Lee crim 2025
| Front | State v. Guthrie |
| Back | Murder - premeditationGuthrie was provoked by taunting and being hit with a dish towel in the nose, and he killed his fellow employee. Jury instruction said that any intent to kill was considered premeditationHolding: reversed - there must be time in between the intent to kill and the act of killing for premeditation to be satisfied Takeaway: without time to deliberate, there is no meaningful difference between first- and second-degree murder (which is characterized by spontaneous/non-reflective nature) |
| Front | Elements of a crime |
| Back | 1. Actus reus: the act of the offense 2. Mens rea: the state of mind when committing the offense (guilty mind)CONCURRENCE REQUIREMENT: actus reus + mens rea must be present 3. Attendant circumstances: special factors that must be present for some crimes; found in the definition of the crime/statute (e.g. statutory rape - "underage") 3a. Things that aren't conduct or result 3b. A background fact that is crucial to finding out if the conduct is harmful |
| Front | Cheek v. United States |
| Back | Mistake of lawCheek (AA pilot) convicted for not paying taxes. He honestly believed he owed no taxes under the law. He also believed the laws were unconstitutional. Holding: a good faith mistake about federal tax laws does not need to be objectively reasonable to serve as a defense against the willfulness requirement By including "willful," Congress aimed to soften the impact of common law rule that ignorance of law is not a defense |