CRIMINAL LAW OUTLINE
I. PRINCIPLES OF PUNISHMENT.. 3
A. Utilitarianism.. 3
B. Retributivism.. 3
People v. Du. 4
II. CHRONOLOGY OF A CRIME. 4
III. ACTUS REUS.. 5
State v. Utter. 5
People v. Desina. 5
Barber v. Superior Court 6
IV. MENS REA.. 6
i. Intentionally.. 7
ii. Knowingly or “with knowledge”. 7
State v. Nations. 7
iii. Willful. 8
iv. Negligence. 8
v. Malice. 9
Regina v. Cunningham.. 9
V. Culpability, Specific and General Intent.. 9
A. MPC Levels of Culpability (§ 2.02) 9
B. General Intent. 10
C. Specific Intent. 10
VI. STRICT LIABILITY.. 10
VII. CAUSATION.. 11
B. Actual Cause. 12
Oxendine v. State. 12
C. Proximate/Legal Cause. 13
Kibbe v. Henderson. 14
LaFave/Scott Analysis for determining intervening act causation: 15
3. Trump Cards. 15
VIII. HOMICIDE – INTENTIONAL KILLINGS.. 16
ii. 1st degree murder (murder 1) 17
Midgett v. State. 18
State v. Forrest 18
iii. 2nd degree murder (murder 2) 18
iv. Manslaughter.. 18
v. Depraved-heart murder.. 20
vi. Felony Murder.. 20
State v. Sophophone. 22
Quick Chart.. 22
IX. RAPE. 25
State v. Alston. 25
Rusk v. State. 26
Commonwealth v. Berkowitz. 26
State of NJ in the Interest of M.T.S. 27
X. DEFENSES.. 29
XI. JUSTIFICATIONS.. 29
B. Self-defense. 31
United States v. Peterson. 32
People v. Goetz. 33
State v. Wanrow.. 34
State v. Norman. 35
x. Defense of Others. 37
People v. Kurr. 37
xi. Defense of Property and Habitation.. 37
People v. Ceballos. 39
xii. Necessity.. 40
xiii. Law Enforcement. 40
Tennessee v. Garner. 40
xiv. Justification v. Excuse. 41
XII. Excuses.. 41
iii. Duress. 42
United States v. Contento-Pachon. 43
People v. Anderson. 44
People v. Unger. 44
b. Mistake of Fact. 45
c. Mistake of Law… 45
d. Intoxication.. 46
Commonwealth v. Graves. 46
Powell v. Texas. 47
e. Insanity.. 47
State v.
e. where it promises to exclude some greater evil.
ii. Reasons for punishment:
1. General deterrence – people won’t want to commit crimes for fear of punishment
2. Individual deterrence – the actual criminal in the individual case won’t commit more crime after being punished
3. Incapacitation – while the criminal is being punished, he can’t commit more crimes
4. Reform – the criminal will mend his ways as a result of being punished and realize that his crimes are wrong and shouldn’t be repeated
5. Norm reinforcement – punishment as a clear indication from society that crime is not acceptable and has negative consequences for the criminal
6. Prevention of individual retribution – if there’s a system of punishment in place, people won’t take justice into their own hands
