the law for advice? Ex: Judge, DA
o If so, Mistake of Law exception will work
§ MPC: No mistake of law
· Causation: The link between the voluntary act and the social harm
o Two types of causation (both must be proved)
§ Actual Cause “but for”
§ Proximate Cause “legal cause” OR “foreseeability”
o Actual Cause (“But For”)
§ There is no criminal liability for social harm caused unless it can be shown that the D’s conduct was cause-in-fact of the prohibited result
§ Question to ask: “But for D’s voluntary acts, would the harm have occurred when it did”?
· No: Actual Cause has been met (move on to Prox. Cause)
· Yes: Actual Cause has not been met and D is free from criminal liability
o i.e. The harm would have occurred anyway
o Proximate Cause (legal cause)
§ The key is “foreseeability” and “remoteness”
§ There are two types of legal cause:
· Direct Cause
· Intervening Cause
o Dependent
o Independent
