CCJ 2020 Exam 2 Study Guide You will be responsible for Chapters 4 7 8 9 Lectures 5 8 Videos watched in class The exam will focus on the following topics Mens Rea and Actus Reus MNaughten Rule and the insanity defense Strict liability crimes Inchoate crimes Criminal defenses Dual court system Relevant amendments Civil law Federal Court system Trial proceedings Bail 5 goals of sentencing Structured sentencing Death penalty Relevant case law Original jurisdiction vs appellate jurisdiction Limited vs general jurisdiction U S Supreme Court and U S Court of Appeals Determinate vs indeterminate sentencing Mens Rea and Actus Reus Actus Reus An element of crime in which people are punished for their actions thus the law does not prosecute people for actions that are not voluntary or that are accidental and do not involve recklessness or negligence Refers to the actions of the person guilty act Mens Rea An element of crime in which a person must have criminal intent or a guilty mind for his or her actions to be criminal o Four types of intent Purposeful act undertaken to achieve ones specific goal Knowing behavior undertaken with awareness of the outcome A bomb on a plane would achieve goal of offender and he she knowingly killed all passengers aboard this distinguishes between knowing and purposeful Reckless Increases risk of harm to other individuals Negligent behavior that refers to an action where the person should have known better not aware of specific risk but you know it is reckless behav ior Combination of the two to become the essence of a crime Strict liability crimes Strict liability liable even without mens rea or criminal intent To do certain things even if you had no intention to break the law For example parking violations driving over the speed limit or statutory rape Strict liability crimes are an exception to the essence of a crime principle because it does not re quire mens rea a guilty mind Inchoate crimes Inchoate crimes goes beyond thought of doing crime but before actually completing it Incom plete crime o Three types of inchoate crimes urging requesting or commanding of another to commit a crime Solicitation but has to be explicit and direct to an individual The person solicited does not have to have criminal intent so soliciting to an undercover officer is punishable Conspiracy ton conspiracy requires two or more people to plan a crime Requires no further acts refs further than communication By defini Attempt crime For example a failed murder An incomplete criminal act the closest action to commission of a MNaughten Rule and the insanity defense Courts use one of several legal tests to determine whether a defendant actually is legally insane depending on the jurisdiction They include the Model Penal Code Test the Durham Rule the Ir resistible Impulse Test and the M Naghten Rule The M Naghten Rule or test focuses on whether a criminal defendant knew the nature of the crime or understood right from wrong at the time it was committed Insanity Defense if at the time of crime person didn t know what he she was doing or that it was wrong The inability to decide between right and wrong has to be a result of mental disability Criminal defenses Defense to a criminal charge consists of evidence and arguments offered by the defendant to show why he or she should not be held liable for a criminal charge Perfect Defense The defense that results in person being excused from all criminal liability and punishment Imperfect Defense The defense that results in the defendant s liability or punishment for a crime being reduced Alibi Perfect defense o Defendant was elsewhere usually with someone else o Different from all the others because it is based on the premise that the defendant is truly innocent o Excuse from all liability and punishment An alibi is only as good as those backing it up for you so it is best supported by witnesses and documentation Affirmative Defense A defense in which the defendant admits that he she committed the acts refs of the crime but claims that he she should not be found guilty because his her actions were justi fied or they had an excuse Justification A legal defense in which the defendant admits to committing the act in question but claims it was necessary in order to avoid some greater evil o In this imperfect defense in court defendant claims that he she lacked criminal intent or Mens Rea They Claim that they were protecting themselves from deadly attack or serious bodily injury Timing has to be imminent o Ex self defense defense of others defense of home and property necessity and resist attacker has to make the first move trespassing when life threatening instance no other way ing unlawful arrest Self defense Necessity Resisting unlawful arrest if officer user greater than necessary force to perform arrest very difficult to prove as a defense Some states have statutory provisions detailing the limits imposed on such resistance and the conditions under which it can be used o Jerome Ersland store owner who shot store robbing teen in self defense but then shot him 5 more times afterwards was sentenced to life in prison Excuse The defendant who engaged in unlawful behavior was at the time not legally responsi ble for his or her actions and should not be held accountable under the law o Duress any unlawful threat or coercion used by someone to induce another to act or not act in a matter that he she otherwise would would not act not old enough to know that it was wrong o o Age Mistake or Ignorance Mistake of law Ignorance of the law may be considered a defense if the law in question is so unusual or obscure that the court finds that a reasonable person would not have had knowledge of it However simple ignorance of the law is not a defense against prosecution Mistake of fact may actually be a valid defense in that one may not have known they committed the crime and that it was an honest mistake For example grab bing the wrong backpack at the end of a class and accidentally stealing the one you took o Involuntary intoxication o Unconsciousness spiked drink epileptic seizure sleepwalking o Provocation for lesser crimes defendant was provoked to commit crime This excuse usually works better o Insanity if at the time of crime person didn t know what he she was doing or that it was wrong The inability to decide between right and wrong has to be a result of mental dis ability Procedural Defenses defendant was in some significant way discriminated against
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