Chapter 6 Why are the police sometimes called the gatekeepers to the criminal justice program The role of a police officer is to enforce the criminal law therefore the decision to arrest someone is the trigger for the criminal justice process Explain how corpus delicti mens rea and actus rea relate Corpus delicti is the body of a crime which contains two parts mens rea and actus rea Mens rea refers to the mental state of the suspect literally translates as the guilty mind and implies that the suspect has the ability to form criminal intent Actus rea refers to the elements that make up a crime The actual act Give some examples of a lack of mens rea People who lack the ability to form criminal intent aka small children usually between the ages 7 10 the mentally retarded those affected by psychological disorders and the very old and senile intoxication is debatable What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor A felony is a serious crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment while a misdemeanor is a minor crime that carries a maximum confinement of up to one year Define homicide Homicide the killing of one human being by another All murders are homicides but not all homicides are murders Classified into lawful and unlawful What does justifiable homicide mean Involves the use of lethal force to prevent serious injury or death to another or to oneself To what does an excusable homicide refer Refers to a death that results from an accident or sheer misfortune What constitutes murder Crime is committed purposely or knowingly or it is committed recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life What is first degree murder Involves malice aforethought deliberation and premeditation Define malice aforethought deliberation and premeditation Malice aforethought intent to commit a felony or to cause death and or serious harm Deliberation the person has thought over the consequences and has still decided to kill the victim Premeditation the person has planned to carry out the killing What is included under manslaughter Voluntary vs involuntary What four conditions make up the heat of passion rule of provocation 1 the provocation must be reasonable 2 the death must take place during the heat of passion 3 there must be no chance for a cooling off period during the time lapse between provocation and the killing 4 the suspect must have acted in the heat of passion Explain the standard reaction of a reasonable person Does not try to kill someone the law does not allow a reasonable person who becomes so provoked to choose homicide as a deliberate strategy Contrast voluntary vs involuntary manslaughter Voluntary instances where death occurs during some extraordinary circumstance and where the deceased has provoked the offender not trying to kill the person just an intent to hurt along with the intent to hurt there must be a state of emotional imbalance Involuntary the catchall any unintentional killing if it doesn t fall into another category ex negligence recklessness What is the felony murder rule Means that if a person dies during the course of a felony that is dangerous to life ex robbery sexual battery etc the suspect is responsible for said death Compare simple assault simple battery aggravated assault and aggravated battery Assault one person threatens to harm another the person making the threat must be capable of carrying out his her intentions and the assailant must be in genuine fear of their well being Simple assault a misdemeanor lack of weapon Aggravated assault a felony presence of a weapon Battery the intentional touching striking of a person against that person s will the offender must intend to injure the victim Simple battery no weapon minor injury Aggravated battery weapon serious bodily harm What is the difference between rape and sexual battery Rape applies to forced sexual intercourse or carnal knowledge and the old laws usually only recognized males as offenders and females as victims What are the elements of sexual battery Sexual battery refers to any oral anal vaginal penetration or union by the sexual organ of another or with any object must be non consensual use of force of the threat of force to make the victim submit What is spousal immunity aka marital exemption common law does not recognize a husband being capable of raping his own wife because marriage is a contractual arrangement exclusive sexual access What are the elements of robbery Refers to the unlawful taking of money or property from a person through force violence or fear of harm victim must be present during time of the taking Contrast armed robbery with strong armed robbery Armed robbery weapon used Strong armed robbery uses physical force instead of a weapon Compare and contrast kidnapping with false imprisonment Kidnapping unlawful restriction of a person s ability to move about freely and relocate to another place False imprisonment the suspect forcibly detains the victim against his her own will but does NOT relocate them What is the difference between petty and grand theft Petty theft involves taking property valued at less than some statutorily predetermined amount Grand theft taking property over that set figure What is embezzlement The fraudulent conversion of someone else s property What other types of behavior does larceny theft cover Shoplifting altered serial number on a firearm or motor vehicle failure to return a rental car trafficking What is the difference between burglary and breaking and entering Burglary trespassing AND the intent to commit another crime usually theft What does the term curtilage mean The immediate living area surrounding a dwelling What does vandalism entail The intentional destruction of another person s property What are the elements for an attempted crime 1 the person must intend to perpetrate an offense 2 thesuspect must do something other than mere planning to carry out the illegal activity 3 somehow thwarted or is unable to steer actions toward completion What is the proximity test A crime would have been successful if the suspect had completed this last essential step division of preparation from perpetration Explain the probable desistance approach The crime would be a success except for some extraordinary intervention What is the equivocality approach Example an audience is watching a videotape when someone stops it and asks the viewers what the person was doing if the answer is that a crime is about
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