What are the four primary legal standards for the Insanity Defense in criminal jurisprudence?

1. M'Naghten Rule: Defendant was unable to understand the nature of the act or did not know it was wrong. 2. Irresistible Impulse: Inability to conform conduct to law due to mental disease. 3. Durham Rule: Unlawful act was the product of mental disease. 4. MPC / ALI Test: Substantial lack of capacity to appreciate criminality or conform conduct.

What constitutional duty is imposed on prosecutors under the 'Brady Doctrine' (Brady v. Maryland)?

Prosecutors have an affirmative Due Process duty to disclose all material exculpatory evidence favorable to the defense, including impeachment evidence regarding prosecution witnesses; failure violates due process if there is a reasonable probability disclosure would have altered the verdict.

What is the 'Felony Murder Rule' and what limitations restrict its modern application?

A killing occurring during the commission or attempted commission of an inherently dangerous felony (BARRK: Burglary, Arson, Robbery, Rape, Kidnapping). Limitations include: (1) Merger Doctrine (predicate felony cannot be assaultive), (2) Agency Theory (killing must be committed by felon/co-felon), and (3) death must occur during immediate flight.

What is the difference between a 'Duty to Retreat' and 'Stand Your Ground' laws, and what is the 'Castle Doctrine'?

• Duty to Retreat (minority): A person must safely retreat if possible before using deadly force, except in one's home. • Stand Your Ground (majority): A person not engaged in illegal activity has no duty to retreat before using justifiable deadly force. • Castle Doctrine: Recognizes that a person has no duty to retreat before using deadly force inside their own dwelling.

What is the requirement of 'Actus Reus' and under what circumstances can an omission establish criminal liability?

Actus reus requires a voluntary physical act. An omission (failure to act) creates criminal liability only where there is a legal duty to act created by: (1) statute, (2) contract, (3) status relationship (parent-child), (4) voluntary assumption of care isolating the victim, or (5) defendant created the peril.

What are the rules governing the use of Deadly Force in 'Self-Defense'?

A person may use deadly force only when they reasonably believe that such force is immediately necessary to prevent imminent death, serious bodily injury, or the commission of a forcible violent felony. Deadly force can never be used solely in defense of personal property.

What is the principle of 'Concurrence' in criminal law?

The criminal mens rea must actuate, coincide with, and exist at the exact time of the physical commission of the actus reus causing the prohibited criminal result.

What is the defense of 'Entrapment' and how is it evaluated under the subjective test?

An affirmative defense establishing that law enforcement originated the criminal idea and induced the defendant to commit the offense. Under the majority subjective test, entrapment fails if the prosecution proves the defendant was already 'predisposed' to commit the crime.

What are the four recognized exceptions to the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree exclusionary doctrine?

1. Inevitable Discovery: Evidence would have inevitably been discovered through lawful police investigation. 2. Independent Source: Evidence was discovered through an independent lawful source untainted by the illegality. 3. Attenuation of the Taint: Sufficient time, intervening circumstances, or free acts dissipate the taint. 4. Good Faith Reliance (United States v. Leon): Officers reasonably relied on a facially valid warrant.

What is the 'Automobile Exception' (Carroll Doctrine) to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement?

If police possess probable cause to believe that a readily mobile motor vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime, they may search the entire vehicle without a warrant, including trunk and containers capable of concealing the item sought.

What is the 'Exclusionary Rule' and the 'Fruit of the Poisonous Tree' doctrine?

Evidence obtained in violation of Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendment rights is inadmissible at trial. Under the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine, secondary derivative evidence discovered directly through the exploitation of the primary constitutional violation is also suppressed.

What are the procedural rules when a suspect invokes Miranda rights to Silence versus Counsel (Edwards v. Arizona)?

• Invoking Silence: Must be scrupulously honored; police may re-approach after significant time on unrelated matter with fresh warnings. • Invoking Counsel: All questioning must cease immediately until attorney is provided; police cannot re-interrogate until counsel is present or there is a 14-day break in custody (Maryland v. Shatzer).

How are 'Custody' and 'Interrogation' legally defined under Miranda jurisprudence?

• Custody: Formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement to the degree associated with a formal arrest, where a reasonable person would feel not free to leave. • Interrogation: Express questioning or words/actions by police that they should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.

What constitutes the inchoate crime of 'Solicitation' and does it merge?

Requesting, encouraging, or commanding another individual to commit a crime with the specific intent that the crime be committed. Solicitation merges into the completed crime, conspiracy, or attempt; a defendant cannot be convicted of both solicitation and the target crime.

How does Common Law Murder differ from Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter?

• Murder: Unlawful killing with Malice Aforethought (intent to kill, intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, depraved heart, or felony murder). • Voluntary Manslaughter: Intentional killing mitigated by adequate provocation ('heat of passion' without reasonable cooling-off period). • Involuntary Manslaughter: Unintentional killing caused by criminal negligence or during a misdemeanor.

What is the standard for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel under the Sixth Amendment (Strickland v. Washington)?

Defendant must establish: (1) Deficient Performance: Counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms, and (2) Prejudice: A reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the outcome of the proceeding would have been different.

What are the constitutional requirements for a 'Terry Stop and Frisk' (Terry v. Ohio)?

• Stop: Brief investigatory detention requiring reasonable articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. • Frisk: Protective pat-down of outer clothing requiring independent reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous, strictly limited to discovering concealed weapons.

What are the four levels of culpability under the Model Penal Code (MPC) Mens Rea hierarchy?

1. Purpose: Conscious objective to engage in the conduct or cause the specific prohibited result. 2. Knowledge: Conscious awareness that conduct is practically certain to cause the result. 3. Recklessness: Conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk. 4. Negligence: Failure to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a reasonable person would observe.

What are the major categorical exceptions to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement (SPACES)?

1. Search Incident to Lawful Arrest 2. Plain View doctrine 3. Automobile Exception 4. Consent (freely and voluntarily given) 5. Exigent Circumstances (hot pursuit, evanescent evidence, emergency aid) 6. Special Needs / Stop and Frisk.

What is 'Accomplice Liability' (aiding and abetting) and what is the required mental state?

A person is liable as an accomplice if they intentionally assist, advise, encourage, or facilitate the principal in committing the crime, acting with: (1) the intent to facilitate the offense, and (2) the mens rea required for the underlying substantive offense.

What are the essential elements of the crime of 'Conspiracy'?

An agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, with the specific intent to enter the agreement and achieve the unlawful objective. Modern statutes also require an overt act in furtherance by at least one co-conspirator.

What is the practical distinction between 'Specific Intent' and 'General Intent' crimes?

• Specific Intent Crimes: Require doing the actus reus with an additional specific subjective goal (e.g., larceny, burglary, attempt). Subject to defenses of unreasonable mistake of fact and voluntary intoxication. • General Intent Crimes: Require only the intent to perform the physical act prohibited by statute (e.g., battery, rape); unreasonable mistake of fact is not a defense.

What is the 'Blockburger Test' under the Fifth Amendment Double Jeopardy Clause?

Determines whether two statutory offenses constitute the 'same offense': two offenses are distinct if each statutory provision requires proof of an additional element that the other does not. Under Dual Sovereignty, state and federal governments may prosecute the same conduct.

What limits apply to a 'Search Incident to Lawful Arrest' (Chimel v. California and Arizona v. Gant)?

Police may search the arrestee's person and immediate area within their 'wingspan' (grab area). In vehicle arrests under Gant, police may search the passenger compartment only if: (1) arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance, or (2) reasonable to believe vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.

What is 'Pinkerton Liability' in conspiracy jurisprudence?

A rule establishing that every member of a conspiracy is criminally liable for any substantive crime committed by a co-conspirator if that crime was: (1) committed in furtherance of the conspiracy's objective, and (2) a natural and foreseeable consequence of the unlawful agreement.

How do 'Mistake of Fact' and 'Mistake of Law' operate as criminal defenses?

• Mistake of Fact: Defeats criminal liability if it negates required mens rea (any honest mistake for specific intent; reasonable mistake for general intent). • Mistake of Law: Generally no defense ('ignorance of the law is no excuse') unless statute was not published or defendant reasonably relied on an official judicial ruling.

What are the required elements for the inchoate crime of 'Attempt'?

1. Specific intent to commit the target criminal offense. 2. An overt act in furtherance beyond mere preparation. (Under the Model Penal Code, an act constituting a 'substantial step' strongly corroborative of the actor's criminal purpose).

What three requirements must be met for a valid warrantless seizure under the 'Plain View Doctrine'?

1. Officer must be lawfully present in the viewing location. 2. Officer must have a lawful right of physical access to the object. 3. The incriminating character of the evidence must be immediately apparent (establishing probable cause on sight without moving the item).

What trigger requires police to administer 'Miranda Warnings' (Miranda v. Arizona)?

Miranda warnings are constitutionally required prior to any 'Custodial Interrogation'—the intersection of both: (1) Custody, and (2) Interrogation conducted by government agents.

What is the Fourth Amendment 'Reasonable Expectation of Privacy' test (Katz v. United States)?

A government action constitutes a Fourth Amendment search if: (1) the individual demonstrated an actual subjective expectation of privacy in the area or item, and (2) the expectation is one that society recognizes as objectively reasonable.

What constitutes 'Depraved Heart' murder at common law?

An unintentional killing resulting from reckless conduct that demonstrates an extreme indifference to the sanctity of human life, where the defendant consciously creates a grave risk of death without justification (e.g., firing a rifle into an occupied passenger train).

How does the defense of 'Duress' differ from the defense of 'Necessity' (Choice of Evils)?

• Duress: Defendant committed crime under immediate human threat of death or serious injury; never an excuse for intentional homicide. • Necessity: Pressure from natural or physical emergency forces defendant to commit a lesser harm to avert a greater public or personal disaster.

Constitutional Law (Advanced 1): Criminal Law & Criminal Procedure: Actus Reus, Mens Rea, Inchoate Offenses, Defenses & Constitutional Protections

Criminal elements, MPC mens rea hierarchy, inchoate offenses, affirmative defenses, Fourth Amendment searches, Miranda rights, and trial protections.

Level: advanced
Languages: en → en
Cards: 32
Markdown: Constitutional Law (Advanced 1): Criminal Law & Criminal Procedure: Actus Reus, Mens Rea, Inchoate Offenses, Defenses & Constitutional Protections (.md)

Flashcards (32)

#	Front (Term / Question)	Back (Definition / Answer)
1	What are the four primary legal standards for the Insanity Defense in criminal jurisprudence?	1. M'Naghten Rule: Defendant was unable to understand the nature of the act or did not know it was wrong. 2. Irresistible Impulse: Inability to conform conduct to law due to mental disease. 3. Durham Rule: Unlawful act was the product of mental disease. 4. MPC / ALI Test: Substantial lack of capacity to appreciate criminality or conform conduct.
2	What constitutional duty is imposed on prosecutors under the 'Brady Doctrine' (Brady v. Maryland)?	Prosecutors have an affirmative Due Process duty to disclose all material exculpatory evidence favorable to the defense, including impeachment evidence regarding prosecution witnesses; failure violates due process if there is a reasonable probability disclosure would have altered the verdict.
3	What is the 'Felony Murder Rule' and what limitations restrict its modern application?	A killing occurring during the commission or attempted commission of an inherently dangerous felony (BARRK: Burglary, Arson, Robbery, Rape, Kidnapping). Limitations include: (1) Merger Doctrine (predicate felony cannot be assaultive), (2) Agency Theory (killing must be committed by felon/co-felon), and (3) death must occur during immediate flight.
4	What is the difference between a 'Duty to Retreat' and 'Stand Your Ground' laws, and what is the 'Castle Doctrine'?	• Duty to Retreat (minority): A person must safely retreat if possible before using deadly force, except in one's home. • Stand Your Ground (majority): A person not engaged in illegal activity has no duty to retreat before using justifiable deadly force. • Castle Doctrine: Recognizes that a person has no duty to retreat before using deadly force inside their own dwelling.
5	What is the requirement of 'Actus Reus' and under what circumstances can an omission establish criminal liability?	Actus reus requires a voluntary physical act. An omission (failure to act) creates criminal liability only where there is a legal duty to act created by: (1) statute, (2) contract, (3) status relationship (parent-child), (4) voluntary assumption of care isolating the victim, or (5) defendant created the peril.
6	What are the rules governing the use of Deadly Force in 'Self-Defense'?	A person may use deadly force only when they reasonably believe that such force is immediately necessary to prevent imminent death, serious bodily injury, or the commission of a forcible violent felony. Deadly force can never be used solely in defense of personal property.
7	What is the principle of 'Concurrence' in criminal law?	The criminal mens rea must actuate, coincide with, and exist at the exact time of the physical commission of the actus reus causing the prohibited criminal result.
8	What is the defense of 'Entrapment' and how is it evaluated under the subjective test?	An affirmative defense establishing that law enforcement originated the criminal idea and induced the defendant to commit the offense. Under the majority subjective test, entrapment fails if the prosecution proves the defendant was already 'predisposed' to commit the crime.
9	What are the four recognized exceptions to the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree exclusionary doctrine?	1. Inevitable Discovery: Evidence would have inevitably been discovered through lawful police investigation. 2. Independent Source: Evidence was discovered through an independent lawful source untainted by the illegality. 3. Attenuation of the Taint: Sufficient time, intervening circumstances, or free acts dissipate the taint. 4. Good Faith Reliance (United States v. Leon): Officers reasonably relied on a facially valid warrant.
10	What is the 'Automobile Exception' (Carroll Doctrine) to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement?	If police possess probable cause to believe that a readily mobile motor vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime, they may search the entire vehicle without a warrant, including trunk and containers capable of concealing the item sought.
11	What is the 'Exclusionary Rule' and the 'Fruit of the Poisonous Tree' doctrine?	Evidence obtained in violation of Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendment rights is inadmissible at trial. Under the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine, secondary derivative evidence discovered directly through the exploitation of the primary constitutional violation is also suppressed.
12	What are the procedural rules when a suspect invokes Miranda rights to Silence versus Counsel (Edwards v. Arizona)?	• Invoking Silence: Must be scrupulously honored; police may re-approach after significant time on unrelated matter with fresh warnings. • Invoking Counsel: All questioning must cease immediately until attorney is provided; police cannot re-interrogate until counsel is present or there is a 14-day break in custody (Maryland v. Shatzer).
13	How are 'Custody' and 'Interrogation' legally defined under Miranda jurisprudence?	• Custody: Formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement to the degree associated with a formal arrest, where a reasonable person would feel not free to leave. • Interrogation: Express questioning or words/actions by police that they should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.
14	What constitutes the inchoate crime of 'Solicitation' and does it merge?	Requesting, encouraging, or commanding another individual to commit a crime with the specific intent that the crime be committed. Solicitation merges into the completed crime, conspiracy, or attempt; a defendant cannot be convicted of both solicitation and the target crime.
15	How does Common Law Murder differ from Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter?	• Murder: Unlawful killing with Malice Aforethought (intent to kill, intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, depraved heart, or felony murder). • Voluntary Manslaughter: Intentional killing mitigated by adequate provocation ('heat of passion' without reasonable cooling-off period). • Involuntary Manslaughter: Unintentional killing caused by criminal negligence or during a misdemeanor.
16	What is the standard for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel under the Sixth Amendment (Strickland v. Washington)?	Defendant must establish: (1) Deficient Performance: Counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under prevailing professional norms, and (2) Prejudice: A reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the outcome of the proceeding would have been different.
17	What are the constitutional requirements for a 'Terry Stop and Frisk' (Terry v. Ohio)?	• Stop: Brief investigatory detention requiring reasonable articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. • Frisk: Protective pat-down of outer clothing requiring independent reasonable suspicion that the suspect is armed and dangerous, strictly limited to discovering concealed weapons.
18	What are the four levels of culpability under the Model Penal Code (MPC) Mens Rea hierarchy?	1. Purpose: Conscious objective to engage in the conduct or cause the specific prohibited result. 2. Knowledge: Conscious awareness that conduct is practically certain to cause the result. 3. Recklessness: Conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk. 4. Negligence: Failure to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a reasonable person would observe.
19	What are the major categorical exceptions to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement (SPACES)?	1. Search Incident to Lawful Arrest 2. Plain View doctrine 3. Automobile Exception 4. Consent (freely and voluntarily given) 5. Exigent Circumstances (hot pursuit, evanescent evidence, emergency aid) 6. Special Needs / Stop and Frisk.
20	What is 'Accomplice Liability' (aiding and abetting) and what is the required mental state?	A person is liable as an accomplice if they intentionally assist, advise, encourage, or facilitate the principal in committing the crime, acting with: (1) the intent to facilitate the offense, and (2) the mens rea required for the underlying substantive offense.
21	What are the essential elements of the crime of 'Conspiracy'?	An agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, with the specific intent to enter the agreement and achieve the unlawful objective. Modern statutes also require an overt act in furtherance by at least one co-conspirator.
22	What is the practical distinction between 'Specific Intent' and 'General Intent' crimes?	• Specific Intent Crimes: Require doing the actus reus with an additional specific subjective goal (e.g., larceny, burglary, attempt). Subject to defenses of unreasonable mistake of fact and voluntary intoxication. • General Intent Crimes: Require only the intent to perform the physical act prohibited by statute (e.g., battery, rape); unreasonable mistake of fact is not a defense.
23	What is the 'Blockburger Test' under the Fifth Amendment Double Jeopardy Clause?	Determines whether two statutory offenses constitute the 'same offense': two offenses are distinct if each statutory provision requires proof of an additional element that the other does not. Under Dual Sovereignty, state and federal governments may prosecute the same conduct.
24	What limits apply to a 'Search Incident to Lawful Arrest' (Chimel v. California and Arizona v. Gant)?	Police may search the arrestee's person and immediate area within their 'wingspan' (grab area). In vehicle arrests under Gant, police may search the passenger compartment only if: (1) arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance, or (2) reasonable to believe vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.
25	What is 'Pinkerton Liability' in conspiracy jurisprudence?	A rule establishing that every member of a conspiracy is criminally liable for any substantive crime committed by a co-conspirator if that crime was: (1) committed in furtherance of the conspiracy's objective, and (2) a natural and foreseeable consequence of the unlawful agreement.
26	How do 'Mistake of Fact' and 'Mistake of Law' operate as criminal defenses?	• Mistake of Fact: Defeats criminal liability if it negates required mens rea (any honest mistake for specific intent; reasonable mistake for general intent). • Mistake of Law: Generally no defense ('ignorance of the law is no excuse') unless statute was not published or defendant reasonably relied on an official judicial ruling.
27	What are the required elements for the inchoate crime of 'Attempt'?	1. Specific intent to commit the target criminal offense. 2. An overt act in furtherance beyond mere preparation. (Under the Model Penal Code, an act constituting a 'substantial step' strongly corroborative of the actor's criminal purpose).
28	What three requirements must be met for a valid warrantless seizure under the 'Plain View Doctrine'?	1. Officer must be lawfully present in the viewing location. 2. Officer must have a lawful right of physical access to the object. 3. The incriminating character of the evidence must be immediately apparent (establishing probable cause on sight without moving the item).
29	What trigger requires police to administer 'Miranda Warnings' (Miranda v. Arizona)?	Miranda warnings are constitutionally required prior to any 'Custodial Interrogation'—the intersection of both: (1) Custody, and (2) Interrogation conducted by government agents.
30	What is the Fourth Amendment 'Reasonable Expectation of Privacy' test (Katz v. United States)?	A government action constitutes a Fourth Amendment search if: (1) the individual demonstrated an actual subjective expectation of privacy in the area or item, and (2) the expectation is one that society recognizes as objectively reasonable.
31	What constitutes 'Depraved Heart' murder at common law?	An unintentional killing resulting from reckless conduct that demonstrates an extreme indifference to the sanctity of human life, where the defendant consciously creates a grave risk of death without justification (e.g., firing a rifle into an occupied passenger train).
32	How does the defense of 'Duress' differ from the defense of 'Necessity' (Choice of Evils)?	• Duress: Defendant committed crime under immediate human threat of death or serious injury; never an excuse for intentional homicide. • Necessity: Pressure from natural or physical emergency forces defendant to commit a lesser harm to avert a greater public or personal disaster.