Criminal Law Outline
I. What is Criminal Law
a. Definition of Crime
1. Offense by someone against the state
1. Shocks conscious
2. Right to security
3. Infringing others rights
2. Substantial harm or risk of harm
3. Culpable state of mind
4. Interest in individual autonomy
5. Basic values/Morality
6. (Crime – what the legislature says it is subject to constitutional constraints)
1. Is is blameworthy enough?
b. Differences between civil and criminal lawsuits
1. Who brings the lawsuit (state v. injured)
2. Standard of proof
a. Preponderance of evidence v. Beyond a reasonable doubt
3. Constitutional Rights
4. Stigma – conviction holds much greater stigma than being liable
c. Purposes of Criminal Justice System
1. Retribution (penalty to punish D for crime)
a. Crime is a violation of the state
b. Focus on establishing blame on guilt/past
c. Adversarial relationship and process normative
d. Imposition of pain to punish and deter/prevent
2. Incapacitation (while in jail, can’t commit another crime on public)
3. Deterrence
a. Specific – penalty imposed on D so in future, they’ll be reluctant to commit in future
b. General – punish bc want to deter OTHERS from same crime
4. Rehabilitation (receive treatment so will not repeat in the future bc they know the crime is wrong)
2. Restorative Justice
1. Structure so criminal will give back to community to redress the harm caused by his criminal conduct
2. Victim Offender Mediation Programs
3. Focus on Problem Solving, liabilities and obligations on future (what should be done)
4. Restoring both parties’ goal of reconciliation/restoration
II. Actus Reas
a. Act Requirement (external manifestation of will)
1. Act required to commit crime
2. Must be voluntary
3. MPC S. 2.01
1. Not guilty unless voluntary act or omission to perform act he was physically capable of
2. Not voluntary:
a. Reflex/convulsion
b. Bodily movement during unconsciousness/sleep
c. Hypnosis
d. Movement not product of effort/determination of the actor – conscious/habitual
3. Not liable for omission of action unless:
a. The omission is expressly made sufficient by the law defining the offense, or
b. A duty to perform the omitted act is otherwise imposed by law
b. Court Cases
1. Sleepwalker guy – killed mother in law, not guilty because did not act voluntarily
2. Epilepsy guy– voluntary act began when he went behind the wheel, knowing he endangered others (there can be criminal culpablility if someone starts or continues an activity knowing she may become unconscious and engage in criminal behavior
3. Jones v. US – was there sufficient evidence of conviction – did she feed the baby?
4. Queen v. Dudley (Cannibalism)
5. State v. Stark (knowingly transferred HIV)
6. Johnson v. State (Coke through umbilical cord)
7. People v. James (prostitution of 2 college girls)
III. Mens Rea – state of mind, acted intentionally, unless you have a guilty state of mind, conduct isn’t blameworthy enough to call someone a criminal
a. MPC S.2.02
1. Purpose – purposely causing a certain result, D wants to cause the result; Aware of the exisistence of circumstances or believes/hopes they exist
1. Most culpable
2. Knowledge – act knowingly to cause a certain result, D is aware or practically certain that the result of his conduct will cause such a result
1. Knowledge can occur when the person is aware of a high probability of fact existing – putting into defense bc of the Ostrich defense (take a suitcase of drugs to Champaign)
3. Reckless – to act recklessly, there are two requirements:
1. D must have acted with conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk
2. Disregard of the risk reflects a gross deviation of the standard of conduct of law abiding people
4. Negligence – D should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of causing a certain result
1. Failure to recognize and avert the risk constit
ef, recklessness or negligence required to establish a material element of the offense
1. Crimes require purpose or knowledge – honest mistake of fact is a defense, even if the mistake was reckless
2. Crimes require recklessness, a mistake of fact is a defense as long as it was not reckless
3. Crimes require negligence – mistake of fact is a defense as long as the mistake was not negligent (must be a reasonable mistake)
d. General/Specific Intent
1. General Intent – Only a reasonable mistake can be a defense
2. Specific Intent – Reasonable or unreasonable mistake can be a defense
a. Pick up pink umbrella
b. Not only must D intend to commit the act, there must be extra state of mind
i. 1st degree murder, solicitation, attempt, conspiracy, larceny, robbery, burglary, false pretenses, embezzlement
e. MPC – voluntary intoxication is defense to crimes whose mens rea requirement is purpose or knowledge
Ex – Drunk, did not enter home with the intent to commit a crime – just went to the wrong home, not burglary
– voluntary intox is not a defense to crimes of recklessness if a sober person would have been aware of the risk
– Reckless discharge of a firearm (drunk and shoot someone) – yes guilty – in the act of consuming alcohol, we are being reckless bc we know it will impair our thought process
– Not a defense to general intent crimes (Battery – crimes committed so often while drunk)
– Defense to specific intent crimes because don’t meet mens rea requirement
f. Involuntary Intoxication
Two ways may lead to avoidance of criminal liability
1. Mens rea is not present
