DCJS Virginia Criminal Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Virginia law, what is the primary distinction between larceny and robbery?
- Robbery involves taking property worth more than $1,000
- Robbery involves the use of force or intimidation against a person (Correct answer)
- Larceny requires a weapon to be present
- Robbery only occurs in a commercial setting
Correct answer: Robbery involves the use of force or intimidation against a person
Robbery is larceny accomplished by violence or intimidation directly against a person, whereas larceny does not involve such force.
Question 2: In Virginia, which of the following best describes 'breaking and entering' as required for burglary?
- Only physical destruction of a door or window qualifies
- Any actual or constructive breaking of a close, including opening an unlocked door, may suffice (Correct answer)
- The offender must use a tool to gain entry
- Entry must occur through a window exclusively
Correct answer: Any actual or constructive breaking of a close, including opening an unlocked door, may suffice
Virginia recognizes both actual breaking (physical force) and constructive breaking (fraud, threats) to satisfy the breaking element of burglary.
Question 3: Under Virginia Code § 18.2-91, what distinguishes statutory burglary from common-law burglary?
- Statutory burglary requires nighttime entry only
- Statutory burglary extends to daytime entry and structures beyond dwellings (Correct answer)
- Statutory burglary requires the use of a deadly weapon
- Statutory burglary only applies to commercial buildings
Correct answer: Statutory burglary extends to daytime entry and structures beyond dwellings
Virginia's statutory burglary statutes expand on common law by covering daytime entries and a wider range of structures beyond the traditional dwelling.
Question 4: A person in Virginia strikes another intending to cause serious bodily injury, but the victim only suffers minor bruising. What is the most appropriate charge?
- Assault and battery
- Malicious wounding
- Unlawful wounding (Correct answer)
- Aggravated assault
Correct answer: Unlawful wounding
Unlawful wounding under § 18.2-51 applies when the defendant intended bodily injury but acted without malice, and serious injury resulted; if the wound is minor, the intent element guides the charge toward unlawful rather than malicious wounding.
Question 5: Under Virginia law, which element is required to prove criminal conspiracy?
- The conspiracy must involve a felony offense only
- An agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime, with intent to carry it out (Correct answer)
- At least one overt act in furtherance of the crime
- All conspirators must be present at the scene of the intended crime
Correct answer: An agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime, with intent to carry it out
Virginia conspiracy requires an agreement between two or more persons with the shared intent to commit a criminal act; unlike federal law, Virginia does not require an overt act.
Question 6: Which of the following is TRUE about the crime of stalking under Virginia Code § 18.2-60.3?
- A single threatening act constitutes stalking
- Stalking requires a course of conduct on more than one occasion that causes reasonable fear (Correct answer)
- The victim must have a restraining order for stalking to be charged
- Stalking can only be charged if the offender and victim were in a romantic relationship
Correct answer: Stalking requires a course of conduct on more than one occasion that causes reasonable fear
Virginia stalking requires a pattern of conduct — two or more acts — directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to experience fear.
Question 7: Under Virginia law, what is the mens rea required for first-degree murder?
- Negligence
- Recklessness
- Deliberate, premeditated, and willful intent to kill (Correct answer)
- General intent to cause serious harm
Correct answer: Deliberate, premeditated, and willful intent to kill
First-degree murder in Virginia requires a willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, meaning the defendant formed the intent to kill and reflected upon that intent before acting.
DCJS Virginia Criminal Law 2
Under Virginia law, what is the primary distinction between larceny and robbery?