To Fight For Your Rights
Criminal Law - Outline Part 1
By Collin B. Hardee
Download the PDF version of this outline
Crime = Actus Reus (Voluntary/Culpable Act OR Omission (Duty + Failure to Act)) + Mental State + Result = Social Harm (Crime) - DefensesActus Reus – voluntary act + social harm, omissions do not usually count
Common Law / NC- Requires voluntary act and a social harm
- Act is voluntary if D willed the action of if she was sufficiently free that she could be blamed for conduct
- Social harm = harm caused by D’s voluntary act
- A willed muscular contraction
- Involuntary Act can negate the act/action and serve as affirmative defense
- 2.01: not guilty of offense unless liability if based on conduct that includes a voluntary act or omission to perform an act which he has duty to perform
- Act or action is a bodily movement whether voluntary or involuntary
- VOLUNTARY:
- Coercion/Duress/Under Threat (will have Defense)
- Habit
- “Brainwashed”
- Demanded by police/authority
- NOT VOLUNTARY:
- Reflex/convulsion/seizure (UNLESS you know you are prone)
- Bodily movement during unconsciousness or sleep (sleepwalking scenarios)
- Conduct during hypnosis
- Bodily movement not a product of effort/determination of the actor
- Cop bringing drunk guy into public
Possession – possession is act IF possessor knowingly obtained/received the thing possessed or was aware of his control of item for a sufficient period to have been able to terminate possession
- Knowingly taking control of something is an ACT
- Failure to terminate is an OMISSION
Actual: only one person has control over item
Constructive:
- Exclusive – lacking actual possession, but aware of item, and have ability and intent to maintain dominion/control over the item; provable by sufficient evidence
- Non-Exclusive – need additional evidence to determine possession
- D’s proximity to contraband
- Did D own/operate location where was found
- Did D have control of item that contraband found in
- D’s had opportunity to place contraband where found
- Did D flee
- Did D engage in suspicious behavior
- Did D engage in drug activity, or high on drugs at the time
- Did D have personal items where contraband found
1. Omission: Legal Duty to act + Failure to Act (Generally, NO DUTY TO ACT unless legal duty)
No crime unless there is a legal duty to act
Types of legal duties:
- Statute – statute requires person to act (filing taxes)
- Status (Relationship) – duty to protect another where special relationship (parent/child; husband/wife; innkeeper/guest; employer/employee; captain/passenger)
- Contract – contract to come to aid of another (baby-sitter)
- Creation of Risk: if you create risk which caused harm, you must act to absolve it
- Assumption of Risk: if you begin to act voluntarily, you must continue acting (saving drowning child)
NOTE: for OMISSION to result in criminal liability, it must be proved that:
- Conduct of accused in failing to act was accompanied by requisite mens rea
- Accused was aware of facts giving rise to duty to act
- Accused owed legal duty to victim
- Causal relationship between omission and the result
- Performing the duty was possible
Status
- Criminal law cannot punish a person’s status – 8th Amendment bands cruel and unusual punishment and 14th guarantees due process under the law
- Can’t be punished for being an addict or alcoholic
- Status does not count as act or omission
Mens Rea = “an evil mind” - prosecution most prove a culpable mental state for each material element of offense
C/LSpecific Intent (usually fall into 3 categories)
- Requires an intention to perform an act above the “actus reus” of the offense (burglary)
- Requires intent to commit crime for particular purpose or a specific motive (larceny)
- Provides that actor must be aware of a statutory attendant circumstance (knowingly possessing stolen goods)
- Acts in addition to general intent
General Intent
- Only mens rea required is a blameworthy state of mind
- Volitional doing of a prohibited act
- Can infer all mens rea from observing the conduct
Strict Liability
No mental state required. If you commit the act, you’re guilty
- Intentionally (Willfully) – consciously cause result or virtually certain that object will occur as result of conduct
- Willful Blindness – be aware of probably existence
- Recklessness – heightened criminal negligence / conscious disregard of substantial and unjustifiable risk
- Negligence – SHOULD be aware that conduct created substantial and unjustifiable risk that result would occur
- Maliciously – intentionally or gross recklessly causes social harm prohibited in statute
I’m Running Naked Man
NC- Knowingly
- Willfully
- Intentionally
- Wantonly
- Maliciously
- Negligently
- Purposely – conscious objective to engage in conduct w/ intent to cause the result; aware of existence or believe/hope attendant circumstances exist
- Knowingly (Willfully) – awareness that conducts results are practically certain to occur
- Willful Blindness – if one deliberately avoids knowledge b/c of belief that knowing would be bad, then D satisfies Knowledge; requires HIGH PROBABILITY
- Recklessness (default when no mens rea) – conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk; actual awareness of gross deviation from standard law-abiding citizen – I know, but I don’t care
- Negligently – SHOULD be aware that the substantial and unjustifiable risk is gross deviation from standard law-abiding citizen – clueless person
Prince Knits Really Nicely
PurposelyConduct AND Result = conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature, or to cause that result
Attendant Circumstances = AWARE of existence of such circumstances OR believes/hopes they exist
KnowinglyConduct AND Attendant Circumstances = AWARE that conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances
Result = he is AWARE that it is PRACTICALLY CERTAIN that his conduct will cause such a result
RecklesslyConscious (AWARE) disregard of substantial and unjustifiable risk that is a gross deviation from standard of conduct of a law-abiding person
NegligentlySHOULD BE AWARE of a substantial and unjustifiable risk; failure to perceive the risk involves a gross deviation from standard of conduct of a law-abiding person
Conduct: Bodily movement
Attendant Circumstances: Conditions
Result: Not always an element (i.e. result crimes)
Specific Intent- First Degree Murder
- Solicitation
- Attempt
- Conspiracy
- Larceny
- Robbery
- Burglary
- Forgery
- False-Pretense
- Embezzlement
- Murder
- Arson
- Rape
- Battery
- Extreme Reckless Murder
- Felony Murder
- Statutory Rape
- Public Welfare Offenses – violations punishable by fines; not incarceration
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