Criminal Law & Procedure

Crimes, defenses, inchoate offenses, and the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rules of criminal procedure.

1 chapter1 hour of reading32 practice questions

Read chapter 1 free Practice 10 questions

Chapters

1General Principles of Criminal LiabilityThe building blocks of every crime and of every Criminal Law answer: how the subject is tested and which law applies; the sources of criminal law and the constitutional limits of legality, vagueness and ex post facto; the voluntary act, the qualifying omission and possession; the common-law mental states and the four Model Penal Code levels, with mistake of fact and mistake of law; concurrence, transferred intent, and actual and proximate cause; corporate and vicarious liability and merger; and the California framing in Penal Code sections 20, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 29.4, with a preview of imperfect self-defense.63 minFree

How California differs

From chapter 1

CACalifornia distinction

Unconsciousness

General rule (federal / majority)

General law treats a movement made while unconscious as no voluntary act, so no crime is committed (MPC § 2.01(2)). The point is argued as a missing element of the actus reus, not as a separate defense.

California

Pen. Code § 26, class Four, makes unconsciousness a complete defense, and the jury is instructed on it as a defense (People v. Newton (1970) 8 Cal.App.3d 359). Exception: unconsciousness from voluntary intoxication is never a complete defense. Under § 29.4 it may negate only specific intent, premeditation, deliberation or express malice, so a killing can still be involuntary manslaughter.

If the call names California, write “unconsciousness under Penal Code section 26” as a defense heading. Under general law, discuss it under the voluntary-act element. Under both, unconsciousness from voluntary drinking or drug use is never a complete defense.

CACalifornia distinction

Imperfect self-defense (preview of chapter 3)

General rule (federal / majority)

States split on a killing in an honest but unreasonable belief in the need for deadly self-defense. Many reduce it to voluntary manslaughter; others call it murder. The MPC grades it by the defendant’s fault: a reckless belief means manslaughter, a negligent belief means negligent homicide (MPC § 3.09(2)).

California

An honest but unreasonable belief in the need to defend against imminent danger of death or great bodily injury negates malice. The killing is voluntary manslaughter, not murder (People v. Flannel (1979) 25 Cal.3d 668). In re Christian S. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 768 held that the rule survived the statutes that abolished diminished capacity.

On any homicide essay, raise imperfect self-defense under voluntary manslaughter: many states recognize it, and the MPC reaches a similar result by § 3.09(2). If the call names California, cite Flannel.

Lessons

Andre Booker

Criminal Law & Procedure lecturer

Former Los Angeles deputy public defender, now trial and appellate defense counsel.

Our lecturers are AI-voiced teaching personas; the portraits are illustrations.

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