1. Crimes Against Persons
US Government
Mrs. Lacks

2. Four types of CAP taking a life unwanted sexual invasions
bodily injury
personal restraint

3. Battery
Unwanted and unjustified offensive touching (pushing, punching, shoving, kicking, etc)
Requires contact with victim’s body
Some injury required
Minor injury = misdemeanor
Serious injury = felonies

4. Assault
Intentional scaring or menacing (yelling, use of bad language, threatening)
Specific intent to frighten another
Words alone are generally insufficient, but with gestures its enough
Awareness of victim is generally essential
Conditional threats are generally insufficient
Attempted battery assault
Specific intent to commit a battery plus taking substantial steps toward completion, but no completion
Incomplete physical injury, victim awareness is irrelevant

5. Stalking
Intentionally scaring another person by following, tormenting, or harassing him or her
Fill in gaps in law by criminalizing conduct which falls short of assault and battery
All states have enacted some sort of stalking law (since early 1990s)
Statutes vary greatly

6. Stalking Actus Reus: Mens Rea
Variety of actions, generally involving maintaining physical proximity or visual proximity
Some states require threats
All states require conduct be repeated
Some states provide list of very specific acts
Mens Rea
Offender must have specific intent to commit the actus reus
Offender must also have mental attitude causing bad result but statutes vary as to which mental attitude is needed.
Subjective fault (half states)—offender himself knew behavior would cause result
Objective fault (1/3 states)—reasonable person would know behavior would cause bad result.

7. Cyberstalking
Using internet, , other electronic communications devices to stalk another person through threatening behavior

8. Rape Originally, criminal law recognized only Modern interpretation
Common law rape: Intentional, forced, nonconsensual, heterosexual vaginal penetration (by a non-spouse)
Common law sodomy: Anal intercourse between two males
Modern interpretation
Aggravated rape: Rape by strangers or men with weapons who physically injure victims
Unarmed acquaintance rape: Nonconsensual sex between dates, lovers, neighbors, co-workers, employers

9. Rape Actus reus – sexual penetration by force or threat of force
No force if victim consented; historically victims have had to show they absolutely did not consent
Resistance rule has changed over time – from “utmost” (all power they had) to “reasonable” to being dropped completely (resistance tends to need to be present in acquaintance cases)
Mens rea- intentional sexual penetration

10. Statutory Rape Having sex with minors
Age of victim substitutes for force requirement
Non-consent is not an element
Consent is not a defense because minors cannot give consent (legally incompetent to consent)
Some states allow for reasonable mistake of age

11. Grades of Rape
Most statutes distinguish between aggravated rape and simple rape
Aggravated rape involves additional circumstance
Serious bodily injury to victim
Stranger commits rape
Rape occurs in connection with other crime
Rapist is armed
Rapist has accomplices
Victim is minor and rapist is several years older

12. Kidnapping Common law crime
Originally involved taking king’s relatives (to another country) for ransom
Seizing
Carrying away (asportation of) or
Confining
By force, threat of force, fraud or deception
Another person

13. Kidnapping Actus Rea: seizing and carrying away
Distance has become a non-issue
Quality and character of the carrying away not the actual distance
Mens Rea: intent to deprive the other person of his liberty

14. Kidnapping Grading Seriousness of Kidnapping Simple Aggravating
For purpose of: sexual invasions, hostage taking, ransom, robbing, murdering, blackmailing, terrorizing victim, achieving political claims

15. False Imprisonment Lesser form of kidnapping
Deprive a person of personal liberty
No asportation requirement
Deprivation of liberty is brief
Compelling a person to remain where he does not wish to remain

16. False Imprisonment Actus reus forcible detention—even if brief
Restraint must interfere substantially with the victim’s liberty, but in most states any interference is enough
Physical force or threatened force accomplishes the detention
Mens Rea:
specific intent to confine and restrain another without his or her consent

17. Crimes Against Persons: Murder

18. Homicide Homicide: when someone is killed criminal homicide
noncriminal homicide (Justifiable homicide or Excusable homicide)
Common Law divided criminal homicide into
Murder (Killing a person with malice aforethought)
First degree, second degree, felony murder, corporate murder
Manslaughter (Killing a person without malice aforethought)
Voluntary or involuntary

19. Malice Aforethought
Malice: specific intent, killing on purpose with ill will, hate, or spite
Aforethought: acts planning in advance

20. First Degree Murder Premeditated, deliberate, intent to kill murder
Felony murder
Only crime for which death penalty can be imposed (capital cases)
Death penalty issues complicate murder law
Supreme Court decisions have resulted in following
Mandatory death sentences are banned
Unguided discretionary death penalty decisions are banned
Mitigating factors are required
Additional aggravating factors are allowed

21. First Degree Murder Actus Reus Mens Rea Voluntary act of killing
many forms of killing
Many statutes require heinous atrocious or cruel acts to accomplish the actus reus of first degree murder
Mens Rea
Wilfull, deliberate, and premeditated murder (The “grand criterion of murder”
Something more than the intent to kill
Often disagreement what deliberate and premeditated mean
Wilfull = intent to kill
Premeditated = sufficient time to enable the mid to frame the design to kill
Deliberate = conscious of purpose and design

22. Second Degree Murder Implied malice
Intent to inflict serious bodily injury
Depraved heart murders (unintentional, but extremely reckless)
Some states make this the “catch all” category

23. Felony Murder
Unintentional deaths that occur during the commission of some felonies
States vary as to what felonies are included—some list the felonies
Variation regarding whether co-defendant’s death can be basis for felony murder
Third party exception; resisting victim exception
Some states say that felony murder applies to “inherently dangerous felonies.”
Approach 1- Determine whether felony is inherently dangerous by looking at the crime in the abstract
Approach 2-determine whether the felony is inherently dangerous by looking at the facts presented in the case. (case by case approach)

24. Corporate Murder
Corporations commit murder through the acts of their agents
Ford Pinto
Autumn Hills Convalescent Center
Concerns about corporate murder stem from concerns about vicarious liability in general (imputing acts of one to another)

25. Manslaughter Voluntary Manslaughter Intentional killing
Done in the sudden heat of passion
Timing of whether this was still in heat of passion is determined by the facts of the case
Without a cooling off period
Objective test of cooling off time (would a reasonable person under the same circumstances had time to cool off)
Because of legally adequate provocation
Provocation is both subjective (defendant himself was provoked) and objective (reasonable person would be provoked)
Types of provocation recognized
Mutual combat, assault and battery, trespass and adultery
Paramour rule: common law rule that held that a man who found his wife in the arms of her lover was not guilty of murder but rather voluntary manslaughter (presumed that this would be adequate provocation which would cause sudden heat of passion)
Words cannot be provocation, but there may be statutes that allow words to suffice for provocation
Last straw rule, smoldering resentment

26. Manslaughter Involuntary Manslaughter
Criminal homicide constitutes manslaughter when
It is committed recklessly; or under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse
Example: Hitting and killing a pedestrian crossing the street after you’ve had a couple of drinks
Actus reus –killing
Mens rea –unintentional killing

27. Unlawful Act Manslaughter
Death that occurs during the commission of an unlawful act
Sometimes referred to as misdemeanor homicide