Criminal Law: general principles
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Sources of law
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Felonies vs. misdemeanors
Constitutional requirements
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Common law vs. statutes
Model Penal Code
Bills of attainder
Ex post facto laws
Elements of a crime
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Wrongful act (actus reus)
State of Mind (mens rea)
causation
520. Murder With Malice Aforethought
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with murder.
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People
must prove that:
1. The defendant committed an act that caused the death of
(another person/ [or] a fetus);
[AND]
2. When the defendant acted, (he/she) had a state of mind
called malice aforethought(;/.)
[AND
3. (He/She) killed without lawful (excuse/[or] justification).]
Malice Aforethought
There are two kinds of malice aforethought, express malice and
implied malice. Proof of either is sufficient to establish the state
of mind required for murder.
The defendant acted with express malice if (he/she) unlawfully
intended to kill.
The defendant acted with implied malice if:
1. (He/She) intentionally committed an act;
2. The natural consequences of the act were dangerous to
human life;
3. At the time (he/she) acted, (he/she) knew (his/her) act was
dangerous to human life;
AND
4. (He/She) deliberately acted with conscious disregard for
(human/ [or] fetal) life.
Murder: Degrees
The defendant is guilty of first degree
murder if the People have proved that
(he/she) acted willfully, deliberately, and
with premeditation. The defendant acted
willfully if (he/she) intended to kill. The
defendant acted deliberately if (he/she)
carefully weighed the considerations for
and against (his/her) choice and, knowing
the consequences, decided to kill. The
defendant acted with premeditation if
(he/she) decided to kill before committing
the act that caused death.
570. Voluntary Manslaughter: Heat of
Passion
A killing that would otherwise be murder is reduced to
voluntary manslaughter if the defendant killed someone
because of a sudden quarrel or in the heat of passion.
The defendant killed someone because of a sudden quarrel or
in the heat of passion if:
1.
The defendant was provoked;
2. As a result of the provocation, the defendant acted rashly
and under the influence of intense emotion that obscured
(his/her) reasoning or judgment; AND
3. The provocation would have caused a person of average
disposition to act rashly and without due deliberation, that
is, from passion rather than from judgment.
1700. Burglary
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with burglary.
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People
must prove that:
1. The defendant entered (a/an) (building/room within a
building/locked vehicle/ <insert other statutory
target>);
AND
2. When (he/she) entered (a/an) (building/room within the
building/locked vehicle/ <insert other statutory
target>), (he/she) intended to commit (theft/ [or]
<insert one or more felonies>).
1800. Theft by Larceny
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with [grand/petty]
theft [by larceny].
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People
must prove that:
1. The defendant took possession of property owned by
someone else;
2. The defendant took the property without the owner’s consent;
3. When the defendant took the property (he/she) intended
to deprive the owner of it permanently…; AND
4. The defendant moved the property, even a small distance,
and kept it for any period of time, however brief.
1000. Rape or Spousal Rape by Force, Fear, or
Threats
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with rape [of his wife]
by force.
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People
must prove that:
1. The defendant had sexual intercourse with a woman;
2. He and the woman were (not married/married) to each
other at the time of the intercourse;
3. The woman did not consent to the intercourse;
AND
4. The defendant accomplished the intercourse by
<Alternative 4A—force or fear>
[force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and
unlawful bodily injury to the woman or to someone else.]
<Alternative 4B—future threats of bodily harm>
[omitted]
<Alternative 4C—threat of official action>
[threatening to use the authority of a public office to
incarcerate, arrest, or deport someone. …]
505. Justifiable Homicide: Self-Defense or Defense of
Another
The defendant is not guilty of (murder/ [or] manslaughter/
attempted murder/ [or] attempted voluntary manslaughter) if (he/
she) was justified in (killing/attempting to kill) someone in (self-defense/
[or] defense of another). The defendant acted in lawful
(self-defense/ [or] defense of another) if:
1. The defendant reasonably believed that (he/she/ [or]
someone else) was in imminent danger of being killed or
suffering great bodily injury;
2. The defendant reasonably believed that the immediate use
of deadly force was necessary to defend against that
danger; AND
3. The defendant used no more force than was reasonably
necessary to defend against that danger.
3450. Insanity: Determination, Effect of Verdict
You have found the defendant guilty of <insert crime[s]>. Now you
must decide whether (he/she) was legally insane when (he/she)
committed the crime[s].
The defendant must prove that it is more likely than not that
(he/she) was legally insane when (he/she) committed the
crime[s].
The defendant was legally insane if:
1. When (he/she) committed the crime[s], (he/she) had a
mental disease or defect;
AND
2. Because of that disease or defect, (he/she) did not know or
understand the nature and quality of (his/her) act or did
not know or understand that (his/her) act was morally or
legally wrong.
Accessorial Crimes
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Aiding and abetting
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Accessories before the fact
Accomplices
Solicitation
Conspiracy
Corporate crimes
The death penalty
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Held unconstitutional in 1966
Allowed again, with proper guidelines, in 1976
reinstated in 38 states
Jury must “weigh” aggravating versus mitigating
circumstances
Current controversies
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Possibly innocent defendants (Illinois)
Whether electrocution and lethal injection are “cruel
and unusual”