Deck 4: Defenses to Criminal Culpability

Question 1

With reference to affirmative defenses, statutes and jury instructions must be careful of_____________________ because to do so is a due process violation requiring reversal upon conviction.

A) shifting the burden of production to the defendant
B) shifting the burden of proof to the defendant
C) shifting the burden of production to the State
D) shifting the burden of proof to the State

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When a defendant offers new factual allegations in an effort to negate the charges against him it is called a(n) _______________ defense.

A) incomplete
B) affirmative
C) perfect
D) imperfect

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The usual standard or burden of proof required to receive a jury instruction upon an affirmative defense is:

A) beyond a reasonable doubt
B) clear and convincing evidence
C) preponderance of the evidence
D) scintilla of evidence

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The mistake defense may be used to negate a __________ element of a crime, such as knowledge or belief.

A) mens rea
B) actus reus
C) causation
D) concurrence

Question 5

In order for the defense of duress to be successful, a defendant must be able to show that when he committed the crimes for which he is advancing the defense he was:

A) acting under duress
B) threatened by unlawful force
C) acting involuntarily
D) acting to protect another

Question 6

In most cases this defense involves the coercive forces of nature rather than the coercive forces of human beings to be involved:

A) insanity
B) necessity
C) duress
D) self-defense

Question 7

Under the common law a rebuttable presumption of incapacity governed children who were:

A) between the ages of 7 and 14
B) between the ages of 10 and 12
C) 10 or older
D) older than 12

Question 8

The most frequently used test for insanity is the:

A) Durham test
B) M'Naghten rule
C) irresistible impulse test
D) substantial capacity test

Question 9

Under the M'Naghten test a defendant may be found not guilty by reason of insanity if it can be shown that, as a result of defect of reason from disease of the mind the defendant (1) did not know the nature and quality of the act committed or (2):

A) knew the act was wrong
B) did not know that the act was wrong
C) did not care that the act was wrong
D) did not know or care that the act was wrong

Question 10

Testimony given in evidence at a trial by a person who possesses technical knowledge or skill that is both relevant to the case and not possessed by the average person is:

A) eyewitness testimony
B) direct testimony
C) expert testimony
D) lay testimony

Question 11

The test for insanity adopted by the Model Penal Code is called the:

A) M'Naghten test
B) Durham test
C) irresistible impulse test
D) substantial capacity test

Question 12

In jurisdictions that recognize the irresistible impulse test, _____________ may be used when defendants offer evidence that as a result of this condition they were unable to control themselves and thus engaged in criminal behavior although they knew that behavior was wrong.

A) The insanity defense
B) The duress defense
C) The intoxication defense
D) self-defense

Question 13

Under the defense of ___________________________, husbands had the legal right to discipline their wives with a "whip or rattan no bigger than [a] thumb, in order to enforce the salutary restraints of domestic discipline".

A) domestic authority
B) diminished capacity
C) duress
D) necessity

Question 14

The defense of ________________ is often used in forcible rape cases to negate an element of the crime.

A) domestic authority
B) consent
C) condonation
D) victim's conduct

Question 15

________________________, or forgiveness of a criminal act by a victim, is not generally a defense to a crime in the United States.

A) Domestic authority
B) Consent
C) Condonation
D) Victim's conduct

Question 16

The battered person syndrome defense differs from the defense of self-defense in that the element of ___________________ is not required in battered person syndrome.

A) adequate provocation
B) imminent danger
C) retreat
D) reasonableness on the part of the defendant

Question 17

The ____________________________ test provides as follows: "A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law."

A) M'Naghten
B) Durham
C) irresistible impulse
D) substantial capacity

Question 18

This defense is available when it can be shown that the mental illness of the defendant, although not sufficient to establish insanity, caused such lack of capacity that the defendant could not have achieved the requisite intent at the time of the crime:

A) Durham
B) irresistible impulse
C) diminished capacity
D) automatism

Question 19

The defense that applies only to actions by government agents or their employees when a defendant was induced to commit a crime that he or she would not have been inclined to commit without the government agent's actions is the _______________________ defense.

A) necessity
B) lawful force
C) entrapment
D) necessity

Question 20

A defense with an emphasis on the behavior of the government rather than the mind of the defendant, is called:

A) objective entrapment
B) necessity
C) outrageous government conduct
D) patriot defense

Question 21

There are _____________ elements to self-defense.

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five

Question 22

The Model Penal Code permits the _______________________ when "the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat."

A) use of self-defense
B) use of unreasonable force
C) use of reasonable force
D) use of deadly force

Question 23

Under the Model Penal Code one is required to retreat prior to the use of deadly force if that can be accomplished with complete safety. The exception to that rule is known as the:

A) home doctrine
B) automobile doctrine
C) castle doctrine
D) residence doctrine

Question 24

The general rule is that you may not use deadly force to protect:

A) others
B) people you do not know
C) your parents
D) property

Question 25

Under the common law, police were permitted to shoot any:

A) person who ran from them
B) fleeing felon
C) person they did not know
D) fleeing misdemeanant

Question 26

The rules regarding the use of deadly force in pursuit of a suspect were changed after the case of __________________ , in which the police were attempting to stop a suspect who ran from them.

A) State v. Lively
B) Sherman v. United States
C) Tennessee v. Garner
D) Sorrells v. United States

Question 27

The M'Naghten rule is sometimes referred to as the:

A) product rule
B) irresistible impulse test
C) right versus wrong test
D) Durham test

Question 28

When the law states that sex with an underage person is a crime even if that person appears to be of legal age and is the aggressor, what should be the result in a court of law?

Question 29

Discuss the difference between elements of a crime and elements of a defense of a crime.

Question 30

How does the standard of proof differ between the defense and the prosecution?

Question 31

Discuss the constitutional significance of the burden of persuasion in the use of an affirmative defense, and explain why it is constitutional to place it on the defense.

Question 32

How and why should we address the age of a perpetrator in assessing liability?

Question 33

Which of the insanity defenses do you prefer? Explain why.

Question 34

Does the outrageous conduct defense add anything to the entrapment defense? Explain your answer.

Question 35

How does guilty but mentally insane differ from not guilty by reason of insanity?

Question 36

Explain what a defense is, and describe the types of defenses (e.g., partial and complete).

Question 37

How can a presumption and the burden of proof be confusing to a jury?

Question 38

How would you explain not including a certain type of defense as a defense? For instance, why would you not call an "alibi" a defense?

Question 39

What is the significance of reasonableness in the assertion of the duress defense? Discuss how that applies in a murder case.

Question 40

Discuss the differences between the defense of duress and necessity, and explain when it could be used in a serious crime, such as murder.

Question 41

Discuss the abolition of the insanity defense in some jurisdictions, and explain their reasons.

Question 42

What is the affect of unconsciousness by voluntary intoxication on the defense of automatism, and why?

Question 43

What is the significance of the reasonableness requirement in the defense of self-defense?

Question 44

Under what circumstances is lethal force allowed in self-defense?

Question 45

In what situations should consent be considered a valid defense in a criminal offense, and why?

Question 46

If the law chose to extend the battered person syndrome to psychological battering, how would one prove it?

Question 47

When should extreme emotional disorder be a defense in a criminal case, and what manner of proof would it require?

Question 48

What is PTSD, and should it be a defense to a domestic murder?

Question 49

Explain the relationship between intoxication and the irresistible impulse test.

Question 50

Why does battered person syndrome differ from battered child syndrome with reference to the type of evidence required to be produced by the defendant?

Question 51

At common law, what were the age groups created to determine the validity of an infancy defense? Explain the presumptions associated with each category.

Question 52

Define rebuttable presumption.

Question 53

Discuss the defense of entrapment. Do you believe the requirements make the defense difficult to prove? Why or why not?

Question 54

When can a police officer use deadly force?

Question 55

List and discuss the elements of self-defense. Further, explain the defense known as the castle doctrine and the general rule associated with this defense.