Criminal Law Flashcards
7 cards from real OR BAR 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
Under the M'Naghten test, a defendant is not criminally responsible if, at the time of the crime:
Answer: The defendant did not know the nature of the act or that it was wrong
M'Naghten focuses on cognitive incapacity: the defendant did not know the nature or quality of the act, or did not know it was wrong.
The 'irresistible impulse' test for insanity holds that a defendant is not responsible if:
Answer: The defendant knew the act was wrong but could not control his conduct
The irresistible impulse test adds a volitional prong: the defendant may have known right from wrong but was unable to control his behavior.
The necessity (choice of evils) defense is unavailable when:
Answer: The defendant was at fault in creating the emergency situation
Necessity is unavailable if the defendant was responsible for bringing about the very emergency that necessitated the choice of evils.
A successful entrapment defense requires showing:
Answer: Government inducement of the crime and the defendant's lack of predisposition to commit it
Entrapment requires both government inducement and the defendant's absence of predisposition to commit the crime.
At common law, duress as a defense to a crime requires:
Answer: An immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm that a person of reasonable firmness could not resist
Common law duress requires an immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm that a person of reasonable firmness could not resist, and it is generally unavailable for murder.
Under the MPC's ALI 'substantial capacity' insanity test, a defendant lacks responsibility if, due to mental disease or defect, he lacks:
Answer: Substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law
The MPC requires only lack of substantial capacity — not total incapacity — to appreciate criminality or to conform conduct to the law.
Which statement about strict liability crimes is correct?
Answer: They impose criminal liability without proof of any mens rea
Strict liability crimes require no proof of mens rea; the commission of the prohibited act alone is sufficient for criminal liability.
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