Law Enforcement Test 3 Study Guide Ch 6 Review Questions 1 Why are the police sometimes called the gatekeepers to the criminal justice process One role of a police officer is to enforce the criminal law What we mean here is that the decision to arrest a person triggers the Criminal Justice process 2 Explain how corpus delicti mens rea and actus rea relate Body of a crime Corpus Delicti The body of a crime contains two parts the mens rea and the actus rea Mens Rea The guilty mind and refers to the mental state of the suspect Mens rea means the suspect has the ability to form criminal intent define a particular crime Pertains to the elements or physical acts that Actus Rea 3 Give some examples of a lack of mens rea 7 10 Do not have the ability to form criminal A mentally retarded person may not understand the Someone suffering from a psychological disorder might not An elderly person who is senile also could fall within this Juveniles intent consequences of his or her actions really know what he or she is doing category Instead of arresting these people an officer may take them into protective custody for safety reasons if they are dangerous to themselves others or property not in itself constitute mental disease The Model Penal Code explains that Intoxication does 4 What is the difference b w a felony and a misdemeanor Actus re differentiates a felony offense from a misdemeanor A felony is a serious crime punishable by more than one year A misdemeanor is a minor crime that carries a maximum violation imprisonment confinement of up to one year In some states a person who steals a bicycle valued at 250 a felony In other states this theft might be a misdemeanor As you can see the same behavior can carry different penalties depending upon the crime classification and geographical jurisdiction misdemeanor unless that crime takes place in his or her presence A felony arrest carries no such restriction much as actus rea An officer should not be so much concerned with mens rea as Generally speaking an officer may not make an arrest for a 5 Define homicide The killing of one human being by another Two generable Deaths due to accidents during war time or from legal classes of homicide Lawful and Unlawful executions are not considered to be homicides 6 What does a justifiable homicide mean Lawful Involves the use of lethal force to prevent serious injury or death to another or to oneself Ex Officer kills a robber who is shooting a gun at people retreat under certain conditions and allows that person to use whatever force is necessary to defend his or her well being Stand your ground law Relieves a civilian of the duty to 7 To what does an excusable homicide refer Lawful Refers to a death which results from an accident or sheer misfortune State laws usually divide unlawful homicide into two types Murder Manslaughter 8 What constitutes murder A criminal homicide is murder when it is committed purposely or knowingly or it is committed recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life 9 What is first degree murder Involves malice aforethought deliberation and premeditation 10 Define malice aforethought deliberation and premeditation The intent to commit a felony or to Means that the person has thought over the Implies that the person planned to carryout cause death or serious harm consequences and has still decided to kill the victim the killing Malice Aforethought Deliberation Premeditation 11 What is included under manslaughter It involves negligence or takes place under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or cause Manslaughter is an unlawful murder characterized by a lack of premeditation It is an intermediate crime which lies half way between the more serious crime of murder at the one extreme and at the other extreme justifiable or excusable homicide which is not criminal at all Manslaughter can be either voluntary or involuntary 12 What 4 conditions make up heat of passion The provocation must be reasonable The death must take place during the heat of passion There must not be a chance for a cooling off period during the time lapse b w the provocation and the killing Finally the suspect must have acted in the heat of passion If any one of these conditions is missing more than likely the appropriate charge would be murder 13 Explain the standard reaction of a reasonable person Generally speaking mere words or taunting do not establish a sufficient level of provocation There must be some act of physical force such as an assault battery or mutual combat The standard here is the reaction of a reasonable person A normal person does not normally try to kill somebody else Moreover the law does not allow a reasonable person becomes so provoked or outraged to choose homicide as a deliberate strategy Thus if a person is so upset that he or she kills the provoker that death is a crime What the charge of manslaughter does is determine whether the killing was understandable given the circumstances surrounding the case 14 Contrast voluntary from involuntary manslaughter Voluntary Fits those instances where a death occurs during some extraordinary set of circumstances and where the deceased has provoked the offender Under these conditions the aggressor intends to hurt the other party perhaps even seriously but is not trying to kill that person Along with this desire to hurt the other party there must be a state of emotional imbalance This upheaval must be so distressing that it causes the person to lose his or her self control This temporary loss of control is known as the heat of passion Is a catchall Either negligence or recklessness can produce this type of homicide to the risk of disease or serious bodily injury Negligence Behavior that exposes others unnecessarily Involuntary 15 What is the felony murder rule Means that if a person dies during the course of a felony that is dangerous to life usually robbery burglary sexual battery arson kidnapping the suspect is responsible for that death Distance from the scene may not matter under the felony murder rule Rather the key is one s participation in the criminal act Sine qua non test would still be alive today But for the suspect s actions the victim 16 Compare simple assault simple battery aggravated assault and aggravated battery Assault and battery are two separate and distinct crimes occurs when one person threatens to hurt another Assault
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