Deck 3: The Elements of Criminal Liability

Question 1

What is the requirement that the defendant's conduct was the cause in fact of the harm?

A) Factual causation
B) Actual causation
C) Intentional causation
D) Criminal causation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the term that refers to cases where a person can be held criminally liable in the complete absence of mens rea?

A) Strict liability
B) Partial liability
C) Personal liability
D) Criminal liability

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is a good example of resulting harm?

A)Killing of a human being
B)Planning a murder
C)Killing anything
D)None of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which crimes are complete when the criminal act and criminal intent concur and there is no requirement for resulting harm?

A)Conduct
B)Action
C)Heinous
D)Assaultive

Question 5

What is the intent to commit the actus reus or criminal act of the crime only?

A) Specific intent
B) Exclusive intent
C) Actual intent
D) General intent

Question 6

What action is related to the apparent safety doctrine is the rule that an offender cannot be held liable if his or her victim a victim acts in a free, voluntary, and informed manner that leads to the resulting harm?

A)Voluntary Offender Control
B)Voluntary Suspect Conviction
C)Voluntary Victim Eviction
D)Voluntary Victim Intervention

Question 7

What occurs when the defendant claims to misunderstand or misinterpret the law as it applies to the specific circumstances?

A) Mistake of fact
B) Mistake of law
C) Mistake of court
D) Mistake of legality

Question 8

What limits criminal liability to conduct that "includes a voluntary act or omission to perform an act of which the criminal is physically capable?"

A)Modern Law
B)Model Penal Code
C)Federal Penal Code
D)State Penal code

Question 9

There is a requirement that the actus reus and the mens rea occur together, which is known as concurrence. What are the two types of concurrence?

A) Temporary and motive
B) Temporal and motivational
C) Temporary and permanent
D) None of the above

Question 10

Who stated that "the true explanation of the rule is the same as that which accounts for the law's indifference to a man's particular temperament, faculties, and so forth?"

A) John Paul Jones
B) Oliver Wendell Holmes
C) Jerome Andrew Hall
D) None of the above

Question 11

What type of crimes are crimes that require actual harm?

A)Actual
B)Practical
C)Statute
D)Result

Question 12

What occurs when the defendant's intent to harm one person is transferred to the actual victim of the crime?

A) Given intent
B) Absorbed intent
C) Related intent
D) Transferred intent

Question 13

What is the intent to commit an act to achieve a certain criminal result?

A) Specific intent
B) Exclusive intent
C) Actual intent
D) General intent

Question 14

When developing probable cause, law enforcement officers must show that the suspect intentionally, knowingly, willingly, or through negligence or recklessness commits an act that harms another, which is known as what?

A) Standard mental attitude
B) Culpable mental states
C) Cooperative mental states
D) Personal mental attitude

Question 15

Requiring a causation element in certain crimes serves what type of function?

A) Protective
B) Controlling
C) Orderly
D) Adaptive

Question 16

What is the Latin expression for criminal intent?

A) Mans reus
B) Actus reus
C) Mens rea
D) None of the above

Question 17

What type of causation, also known as "proximate" causation, is concerned with who should be held criminally responsible?

A) Illegal causation
B) Legal causation
C) Criminal causation
D) Victim causation

Question 18

What is the Latin term meaning "evil act" or criminal act, and is one of the core requirements of a crime?

A) Mens rea
B) Actus reus
C) Mans reus
D) Actus remis

Question 19

What element or attendant circumstances do some crimes contain? For example, in the crime of driving under the influence, the circumstance unique to that offense is "under the influence."

A) Evidentiary element
B) Specific element
C) Comprehensive element
D) Circumstantial element

Question 20

What was the Court of Appeals decision concerning the State of New Mexico v. Thomas Harrison conviction?

A) Overturned
B) Remanded
C) Affirmed
D) Assimilated

Question 21

An omission, or failure to act, can also serve as the basis for criminal liability, although this is rare.

Question 22

Traditional mens rea is not concerned with culpability or an offender's level of blameworthiness.

Question 23

Motive is important to the law for four reasons.

Question 24

Unless an intoxicated person driving a vehicle that runs over and kills a pedestrian commits one voluntary act of entering and driving the vehicle, the killing of the pedestrian may be involuntary if the driver has no intent of hitting the victim.

Question 25

When determining whether to file charges, why is it important to distinguish between a defendant who does not know there is a law applying to his or her activity versus a defendant who knows there is a relevant law, but is not sure whether it applies in the exact circumstances in question?

A) One applies to mistake of law and the other applies to ignorance of law.
B) One applies to ignoring the law and the other applies to mistake of law.
C) One applies to criminal law and the other applies to civil law.
D) None of the above.

Question 26

Only a few states have laws that require certain officials to report actions such as child abuse. Failure to report can lead to criminal liability by omission.

Question 27

In a conduct crime, there is no requirement that any resulting harm occur, only that someone engaged in an action that was prohibited by law.

Question 28

The apparent safety doctrine holds that a defendant is the legal cause of a resulting harm if the victim reaches a place of "apparent safety," at which point an intervening cause of harm comes into play.

Question 29

There are four main situations in which ignorance or mistake can serve as a defense to criminal liability.

Question 30

If George pushes Gary, who cannot swim, into a lake, Gary struggles and cries out for help, and George fails to assist, George can be guilty of a crime.

Question 31

What mental state is a person revealing when he or she should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk exists, and he or she does not take the action that a normal prudent person would take to alleviate the result that creates the risk?

A)Negligence
B)Knowingly
C)Willingly
D)None of the above

Question 32

In general, a person cannot be guilty of a crime unless he or she commits a voluntary act.

Question 33

Traditional actus reus is concerned with culpability, or an offender's level of blameworthiness for a crime.

Question 34

What are the two types of mistake in respect to criminal law?

A) Mistake of law and mistake of fact
B) Mistake of criminal law and mistake of civil fact
C) Mistake of liability and mistake of evidence
D) None of the above

Question 35

Based on the general interpretation, what must happen to establish a mistake?

A) A person knows what he or she is doing is wrong, but is not completely clear as to why.
B) A person thinks what he or she is doing is legal, but is not correct in this knowledge.
C) A person thinks he or she is not liable for violating the law because he or she is a foreigner to this land.
D) Both a and b

Question 36

When the consequences of a person's actions are desired, this is known as direct intent.

Question 37

When considering ignorance or mistake, how many situations may exist to serve as defense to criminal liability?

A) Two
B) Three
C) Four
D) One

Question 38

If George pushes Gary, who cannot swim, into a lake, Gary struggles and cries out for help, and George fails to assist, George cannot be found guilty of a crime.

Question 39

A parent's duty to protect his or her child requires affirmative performance to prevent harm and that failure to act may mean that the parent knowingly endangers the welfare of the child.

Question 40

A simple example of actus reus is a defendant pulling the trigger of a gun and shooting a victim.

Question 41

__________________ requires that there can be no criminal liability for a resulting harm "unless it can be shown that the defendant's conduct was the cause-in-fact of the prohibited result."

Question 42

In the State of New York v. Decina, the defendant was charged with ______________.

Question 43

____________________ is known as attendant circumstances, the requirement for a specific circumstance to be present.

Question 44

__________________ exists when the defendant claims to misunderstand the law as it applies to the specific circumstances.

Question 45

Discuss the Good Samaritan laws in comparison with the Bad Samaritan laws. What relevance do these laws play in the crime of omission or neglect? What must be proven to file charges in these situations?

Question 46

________________ are offenses for which engaging in a prohibited act constitutes the full offense.

Question 47

Determine the difference in actus reus and mens rea. What levels of each are mentioned in the text? Why do both have to exist before one may determine that a crime has occurred?

Question 48

A person cannot be guilty of a crime unless he or she commits a ________________.

Question 49

_____________________ is concerned with culpability, or an offender's level of blameworthiness for a crime. The offender is considered morally bankrupt.

Question 50

_________________ of the criminal law is that part that defines specific crimes.

Question 51

________________ are laws that make it a crime for someone to fail to come to the aid of another who is in danger.

Question 52

_________________ are offenses that are not complete without actual harm.

Question 53

The five basic elements of culpable mental states are _____________________.

Question 54

List and define the culpable mental states required to develop probable cause that a person committed a crime. Discuss why each mental state determines what level of sanction will be levied against an accused.

Question 55

A dependent intervening cause (sometimes called a "responsive intervening cause") is one that is either not intended or not reasonably foreseen by the defendant.

Question 56

There are four main situations in which ignorance or mistake can serve as a defense to criminal liability.

Question 57

___________________ is a misunderstanding or misinterpretation by the defendant about a relevant fact. Potentially used as a defense or to negate the mens rea requirement of the crime.

Question 58

________________ of the criminal law refers to the basic elements that form the foundation of the criminal law in America.

Question 59

?????????????__________________ is when the consequences of a person's actions are desired.

Question 60

Discuss mistake of law in comparison to ignorance of law. What are the primary differences in the two? Why is ignorance of the law not an acceptable plea? What situations typically include mistake of law?

Question 61

You are a patrol officer who has been dispatched to investigate a complaint concerning the sexual assault of a child in a cultural neighborhood. This particular culture practices the ancient belief that a man may wed a female at any age and may consummate the marriage once the female reaches puberty. When you arrive at the scene, you determine that the suspect is legally married to the victim through the cultural requirements for marriage. The victim is 12 years old and the suspect is 44. How would you proceed with the investigation? Would you arrest the suspect for sexual assault of a child? What laws apply to this case? Would the suspect have any defense for violating the laws of this country?

Question 62

You are an investigator who has been assigned a case of elder abuse. The suspect has legal responsibility of care, custody, and control of his elderly mother, who is a victim of Alzheimer's disease. The suspect knows that the victim is prone to wandering aimlessly all hours of the night and day. However, the suspect neglects to lock the doors on a given night. The victim leaves the home around 2:00
a.m.and walks down the center of a major highway adjacent to the home. The driver of an approaching vehicle did not seen the victim soon enough to avoid hitting the victim. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. You have been charged with the investigation to determine if the suspect may have caused the situation to occur. What will you have to prove to be able to develop probable cause in this case?

Question 63

Discuss the difference between conduct crimes and result crimes. Give examples of both.