Criminal Law Elements & Defenses Flashcards
7 cards from real FYLSX 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 Elements & Defenses flashcards as text
Dan sets a trap in his backyard intending to kill any trespasser who enters. A child trespasses and is killed. Dan is most likely guilty of:
Answer: Murder, because deadly mechanical devices cannot substitute for the privilege of self-defense
Under the spring-gun rule, a landowner may not use deadly mechanical devices to protect property because the defense of self-defense requires a human present who reasonably fears imminent harm.
Which element distinguishes larceny from embezzlement?
Answer: Whether the defendant had lawful initial possession of the property
Embezzlement requires that the defendant lawfully possessed the property before converting it, whereas larceny involves a trespassory taking from the outset.
Ann is charged with attempt. The prosecution must prove she had:
Answer: The specific intent to commit the target crime and a substantial step toward it
Criminal attempt requires specific intent to commit the underlying offense and a substantial step (beyond mere preparation) in furtherance of that intent.
Bob takes his neighbor's bicycle believing it is his own. He is charged with larceny. What is his best defense?
Answer: Claim of right / mistake of fact
A genuine claim of right (honest belief of ownership) negates the intent to steal, which is required for larceny.
Under the M'Naghten test, an insanity defense succeeds when the defendant:
Answer: Did not know the nature of the act or did not know it was wrong
M'Naghten focuses solely on cognitive incapacity: the defendant either did not know what they were doing or did not know it was wrong.
Felony murder liability requires that the underlying felony be:
Answer: Inherently dangerous and independent of the killing itself
Most jurisdictions require the predicate felony to be inherently dangerous and, under the merger doctrine, not to merge into the homicide itself.
A defendant charged with burglary broke into a home at noon. At common law, she is:
Answer: Not guilty, because common law burglary required entry in the nighttime
Common law burglary required breaking and entering a dwelling house of another in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony therein.