Syllabus - UMKC School of Law

CRIMINAL LAW, Fall, 2013Professor Sean O’BrienHolmes 1-407; (816) 235-1652obriensd@umkc.eduCasebook: Kadish, Schulhofer and Steiker, Criminal Law and Its Processes, Ninth Edition.Assignments refer to pages in the casebook.Web site materials are available at the bottom of Prof. O’Brien’s website, located in the FacultyDirectory section of the Faculty and Staff section of the UMKC Law School Home Page.Recommended Supplementary Sources: LaFave, Criminal Law Hornbook; Dressler,Understanding Criminal Law; Singer and La Fond, Criminal Law: Examples and ExplanationsWe will cover materials in the following order:I. Crime and Punishment: What do we punish and why?A. The Power to PunishWeb site materials:My Life as a Slave, Frederick DouglassLawrence v. TexasB. The Aims of PunishmentCasebook: pp. 75-88; 124-139Regina v. Dudley and Stevens; United States v. Bernard L. Madoff; United States v.Gementera;C. Sources of the Criminal Sanction: Common Law and StatutesCasebook: PP. 150-162Commonwealth v. Mochan, McBoyle v. United States, United States v. DaurayII.Defining Criminal Conduct: The Elements of a CrimeA. Actus Reus–Culpable Conduct1. Voluntary Act.Casebook: 209-216; MPC 1 §2.01Martin v. State; People v. Newton; The Cogdon Case1 MPC refers to the Model Penal Code beginning on page 1191 of the casebook.1

2. Omissions.Casebook:pp. 218-223, Jones v. United States; Pope v. State;pp. 226-36, Notes on Duties of a Bystander; Notes on Duties Triggered by SpecialCircumstances; Notes on Possession3. Distinguishing Acts and Omissions:Casebook: 236-39Barber v. Superior CourtB. Mens Rea–Culpable Intent1. Basic ConceptionsCasebook: 241-256; MPC §§ 1.13 (9) & (10), and MPC §§ 2.02, 2.04;Regina v. Cunningham; Regina v. Faulkner; State v. Hazelwood; Santillanes v.New Mexico;pp. 260-266: United States v. Jewell.2. Mistake of FactCasebook: 266-281;Regina v. Prince; People v. Olsen; B. v. Director of Public Prosecutions; Garnettv. State3. Strict LiabilityCasebook: 282-300; MPC § 2.05United States v. Balint; United States v. Dotterweich; Morissette v. United States;Staples v. United States; State v. Guminga; State v. Baker; Regina v. City of SaultSte. Marie.4. Mistake of LawCasebook: 303-325People v. Marrero; Regina v. Smith, Cheek v. United States; United States v.International Minerals & Chemical Corp.; Liparota v. United States; Bryan v.United States; United States v. Ansaldi; United States v. Oherholt; Lambert v.CaliforniaThe Cultural Defense: pp. 327-29C. Causation1. ForeseeabilityCasebook: 571-585, MPC § 2.03People v. Acosta; People v. Arzon; People v. Warner-Lambert Co.; Regina v.Cheshire; State v. Shabazz; United States v. Main2

D. AttemptIII. Vicarious Liability2. Subsequent Human Actionsa. Intended to produce the resultCasebook: 586-599People v. Campbell; People v. Kervorkian; Stephenson v. Stateb. Recklessly risk the resultCasebook: 599-607Commonwealth v. Root; People v. Kern; State v. McFadden;Commonwealth v. Atencio1. Mens ReaCasebook: 607-617; MPC § 5.01Smallwood v. State and note cases2. Preparation v. AttemptCasebook: 617-636King v. Barker; People v. Rizzo; McQuirter v. State; United States v. Jackson;United States v. Harper; United States v. Joyce.3. SolicitationCasebook: 637-641State v. Davis; United States v. Church4. ImpossibilityCasebook: 641-656People v. Jaffe; People v. Dlugash; United States v. Berrigan; United States v.Olviedo; Lady Eldon’s French LaceA. Accomplice Liability1. Mens rea: Conduct of the PrincipalCasebook: 657-674; MPC § 2.06Hicks v. United States; State v. Gladstone; United States v. Fountain (p. 669),Notes on Substantive Crime of Facilitation (p. 670).2. Mens rea: Attendant Circumstances and ResultsCasebook: 674-687State v. McVay; Commonwealth v. Roebuck; People v. Russell; People v.Luparello; Roy v. United States.3

3. Actus ReusCasebook: 687-693Wilcox v. Jeffery; State ex rel. Attorney General v. Tally, Judge4. Relationship between the Liability of the PartiesCasebook: 693-703State v. Hayes, Vaden v. StateB. ConspiracyOverview of ConspiracyCasebook: 703-706; MPC § 5.03Krulewitch v. United States1. The Actus Reus of ConspiracyCasebook: 706-713Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. United States;2. The Mens Rea of ConspiracyCasebook: 713-723People v. Lauria,3. Conspiracy as a form of Accessorial LiabilityCasebook: 723-735Pinkerton v. United States; State v. Bridges; United States v. Alvarez4. Duration and Scope of ConspiracyCasebook: 735-740Krulewitch v. United States; Grunewald v. United States5. Single or Multiple ConspiraciesCasebook: 740-751Kotteakos v. United States; Anderson v. Superior Court; United States v. Bruno;United States v. Borelli; United States v. McDermott6. Parties to ConspiracyCasebook 751-758Gebardi v. United States; Garcia v. State;7. [Omitted]4

8. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act [RICO]Casebook: 761-62; 765-766; 772-777RICO Act; Note on the controversy over RICO, United States v. Elliott; Sentelle,RICO: The Monster that Ate Jurisprudence; Lynch, RICO: The Crime of Being aCriminalC. Liability Within the Corporate FrameworkIV. Homicide OffensesA. Introduction1. Liability of the Corporate EntityCasebook: 777-782NY Central & Hudson River Railroad Co. v. United States; United States v.Hilton Hotels Corp.;2. Liability of Corporate AgentsCasebook: 802-812Gordon v. United States; United States v. ParkCasebook: 419-427Read Report of the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment; skim the statutes thatfollow, noting the different ways in which the mens rea for homicide is defined whendistinguishing between levels of culpability.B. Legislative Grading of Intended Killings.1. Premeditation-DeliberationCasebook: 427-437; MPC §§ 210.0 to 210.4Commonwealth v. Carroll; State v. Guthrie2. Mitigation to Manslaughtera. ProvocationCasebook: 437-463Girouard v. State; Maher v. People; People v. CasassaC. Legislative Grading of Unintended Killings1. Creation of Homicidal RiskCasebook: 463-481Commonwealth v. Welansky; Rex v. Bateman; State v. Barnett; People v. Hall;State v. Williams5

2. Distinguishing murder from manslaughterCasebook: 482-490Commonwealth v. Malone; United States v. FlemingD. Felony Murder1. The Basic DoctrineCasebook: 490-502;Regina v. Serne; People v. Stamp2. “Inherently Dangerous Felonies”Casebook: 502-508People v. Phillips; Hines v. State3. The Merger DoctrineCasebook: 508-515People v. Burton; People v. Chun4. Killings not in Furtherance of a FelonyCasebook: 515-523State v. CanolaV. Exculpation and ExcuseA. IntroductionCasebook: 817-818B. Justification1. Defense of Life and PersonCasebook: 818-872; MPC §§ 3.04, 3.05United States v. Peterson; People v. Goetz; State v. Kelly;a. Imminent Use of ForceCasebook: 848-863State v. Norman; Commonwealth v. Sands; State v. Schroeder; Ha v. State;b. Initial AggressorCasebook: 863-865State v. Abbott;c. Duty to retreatCasebook: 865-872United States v. Peterson6

C. ExcuseVI. Mental Illness.2. Protection of Property and Law EnforcementCasebook: 872-885; MPC §§ 3.06-3.09People v. Ceballos; Durham v. State; Tennessee v. Garner3. Choice of the Lesser EvilCasebook: 885-911; MPC §§ 3.02, 3.11People v. Unger; United States v. Schoon; Regina v. Dudley & Stephens; PublicCommittee Against Torture v. Israel1. DuressCasebook: 921-940; MPC § 2.09People v. Toscano; United States v. Fleming; Unites States v. Contento-Pachon;Regina v. Ruzic2. Intoxicationa. Voluntary IntoxicationCasebook: 943-954; MPC § 2.08People v. Hood; State v. Stasio; Montana v. Egelhoffb. Involuntary IntoxicationCasebook: 954-957Regina v. KingstonA. Legal InsanityCasebook: 958-968; MPC § 4.01State v. Green; Andrea Yates; Ford v. Wainwright;Formulations:Casebook: 968-980; 988-___M’Naghten’s Case; The King v. Porter; Blake v. United States; United States v. Lyons;The Meaning of Right vs. WrongCasebook: 988-992State v. Cresnshaw;The Meaning of “Mental Disease or Defect”Casebook 992-996State v. Guido7

B. Diminished CapacityCasebook: 998-1009United States v. Brawner; Clark v. Arizona8