Exam 9: Excuses

What are the three explanations for the duress defense?

As a response to the growing concern for the moral blameworthiness of acts committed by defendants found to be not guilty by reason of insanity, all 50 states have adopted a verdict of "guilty but mentally ill."

The ______ has been invoked by defendants who contend that they suffered from severe pain and distress that drove them to act in a violent fashion.

The ______ is a legal defense in which defendants claim that the crimes with which they are charged resulted from their own victimization and that they should not be held responsible.

The irresistible impulse test requires the jury to find a defendant NGRI in the event that the jurors find that the defendant possessed a mental disease that prevented him from curbing his or her criminal conduct.

Insanity is an excuse defense.

Cindy's daughter has been kidnapped. The kidnappers have demanded that Cindy transport cocaine from an anonymous dealer to a buyer. After the buyer hands her the money, she is to shoot the buyer and take back the cocaine. Once she hands over the drugs and money to the kidnappers, they will return her daughter. Cindy is not to contact the police and as a warning, the kidnappers have already sent Cindy her daughter's ear. After Cindy has killed the buyer, she is arrested for murder. At her trial, Cindy invokes the duress defense. Would Cindy be successful? Why or why not? Apply the elements of duress to the case and come to a conclusion.

The contemporary trend is to dismiss the original common law rule and recognize a defense based on voluntary intoxication because of the increasing acceptance of alcoholism as a disease.

There is a growing trend for state statutes to permit the criminal prosecution of any juvenile as an adult who is charged with a serious offense.

James was taking prescription drugs for a toothache. While driving one evening, James became extremely nauseated and then blacked out. James subsequently drove his car into a group of pedestrians, killing three people. What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary intoxication? May James rely on one of these defenses? Why or why not?

The availability of the excuse to the criminal defendant is based on all of the following EXCEPT ______.

Modernly, how do courts handle women and duress?

What are the three categories into which juveniles are categorized under the common law?

The fundamental difference among the insanity tests is whether the emphasis is placed on the defendant's ability to know right from wrong or on the defendant's ability to control his or her behavior.

With regards to entrapment, the ______ test focuses on the defendant and asks whether the accused possessed the criminal intent or the predisposition to commit the crime or whether the government created the offense.

What is diminished capacity?

What is the difference between not guilty by reason of insanity and guilty but mentally ill?

Jack is carjacked as he drives down sunset blvd around 4 AM. The carjacker instructs him to move over to the passenger seat and Jack complies. He further goes on to say that Jack must assist him in robbing a back otherwise he will kill his pregnant girlfriend. The carjacker reminds him that he can simply look at his vehicle registration in order to obtain the address. Jack is unsure of what to do but fears for the lives of his loved ones. He decides to comply. If after the bank robbery he is apprehended and charged with a crime, does he have and defenses available to him?

The mistake of law does not constitute a defense.

The ______ provides that a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacks the substantial capacity to either appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.