Criminal Law Study Guide

Foundations of Criminal Liability

Essential elements of crimes: actus reus, mens rea, causation, and concurrence requirements tested heavily on MBE questions.

Inchoate Offenses

Attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy doctrines including merger rules and abandonment defenses frequently tested on Bar Exam.

Accomplice Liability and Vicarious Liability

Principals, accessories, and corporate criminal liability with MPC versus common law distinctions for MBE mastery.

Homicide Offenses

Murder degrees, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, felony murder rule, and causation issues dominate Bar testing.

Crimes Against Property

Larceny, robbery, burglary, embezzlement, false pretenses, and receiving stolen property with critical element distinctions.

Crimes Against Persons and Other Offenses

Assault, battery, kidnapping, rape, and arson elements including modern statutory modifications tested on MBE.

Defenses: Justification and Excuse

Self-defense, defense of others, necessity, duress, insanity tests, and intoxication as Bar-critical defense doctrines.

Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure

Warrant requirements, exceptions, exclusionary rule, standing, and fruit of poisonous tree doctrine for MBE.

Fifth Amendment: Confessions and Miranda

Custodial interrogation, Miranda warnings, waiver, invocation of rights, and voluntariness standards heavily MBE-tested.

Fifth Amendment: Double Jeopardy and Self-Incrimination

Same offense doctrine, attachment of jeopardy, and privilege against self-incrimination scope for Bar preparation.

Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel and Fair Trial

Critical stages, effective assistance, lineups, speedy trial, confrontation clause, and jury trial rights.

Pretrial and Trial Procedures

Bail, grand jury, preliminary hearings, discovery, plea bargaining, and guilty plea requirements for Bar competency.