CJ 460

• Crime


  An act or failure to act that if proven is punishable by law.
• Mala in Se + examples 


  An action that is morally wrong. Ex: murder, rape
• Mala Prohibita + examples


  An action that is wrong because a legislative body says so. Ex: speeding, hunting violations
• How long is prison or jail for : Misdemeanors, felonies, and violations/infractions

  Misdemeanor: year or less in jail ; Felony: more than a year in prison ; Infractions: Fine and no jail
• What is the model Penal Code:

  • not real law
  • what legal professionals think the law should be
• Briefing a Case

  1. Citation: name of case and #, the court held, and year of decision
  2. Procedural Posture: How it got there, where it's been
  3. Facts: who, what, when, why, how
  4. Issue: Legal question being considered
  5. Holding: what court decides
  6. Rationale: why the court decided what they did
• What are the 4 kinds of rationales of a case

  1. Concurrence: agree but for different reasons
  2. Majority: opinion of majority of justices is the same
  3. Dissent: disagreeing opinion
  4. unanimous: all feel the same
• 1st amendment


  speech, press, religion, assembly, petition
• 2nd amendment


  form a militia and bear arms
• 3rd amendment


  forced quartering of soldiers
• 4th amendment 


  right to privacy, unlawful search and seizure
• 5th amendment


  self-incrimination, double jeopardy, due process
• 6th amendment 


  counsel, impartial jury, speedy trial
• 7th amendment


  right to jury for civil case
• 8th amendment


  cruel and unusual punishment, excessive bail
• 10th amendment


  right not included are reserved to states
• 9th amendment 


  enumerated rights
• not protected by 1st amendment

  • obscenity
  • fighting words
  • hate speech
  • time, space, and manner restrictions
• time, space, and manner restrictions


  states can regulate hours or places for rallies
• Elements of a crime

  • Actus Reas: Voluntary Act
  • Mens Rea: Intent
  • Causation: act must have caused something
  • Harm/Result of the crime
  • Attendant Circumstances
• Actus Reas 


  Act committed must be voluntary, can't be forced to commit a crime and be charged for it.
• Mens Rea and 4 types of intent


  Act must be intentional

  -4 types of intent

  1. Purposely: person wants a specific harmful result
  2. Knowingly: Person is "practically certain" actions will cause result
  3. Recklessly: Person is aware of substantial risk but act anyways
  4. Negligently:Not aware of the substantial risk but should've been
• When a bystander has a responsibility to act

  • if a person creates a risk of harm and someone gets hurt (driver hits someone)
  • If the statute imposes legal duty to care for another due to special relationship (child)
  • Where one assumed contractual duty to care for another (bodyguard, teacher)
• General Intent + examples


  -Crimes that only require mental state that pertains to act that causes harm of the offense. Ex: Breaking and entering means they break into the building, but not that one of occupants has a heart attack from the fight and dies.
• Specific Intent+ example


  -crimes that require the person to have both intent and result of conduct. Ex: Shooting someone, intent to shoot and intention in result, them dying.
• Must prove intent beyond a resonable doubt for conviction.
• 2 types of causation

  1. "But for": the resulting harm wouldn't have happened but for the actions of the dependent beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. "Proximate": Other acts or omissions after the original act contribute to resulting harm.
• concurrent sufficient cause: more than one defendant acted independently; but act to cause harm. both are culpable.
• Strict liability: This person doesn't have mens rea. Their act was completely by mistake but are still criminally liable.
• Actus reus for incomplete crimes:

  • mere preparation: fantasizing or taking a minimal amount of action toward committing criminal act, but not enough to cross threshold
  • Substantial Step: where an offenders actions cross the legal threshold to possibly become an attempt crime (MPC)
  • Last necessary Act: The very last step the defendent must take in order to commit the crime (Common Law)
• Mens Reus for incomplete crimes:

  • specific intent: the offender must be on a purposeful course to commit a particular crime
  • Required to prove attempt crime
• Solicitation: When someone asks another person to commit a crime.
• Defenses for incomplete crimes:

  • Abandonment (not possible under common law) says defendant has to have made steps to actively prevent crime from happening
  • Impossibility
  • Factual: when there's a factor the actor did not know made it impossible to complete the attempt (not a defense in any jurisdiction)
  • Legal: where person engaged in actions believed to be criminal when they weren't
• Conspiracy: agreement between 2 ormore people to commit a crime

  -Actus reus: some affirmitive action or communication between parties

  -mens rea: specific intent to convince another person to commit a crime
• Larceny: trespassory taking and carrying away of the personal property of another

  -cant be charged if property has no value, co-owned by defendent, or if property is abandoned
• embezzlement: defined as fraudulent conversion or theft of property by someone in lawful possession of the property
• false pretenses: false representation of a material past or present fact which person making it knows is false made with intent to fraud person into passing title to property to them
• burglary: breaking and entering of the dwelling of another in the night with the intent to commit a felony within

  -MPC doesnt require it be done at night, and it can be any structure w four walls, and doesn't require destruction of property, and entering can be total or partial

  -felony doesn't have to be just stealing
• Arson: intentional burning of the dwelling of another

  -CL: must be fire damage to actual structure, smoke damage not enough

  -MPC: can include other building not just dwellings, doesnt have to be charred just some damage, includes explosives
• Rape: unlawful sexual intercourse of female with force or threat of force without consent

  -CL: Only females can be raped, rape not possible in a marriage

  -MPC: Gender neutral and possible in marriage

  -Rape Shield Laws: Limit defendants ability to introduce evidence pertaining to victim's prior sexual conduct