Criminal Law Flashcards
7 cards from real Multistate Bar Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Criminal Law flashcards as text
A defendant, acting as an accessory before the fact, helps plan a robbery but is not present when it occurs. Under modern law, what is his liability?
Answer: He is liable as a principal to the same extent as those who committed the robbery
Modern law abolishes the distinction between principals and accessories before the fact; all who aid, abet, or counsel are liable as principals.
A defendant honestly and reasonably believed he was about to be attacked and killed a person who turned out to be an innocent bystander. Under the MPC, is imperfect self-defense available?
Answer: Yes, the honest belief is a complete defense under the MPC
Under the MPC, an honest but mistaken belief in the need for self-defense is a complete defense if the belief was reasonable; if unreasonable, it may reduce but not eliminate liability.
A defendant is prosecuted for murder under the year-and-a-day rule after the victim dies 14 months after being stabbed. Under the common law, can the defendant be convicted of murder?
Answer: No, because death occurred more than one year and one day after the act
At common law, a defendant could not be convicted of homicide if the victim died more than one year and one day after the defendant's act.
A defendant is entrapped by a government agent who repeatedly persuades a previously law-abiding person to sell drugs. Which entrapment test focuses on the defendant's predisposition?
Answer: The subjective test (majority federal rule)
The subjective test, used by most federal courts, focuses on whether the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime before government inducement.
A defendant, acting under a delusion that God commanded him to kill, kills his neighbor. He knew the act was killing but believed it was morally right. Under the M'Naghten test, is he legally insane?
Answer: Yes, because he did not know the act was wrong
Under M'Naghten, a defendant is insane if, due to mental disease, he did not know that his act was wrong — believing God commanded it means he did not appreciate its wrongfulness.
A defendant is charged with false pretenses after inducing the victim to transfer title to property by lying about his financial status. Which element distinguishes false pretenses from larceny by trick?
Answer: False pretenses requires transfer of title, not mere possession
False pretenses requires that the defendant's misrepresentation caused the victim to transfer title to the property; larceny by trick only involves obtaining possession, not title.
A defendant is charged with solicitation for asking a hitman to murder his business partner. The hitman refuses. Under the majority rule, is solicitation complete?
Answer: Yes, because solicitation is complete upon the asking, regardless of the response
Solicitation is complete as soon as the defendant requests or encourages another to commit a crime, regardless of whether the other person agrees or acts.