Criminal Law and Procedure
Elements and Procedure
Crimes require actus reus, mens rea, concurrence, and causation. Know specific intent, general intent, malice, and strict liability. Inchoate offenses: attempt requires a substantial step; solicitation requires asking another to commit a crime; conspiracy requires an agreement plus, in many jurisdictions, an overt act. Defenses include self-defense, duress, necessity, insanity, and entrapment. Procedure: Fourth Amendment searches need a warrant or an exception (consent, search incident to arrest, plain view, exigency, automobile, inventory). Miranda applies to custodial interrogation; the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at formal proceedings. Double jeopardy bars reprosecution after acquittal.
Traps
Miranda is not triggered by every arrest or every question - only custody plus interrogation. A frisk requires reasonable suspicion that a person is armed. Search incident to arrest is limited to the arrestee's person and grabbing area. Conspiracy does not merge with the substantive offense in many jurisdictions, but attempt does merge.
Worked Example
Police stop a car for a broken taillight and smell marijuana. Under the automobile exception, they may search the vehicle if probable cause exists. Rule of thumb: identify the government action, then the exception; custody plus interrogation triggers Miranda.