MPC vs. Common Law approach
Don’t assume that they’ve adopted all of MPC, just what it explicitly says they have adopted.
Statutory construction:
Plain Meaning
Statutory structure
Statutory amendments
Legislative history
Due process
Do not presume that statutory terms are mere surplusage
Role of the jury
Role of prosecutor
Standard for directed verdict
Constitutional Limits on power to punish:
Constitutional ilmits on power to punish, particularly
Void for vagueness
8th amendment cases
Death penalty/ LWOP jurisprudence
Non dea/ LWOP - ewing
Prohibition statuts crime (robinson, powell, jones)
Jurisdiction: Strict liability to be proven by prosecution
Morisette: presumption in common law crimes was that a mental state applies