Crim law final

• Criminal Defenses


  • Failure of Proof
  • Burden of Proof
• Criminal Offenses


  • Criminal Charge Requirements
• Actus Reus


  (Failure to Act) Omission: Created by Special Relationship, Contractual Obligation, statutory duty, creation of risk, voluntary assumption of care + seclusion
• Possession


  • Actual: Having direct physical control care, custody, or management
  • Constructive: Power via right, knowledge of right & intent to exercise control over something
• Attendant Circumstances


  A condition that must be present along with prohibited conduct to constitute criminal act (ex. Burglary)
• Types of Criminal Acts

  • Voluntary Criminal Act
  • Failure to Act
  • Possession
• Types of Crimes


  • Conduct Crime: Punishment based on behavior (ex. DUI)
  • Results Crime: Punishment based on outcome (ex. murder)
• Mens Rea (MPC)


  • Purposely: actor intends for their conduct to cause a certain result
  • Knowingly: actor is practically certain their conduct will produce a certain result
  • Recklessly: actor consciously disregards substantial & unjustifiable risk
  • Negligently: actor should have known of substantial & unjustifiable risk
• Mens Rea (TPC)


  • Intentionally: MPC (Purposely)
  • Maliciously: actor demonstrates purposeful or reckless behavior
  • Willfully: statutory
  • Knowingly: same as MPC
  • Recklessly: same as MPC
  • Criminally negligent: same as MPC
• General Intent


  Intent to do prohibited act
• Specific Intent


  Intent to do prohibited act + achieve a specific result
• Strict Liability Offenses


  No Mens Rea required
• Causation


  • But For Cause: the actual cause of the harm or result
  • Concurrent Causation: multiple causes that contribute to the harm/result
• Proximate Cause


  A foreseeable or natural consequence of a Defendant's actions
• Intervening Cause


  • Intervenes between Defendant's action & social harm (must break chain of causation to negate causation)
  • Superseding cause: breaks chain
  • Must be independent of Defendant's action
  • Must not be Foreseeable
• Theft Offenses


  • Larceny
  • Larceny by Trick
  • Embezzlement
  • False Pretenses
  • Modern Theft
• Custody vs Possession


  • Custody: physical control but temporary, limited authorization to use; If exceeds authorized use, more like custody than possession
  • Possession: Employer retains constructive possession if received from them for employment use
• Carrying Away


  • Common law requires taking property & carrying away (asportation) for larceny
  • Taking: having physical control, distinct from carrying away
  • Carrying away could be slight movement of property
• Notice


  • Constitutional right to notice of "nature and cause" of charges faced (6th Am. & TX Const)
  • Modern Theft Statutes: may need to specify defendant's alleged acts for proper notice
• Ownership vs Possession


  • Ownership only a defense to theft charges if in lawful possession; taking your own property without lawful possession can lead to conviction
  • Taking illegal property lacking legal value may not be punishable as theft; Some jurisdictions do punish taking illegal property as theft
  • Value of Tangible Property: Value of property may determine grading of theft offense (misdemeanor vs. felony degree); Texas Penal Code 31.03 outlines grading system based on value
  • Tangible Property: At common law, only tangible property subject to larceny
  • Modern statutes prohibit theft of intangible property/services
• Burglary & Robbery


  • Common Law Burglary: Breaking and entering a dwelling at night to commit a felony
  • Breaking: Entry without consent, using force
  • Entering: Crossing threshold with body/instrument
  • Dwelling house: occupied place for sleeping
  • Curtilage: area immediately surrounding a residence that is part of the home
  • Common Law Robbery: larceny + taking from person/presence by force/violence
  • Aggravated Robbery: involves serious bodily injury, deadly weapon, or targeting elderly/disabled
  • Claim of Right (Traditional Rule): Negates intent for larceny if Defendant believed they had a right to property; Applies to burglary/robbery
  • Claim of Right (Current Rule): Most jurisdictions reject claim of right defense for burglary/robbery; Texas has not definitively ruled it out, but disfavors the defense
• Intentional Killings


  • Murder: Killing with malice (premeditation)
  • Second Degree Murder: No premeditation/not deliberate; Malice Implied
  • Capital Murder: Punishable by death; Intentional killing + Special Circumstances
  • Voluntary Manslaughter: No malice; committed in the heat of passion and upon adequate provocation
• Unintentional Killings


  • Involuntary Manslaughter: Dangerous unlawful act risking life and limb; more culpable than negligence but less than depraved heart murder
  • Negligent Homicide: Lawful act done in criminally negligent manner; caused by negligent acts grossly deviating from standard of care
• Felony Murder


  • Actus Reus: Death results from conduct during commission/attempt of any felony
  • Mens Rea: Strict liability offense; Intent to commit felony is "implied malice" necessary for common law murder
  • Enumerated felonies: Set out by legislation BARRK; can also include first-degree child abuse, controlled-substance offenses, carjacking, home invasion, aggravated stalking, etc.
  • Misdemeanor Manslaughter: Actor has intent to commit unlawful act that does not amount to felony & death results; would trigger felony murder
• Inchoate Offenses


  • Solicitation
  • Conspiracy
  • Complicity
  • Attempt
• Solicitation


  Inviting, requesting, commanding, hiring, or encouraging another to commit a crime; Specific intent offense
• Conspiracy


  • Agreement between 2+ people to commit crime(s), or legal acts by unlawful means; Modern Statutes include overt acts (don't have to be crimes)
  • Actors liable for conspiracy & reasonably foreseeable crimes committed in furtherance of conspiracy
  • Specific intent offense; to form agreement & accomplish target offense
  • Bilateral Conspiracy (C/L): Agreement of 2+ required to convict
  • Unilateral Conspiracy: Only 1 conspirator intends to agree
  • Wharton's Rule: Agreement by 2 to commit offense requiring 2 can't be prosecuted as conspiracy
  • Pinkerton Rule: Conspirator responsible for associate's criminal act if in furtherance of conspiracy and foreseeable
• Complicity


  • Derivative liability; holds Defendant criminally liable for another's acts
  • Defendant must aid in substantive offense; agreement not required
  • Mens Rea: Specific Intent Offense; Intent to aid & intent for principal to commit offense; Mere presence insufficient for intent; may be relevant with other evidence
  • Principles: (1st) Perpetrator; Actually commits/uses an innocent agent; (2nd) Abettor; Aids, counsels, commands, encourages
  • Accessories: (Before the Fact) Inciter = abettor, but not present during perpetration; (After the Fact) Protector: Has knowledge of guilt, renders assistance to hinder arrest, trial, punishment, etc.
  • Innocent Instrumentality Rule C/L: Principal effects crime through an unwitting agent; they're not an accomplice or solicitee
  • Scope: depends on jurisdiction; Texas uses Natural & Probable consequences: One who aids/abets a crime may be liable for that offense & any natural, probable consequence of aided crime
• Attempt


  • Occurs when Defendant has intent to commit offense & acts towards carrying out intent; Act must be significant, passing from commission to commission
  • At common law, attempts are misdemeanors; modern law treats felony attempts with lesser sentences than completed offenses; Texas allows charging both attempt & target offense, cannot convict for both; attempt merges with completed offense
  • Arguing that target offense was actually committed is Not a defense
  • One category lower than target offense; Specific intent offense
• Complete vs Incomplete Attempts


  • Complete: Actor does all things set out to do but fails to complete target offense
  • Incomplete: Actor quits or is prevented
• Defenses


  • Defense of Property
  • Defense of Others
  • Necessity
  • Duress
• Defense of Property


  • A person may use all force apparently necessary to repel home invasion
  • Majority Position: Deadly force only if reasonable belief intruder intended to kill/seriously harm occupants, not just trespass
  • NOT allowed when intruder is fleeing or lawfully entered home
  • Common law: deadly force is never allowed to defend property
  • Protection of Property: Use reasonable force to prevent/terminate trespass or unlawful interference with property
  • Texas Penal Code Allows DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY if; a person is justified in using non-deadly force, they reasonably believe it's immediately necessary to prevent imminent arson, burglary, robbery, nighttime theft/criminal mischief or to stop fleeing after such crimes; and they reasonably believe no other means to protect property and less than deadly force risks death/serious injury
  • No deadly mechanical devices allowed to protect property
• Defense of Others


  • Person may use force against aggressor threatening a third party to the extent the third party could use self-defense
  • Majority Position: "Reasonable Person": Use force that reasonably appears justified to defend third party, even if mistaken belief
  • Minority Position: Alter Ego or "Step in Shoes": Can use force only if third party justified in same self-defense force; No defense if third party had no right to self-defense, despite reasonable belief
• Necessity


  • Actor faced with clear imminent danger with no reasonable legal way to avoid
  • If contrary legislative enactment exists doesn't apply
  • Offense was the lesser harm
  • Defendant reasonably believed offense would avoid the danger
  • Defendant did not create the danger
  • Applies to natural disasters
  • Not a defense to murder
• Duress


  • Defendant Committed crime due to threat of death/serious bodily harm
  • Elements: 1. Defendant faced threat of death/serious bodily harm 2. Threat was present, imminent, impending 3. Threat of harm was such that a person of reasonable firmness in Defendant's situation would have been unable to resist 4. Defendant did not negligently or recklessly place himself in a situation in which it was probable that he would be subjected to duress
• Third party self-defense


  • Depends on aggressor status
  • Actor protects against: Other's unlawful deadly force; OR Imminent commission of severe crimes (aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, robbery)
• Majority Position: "Reasonable Person"


  Use force that reasonably appears justified to defend third party, even if mistaken belief
• Minority Position: Alter Ego or "Step in Shoes"


  Can use force only if third party justified in same self-defense force; No defense if third party had no right to self-defense, despite reasonable belief
• Necessity


  • Actor faced with clear imminent danger with no reasonable legal way to avoid
  • If contrary legislative enactment exists doesn't apply
  • Offense was the lesser harm
  • ∆ reasonably believed offense would avoid the danger
  • ∆ did not create the danger
  • Applies to natural disasters
  • Not a defense to murder
• Duress


  • ∆ Committed crime due to threat of death/serious bodily harm
  • ∆ faced threat of death/serious bodily injury
  • Reasonable fear threat would be carried out unless ∆ complied
  • No reasonable opportunity to escape threat
  • ∆ did not create the threat
  • Applies to threats from people, not natural disasters
  • Not a defense to murder