Master of Laws (LLM) Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Syllabus

Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure in Master of Laws (LLM), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Principles of Criminal Liability

   3 topics

   • Elements of a Crime
     • Actus reus and voluntary acts
     • Mens rea and Model Penal Code mental states
     • Causation and concurrence
   • Parties to Crime and Accomplice Liability
   • Inchoate Offenses: Attempt, Conspiracy, Solicitation
2. 2

   Specific Offenses and Defenses

   3 topics

   • Homicide
     • Murder degrees and malice aforethought
     • Voluntary and involuntary manslaughter
     • Felony murder rule
   • Crimes Against Property and Theft Offenses
   • Defenses to Crimes
     • Self-defense and defense of others
     • Insanity tests and diminished capacity
     • Duress, necessity, and entrapment
3. 3

   Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure

   3 topics

   • Reasonable Expectation of Privacy
     • Searches, seizures, and the warrant requirement
     • Probable cause and particularity
   • Warrant Exceptions
     • Search incident to arrest and exigent circumstances
     • Automobile, plain view, and consent exceptions
     • Stop and frisk under Terry
   • The Exclusionary Rule and Its Limits
4. 4

   Confessions and Trial Rights

   3 topics

   • Fifth Amendment Protections
     • Miranda warnings and custodial interrogation
     • Privilege against self-incrimination
     • Double jeopardy
   • Sixth Amendment Rights
     • Right to counsel and effective assistance
     • Right to confrontation and compulsory process
     • Speedy and public jury trial
   • Pretrial Identification and Lineups

Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure flashcards for Master of Laws (LLM)

23 of 71 cards from the Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the four elements that the prosecution must generally prove to establish criminal liability?

   (1) Actus reus (a voluntary physical act or qualifying omission), (2) Mens rea (a guilty state of mind), (3) Concurrence of the act and mental state, and (4) Causation linking the act to the resulting harm.

2. What is the difference between 'actus reus' and 'mens rea'?

   Actus reus is the physical/external element: a voluntary act or qualifying omission. Mens rea is the mental/internal element: the defendant's guilty state of mind or culpable intent.

3. List the four levels of culpability under the Model Penal Code (MPC), from most to least culpable.

   Purposely, Knowingly, Recklessly, and Negligently.

4. Under the MPC, what is the difference between acting 'recklessly' and 'negligently'?

   Recklessly: the defendant consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk. Negligently: the defendant should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk but failed to perceive it (an objective standard).

5. When does a failure to act (omission) create criminal liability?

   Only when there is a legal duty to act, such as one imposed by statute, contract, special relationship, voluntary assumption of care, or creation of the peril; the defendant must also have knowledge and the ability to perform the duty.

6. What is the difference between specific intent and general intent crimes?

   Specific intent crimes require intent to bring about a specific result beyond the act itself (e.g., burglary, larceny, attempt). General intent crimes require only intent to perform the wrongful act (e.g., battery, rape).

7. What is the doctrine of 'transferred intent'?

   When a defendant intends harm to one victim but causes the same type of harm to a different victim, the intent transfers to the actual victim, making the defendant guilty of the completed crime against that victim.

8. What are 'but-for' (actual) cause and proximate (legal) cause?

   Actual cause: the result would not have occurred but for the defendant's conduct. Proximate cause: the result is a foreseeable and not too remote consequence of the conduct, holding the defendant legally responsible.

9. Under common law, who are the four parties to a felony?

   Principal in the first degree (commits the act), principal in the second degree (aids/abets while present), accessory before the fact (aids beforehand but absent), and accessory after the fact (assists after the crime knowing it was committed).

10. What must the prosecution prove for accomplice liability?

    That the defendant (1) aided, counseled, or encouraged the principal (the act element), and (2) did so with the intent to assist and the intent that the principal commit the crime (dual intent).

11. For what crimes is an accomplice liable?

    An accomplice is liable for the crime he assisted AND for all other foreseeable crimes committed by the principal in the course of the planned offense (the natural-and-probable-consequences rule).

12. How can an accomplice withdraw to avoid liability?

    By repudiating prior encouragement, neutralizing any assistance given (e.g., retrieving materials), or notifying authorities/taking action to prevent the crime, all done before the crime is committed.

13. What is the modern (statutory) treatment of an accessory after the fact?

    An accessory after the fact is treated as committing a separate, lesser offense (such as obstruction of justice or harboring a fugitive) rather than being guilty of the underlying felony itself.

14. What are the three inchoate (incomplete) offenses?

    Attempt, Conspiracy, and Solicitation.

15. What are the two elements of criminal attempt?

    (1) Specific intent to commit the target crime, and (2) a substantial step (MPC) or an act that goes beyond mere preparation (common law 'dangerous proximity') toward its commission.

16. Is impossibility a defense to attempt?

    Factual impossibility (circumstances unknown to defendant make completion impossible) is NOT a defense. Legal impossibility (the intended act is not actually a crime) IS a defense.

17. What are the elements of conspiracy at common law versus the MPC?

    Common law: an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime, with intent to agree and intent to achieve the unlawful objective. MPC: adopts a unilateral approach and requires an overt act in furtherance (except for serious felonies).

18. What is the 'Pinkerton' rule of conspiracy liability?

    A conspirator is liable for all crimes committed by co-conspirators that are within the scope of the conspiracy and reasonably foreseeable as a natural consequence of it, even if he did not participate in those crimes.

19. Can a defendant be convicted of both conspiracy and the completed target crime?

    Yes. Conspiracy does NOT merge into the completed offense, so a defendant may be convicted and punished for both the conspiracy and the substantive crime.

20. What are the elements of solicitation?

    (1) Asking, encouraging, commanding, or advising another person to commit a crime, (2) with the specific intent that the person commit that crime. The offense is complete upon the asking, regardless of the other's response.

21. How do solicitation, attempt, and conspiracy merge?

    Solicitation merges into conspiracy or the completed crime if the person agrees or commits it; attempt merges into the completed crime. A defendant cannot be convicted of both solicitation and the resulting conspiracy/completed offense.

22. What is the common law definition of murder?

    The unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.

23. What are the four mental states that constitute 'malice aforethought' for murder?

    (1) Intent to kill, (2) intent to inflict serious bodily harm, (3) reckless indifference to human life (depraved/abandoned heart), and (4) intent to commit a felony (felony murder).

See more Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure flashcards →

Planning Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure for Master of Laws (LLM)

Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure (Master of Laws (LLM)) FAQ