1L - Inchoate - Intent - Other Crimes To Persons

ELEMENTS OF A CRIME,
INTENTS,
INCHOATE CRIMES,
&
OTHER CRIMES AGAINST
THE PERSON
REVIEW - ELEMENTS OF A CRIME
In general, for an act to be a crime in U.S. criminal justice

systems, four elements must be present:
1. A criminal act (in tort this is a voluntary act)
2. A criminal state of mind (in tort this is intent)
3. Concurrence of a criminal act and a criminal state of mind
4. Causation
-Will look at more closely with Murder & Negligence in Torts
-Act cannot be too attenuated from the harm
-A foreseeable outgrowth of the crime
ELEMENTS OF A CRIME: A CRIMINAL ACT
(ACTUS REUS)
 Wrongful deed that, if combined with other elements of a crime,
may result in the legal arrest, trial, conviction, and punishment
of the accused
 Does not include thoughts without action

 We all have guilty thoughts
 How could we ever prove thoughts without action?
 Most states require a

voluntary act or failure
to act (with a special
relationship in Vicarious
Liability)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
ELEMENTS OF A CRIME: A CRIMINAL ACT
(ACTUS REUS)
 Guilty Act
 Can be slight
 Can be decided to be acted upon in a short timeframe
 Can be but does not need to be instant
 We need more than a Guilty Mind
 The Exclusion of Involuntary Conduct
 Involuntary acts not considered criminal

 Examples?
ELEMENTS OF A CRIME: THE CONCURRENCE
OF A CRIMINAL ACT AND A CRIMINAL INTENT
 General principle that mens rea and actus reus must coincide
 Must be evidence that the criminal act is the result of the

mens rea
 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

ELEMENTS OF A CRIME: A CRIMINAL
INTENT (MENS REA)
 State of mind referring to the willful commission of an act or the
omission of an act one has a legal duty to perform
 Mens rea
 Guilty mind
 One of the most difficult elements of a crime
 Divided into two types

 Specific
 General
 Can be inferred... Let’s look closer

ELEMENTS OF A CRIME: A CRIMINAL
INTENT (MENS REA)
Having a guilty mind - Proving Criminal Intent
 Can show knowingly, intentional, reckless, wanton, grossly
negligent conduct OR
 The law permits an inference of intent from relevant facts

 If sufficient circumstantial evidence is presented, jury may be
permitted to infer intent from that evidence
 Deadly Weapon Doctrine
Scienter
 While someone is committing an act of wrongdoing – the person
committing the offense knows what they are doing is wrong or
illegal
SPECIFIC INTENT
 Must intend the target crime
 BREC
 Burglary, Robbery, Embezzlement, Conspiracy
 Attempt – must always have the intent to commit the

underlying crime
 Even if underlying crime is general intent – an attempt to a

general intent crime is specific intent
GENERAL INTENT
 A general intent crime does not stipulate any specific

intention in the commission of the unlawful act
 May come from a statute
 Examples of General Intent v Specific Intent Crimes

LIABILITY WITHOUT FAULT: VICARIOUS
LIABILITY
 Dispenses with the requirement of actus reus and imputes
criminal act of one person to another
 Often used for employer-employee situations
 Requires a special Relationship
 Parent / Child
MALICE
 Indicates the intention without justification or excuse to

commit an act that is unlawful
 Arson
 Modern v Common Law
 Murder
 4 States of Intent
 Anyone remember them?
REVIEW - INCHOATE CRIMES
 Solicitation
 Conspiracy
 Traditional v Modern Law?
 Wharton’s Rule
 A criminal offense that requires two parties cannot be the object of a conspiracy that
consists of two parties
 Example?
 Pinkerton Doctrine
 All Conspiracy members are liable for the co-conspirators’ substantive crimes intended in
furtherance of the conspiracy
 Attempt
 Preparation just shy of Perpetration
 Target Crime
MERGER DOCTRINE
 If the target crime is committed the preliminary (inchoate crime)

merges into the target crime
 Solicitation (proceeds to) Conspiracy (proceeds to) Attempt

 Exception – Conspiracy does not merge
 Conspiracy is an independent crime once completed…
so withdrawal from the Conspiracy will result in a charge for Conspiracy
but will cut off liability for the target crime (Pinkerton Rule)
 Solicitation + Conspiracy = Wrong Answer

 Attempt + Target Crime = Wrong Answer
 Conspiracy + Target Crime = ???
OTHER CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON
 Criminal Assault
 An unlawful attempt to apply force to another (and to have the ability
to do so)
 AKA attempted battery
 Can be menacing or threatening act or statements– to believe they’re in
present danger (not threat of future harm)
 What is assault in tort?

 Where did apprehension go?
 Make sure you use the right “keywords” for the right sections
 Practice and not only memorize but understand the concepts
OTHER CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON
 Criminal Battery
 The intentional and unlawful use of force against another
 Must have physical contact
 Body or something within close proximity or control
 Purse, cup in hand
 What is a Battery in Tort?

 How are they different?
 How are they the same?
HOW IS THIS TESTED
 A lawyer decided to play a joke on an associate at his firm. Lawyer wore

a mask, entered the office, pulled out a toy cap gun, and said, “This is a
stickup! Give me your wallet or I will shoot!” Lawyer pulled the trigger,
causing the toy gun to make a loud noise. Although the associate was
not frightened, Lawyer was fired because of the incident. Lawyer was
subsequently charged with criminal assault, defined in this jurisdiction
as “an unlawful attempt, with or without present ability, to commit a
battery on the person of another.”
Is Lawyer guilty of criminal assault?
 A) No, because the facts state that associate was not frightened
 B) No, because Lawyer didn’t intend to cause physical injury to associate
 C) Yes, because he intended to frighten the associate
 D) Yes, because the statute does not require the present ability to
commit a battery
 Note – a statute can change a definition – follow the question

OTHER CRIMES TO PEOPLE
 Rape
 Act of sexual penetration when the act is accomplished against the victim’s
will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and
unlawful bodily injury on another person
 Nonconsensual by means of threats / force / fraud
 Mayhem
 Unlawful and malicious causing to disfigure, disable, or dismember a the body
of another person
 False Imprisonment / Kidnapping

 Unlawfully confining another person without a reasonable means of escape by
using force or threat of force, duress, fraud, or deceit
 Kidnapping adds movement
 Same as Torts!
MORE PRACTICE
 Find the Call – Think of the first slide – Concurrence of mind

(intent) & unlawful act & cause
 To stop her co-worker from leaving her phone, that was an
expensive smartphone, lying around, despite the news reporting
a rise in robberies to obtain cell phones. He decides to wear a
mask, and with a toy knife, scare his co-worker. He demanded
her phone, and she handed it over. After fleeing the scene, he
took off his mask, and returned to explain why he did this and to
return the co-worker’s phone.
 Of what crime could the man be convicted?
 A) Robbery
 B) Armed Robbery
 C) Assault
 D) No crime was committed.
ANY QUESTIONS?
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ELEMENTS OF A CRIME,

In general, for an act to be a crime in U.S. criminal justice

1. A criminal act (in tort this is a voluntary act)

2. A criminal state of mind (in tort this is intent)

3. Concurrence of a criminal act and a criminal state of mind

 Does not include thoughts without action

 Most states require a

 We need more than a Guilty Mind

 The Exclusion of Involuntary Conduct

 Involuntary acts not considered criminal

 Must be evidence that the criminal act is the result of the

 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

 One of the most difficult elements of a crime

 Divided into two types

 Can be inferred... Let’s look closer

 The law permits an inference of intent from relevant facts

 Must intend the target crime

 Attempt – must always have the intent to commit the

 Even if underlying crime is general intent – an attempt to a

 A general intent crime does not stipulate any specific

 Examples of General Intent v Specific Intent Crimes

 Often used for employer-employee situations

 Requires a special Relationship

 Indicates the intention without justification or excuse to

 If the target crime is committed the preliminary (inchoate crime)

 Solicitation (proceeds to) Conspiracy (proceeds to) Attempt

 Solicitation + Conspiracy = Wrong Answer

 What is assault in tort?

 What is a Battery in Tort?

 A lawyer decided to play a joke on an associate at his firm. Lawyer wore

 Note – a statute can change a definition – follow the question

 False Imprisonment / Kidnapping

 Find the Call – Think of the first slide – Concurrence of mind

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

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