1 Why are the police are sometimes called the gatekeepers to the criminal justice process the decision to arrest a person triggers the criminal justice system 2 explain how corpus delicti mens rae and actus rea relate Law Enforcement Exam 3 Chapter 6 a a corpus delicti the body of crime i ii 2 parts 1 Mens rea a Actually means the guilty mind b Means the subject has the ability to form criminal intent c People often found to be lacking mens rea meaning they don t bear criminal responsibility for their actions i Mentally retarded 7 10 year olds someone suffering from psychological disorder senile elderly person etc d Police officers don t worry about this part on the street only the courts worry about this 2 Actus rea a Pertains to the elements or physical acts that define a particular crime felony b These distinctions differentiate between a misdemeanor and c The police worry about this one on the street when making arrests 3 Give some examples of lack of mens rea a Mentally retarded 7 10 year olds someone suffering from psychological disorder senile elderly person etc b meaning they don t bear criminal responsibility for their actions 4 What is the difference between a felony and misdemeanor a Felony i b Misdemeanor Is a serious crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment i Is a minor crime that carries a maximum confinement of up to one year c Generally speaking an officer may not make an arrest for a misdemeanor unless that crime takes place in his or her presence A felony carries no such restriction d 5 Define homicide a The killing of one human being to another b Lawful vs unlawful homicide i Lawful ii Unlawful 1 Deaths due to accidents during war times or from legal executions are not considered homicides 1 Death from criminal means 6 What is a justifiable homicide a b Stand your ground law 7 What is excusable homicide Involves use of lethal force to prevent serious injury or death to another or one s self a Death from an accident or sheer misfortune b A construction workers hammer falling on someone in a danger posted area 8 What constitutes murder a Divide unlawful homicide into two types murder and manslaughter b Murder i 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 a Involves malice aforethought deliberation and premeditation 10 Define malice aforethought deliberation and premeditation i The intent to commit a felony or to cause death or serious injury i Means that the person has thought over the consequences and has still decided a Malice Aforethought b Deliberation to kill the victim c Premeditation i Implies that the person planned to carry out the killing 11 What is included under manslaughter a b Is an unlawful murder characterized by a lack of premeditation Life halfway between the more serious crime of murder and a justifiable homicide or excusable homicide which is not a crime at all c Can either be voluntary or involuntary i Voluntary 1 Fits those instances where a death occurs during some extraordinary set of circumstances and where the deceased has provoked the offender 2 Deceased hurt the other party but did not intend on killing them 1 Is a catchall either negligence or recklessness can produce this type of homicide ii Involuntary 12 Heat of passion 4 conditions a Temporary loss of control i First provocation must be reasonable ii Second the death must take place during the heat of passion iii Third there must not be a chance for a cooling off period during the time lapse between provocation and the killing iv Finally the suspect must have acted in the head of passion 13 Explain the standard reaction of a reasonable person a A reasonable person does not normally try to kill somebody else therefore the law does not allow a reasonable person who become so provoked or outraged to choose homicide as a deliberate strategy If a person becomes provoked and kills someone else it is a crime What the charge of manslaughter does is determine whether the killing was understandable given the circumstances 14 Contrast voluntary from involuntary manslaughter a Voluntary Is a catchall i ii Either negligence or recklessness can produce this type of homicide iii Negligence is behavior that exposes other unnecessarily to the risk of death or serious bodily injury b Involuntary i Fits those instances where a death occurs during some extraordinary set of circumstances and where the deceased has provoked the offender ii Deceased hurt the other party but did not intend on killing them 15 What is the felony murder rule a Means that if a person dies during the course of a felony that is dangerous to life usually robbery burglary sexual battery etc the suspect is responsible for that death 16 Compare simple assault simple battery aggravated assault and aggravated battery a Assault i Occurs when one person threatens to hurt another person ii Two types simple misdemeanor aggravated felony 1 The distinction between the two is usually the presence or absence of a b Battery deadly weapon i A successful assault Battery involves the intentional touching or striking or a person against that persons will ii Simple does not involve a weapon aggravated involves a weapon or an item Simple battery results in minor injury whereas aggravated does serious injury disability disfigurement 17 Difference between rape and sexual battery a Rape involves penetration sexual battery does not 18 What are the elements of sexual battery a Any oral anal vaginal penetration or union by the sexual organ of another 19 What is spousal immunity 20 What are the elements of robbery violence or fear of harm a That common law does not recognize a husband as being capable of raping his own wife a Refers to the unlawful taking of money or property from a person through force b An easy way to think of robbery is that it involves a theft directly from person to person coupled with either assault or battery 21 Contrast armed robbery with strong armed robbery a Armed robbery stealthy deed b Strong armed robbery or unarmed robbery i Occurs when a crook uses a firearm or some other weapon to carry out this b False imprisonment a Petty i Petite theft ii b Grand theft i Takes place when a robber uses physical force but does not brandish a weapon 22 Compare and contrast kidnapping with false imprisonment a Kidnapping i Involves the unlawful restriction of a person s ability to move about
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