Multistate Bar Exam Criminal Law 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A defendant takes a car from a parking lot believing it to be his own car, which looks identical. He is charged with larceny. Which defense applies?
- Mistake of law
- Mistake of fact negating intent to steal (Correct answer)
- Necessity
- Claim of right is never a defense to larceny
Correct answer: Mistake of fact negating intent to steal
A genuine mistake of fact negates the specific intent to steal required for larceny, as the defendant honestly believed the property was his own.
Question 2: A defendant enters a building through an unlocked door, intending to commit theft inside. Under common law, is this burglary?
- Yes, because intent to commit a felony inside is sufficient
- No, because there was no breaking (Correct answer)
- Yes, because entering through any door satisfies the entry element
- No, because theft is not a felony at common law
Correct answer: No, because there was no breaking
Common law burglary requires a 'breaking,' which means creating or enlarging an opening; walking through an unlocked door does not satisfy this element.
Question 3: A defendant shoots at A intending to kill him, but misses and kills B. Which doctrine allows the defendant to be charged with murdering B?
- Felony murder rule
- Transferred intent (Correct answer)
- Constructive intent
- Vicarious liability
Correct answer: Transferred intent
Under the transferred intent doctrine, the defendant's intent to kill A transfers to the unintended victim B, making him liable for B's murder.
Question 4: A defendant is prosecuted for attempted rape. He argues that he voluntarily stopped before completing the act. Under the MPC, is voluntary abandonment a defense to attempt?
- No, attempt is complete once a substantial step is taken
- Yes, if the abandonment was voluntary and complete (Correct answer)
- No, because rape is a strict liability offense
- Yes, but only if the victim consented to stop
Correct answer: Yes, if the abandonment was voluntary and complete
Under the MPC, voluntary and complete renunciation of criminal purpose after a substantial step is taken is an affirmative defense to attempt.
Question 5: Which of the following is NOT a required element of common law larceny?
- Trespassory taking
- Carrying away (asportation)
- Intent to permanently deprive
- Use of force or threat (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Use of force or threat
Common law larceny does not require force or threat; robbery requires force or threat, but larceny is a taking without force.
Question 6: A defendant, intending to kill his enemy, poisons the enemy's coffee. The enemy drinks it but does not die due to medical intervention. The defendant is charged with attempted murder. Under the MPC, which test applies?
- Proximity test
- Substantial step test (Correct answer)
- Last act test
- Dangerous proximity test
Correct answer: Substantial step test
The MPC uses the substantial step test, which asks whether the defendant took a substantial step strongly corroborative of criminal purpose.
Question 7: A defendant is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud. The prosecution proves the defendant agreed with one other person to commit the fraud, but that person was an undercover officer. Under the MPC, is the defendant guilty of conspiracy?
- No, because conspiracy requires at least two guilty parties
- Yes, because the MPC adopts a unilateral approach to conspiracy (Correct answer)
- No, because the officer could not legally agree to commit fraud
- Yes, but only if an overt act was committed
Correct answer: Yes, because the MPC adopts a unilateral approach to conspiracy
The MPC takes a unilateral approach, so a defendant can be guilty of conspiracy even if the only 'co-conspirator' was an undercover officer who never intended to commit the crime.
Multistate Bar Exam Criminal Law 3
A defendant takes a car from a parking lot believing it to be his own car, which looks identical.
He is charged with larceny.
Which defense applies?