Instructor’s Resource Manual with Test Bank
Chapter 3 Test Bank
The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Criminal conduct consists of how many elements?
a.
two
b.
three
c.
four
d.
five
2. The majority of minor crimes against public order and morals do not include
a.
mens rea.
b.
the voluntary requirement.
c.
actus reus.
d.
a legal duty to obey.
3. Criminal conduct that qualifies for criminal punishment is the definition of
a.
result liability.
b.
civil liability.
c.
criminal liability.
d.
conduct liability.
4. Those crimes requiring a criminal act triggered by criminal intent are
a.
result crimes.
b.
conduct crimes.
c.
intentional crimes.
d.
felonies.
5. Criminal liability is defined as criminal conduct that qualifies for criminal:
a.
punishment
b.
mens rea
c.
conspiracy
d.
murder
Chapter 3: The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
6. The requirement that attitudes have to turn into deeds is called
a.
manifest criminality.
b.
a voluntary act.
c.
mens rea.
d.
attendant circumstance.
7. Only voluntary acts qualify as criminal
a.
pro se.
b.
mens rea.
c.
actus reus.
d.
caveat emptor.
8. In the English case King v. Cogdon (1951), Mrs. Cogdon was acquitted of murder
because
a.
her acts were done while asleep and thus were not voluntary.
b.
she was insane at the time of the crime.
c.
she did not cause the death.
d there was no concurrence between the acts and the result.
9. Most offenses that don’t require a mens rea do include which of the following?
a.
a moral but not legal transgression
b.
a lapse of good judgment but not criminal
c.
a criminal omission
d.
an attendant circumstances element
10. Drivers with dangerously high blood pressure who suffer strokes while they’re driving
and kill someone while the stroke has incapacitated them is an example of which of
the following?
a.
involuntarily induced involuntary acts
b.
voluntarily induced involuntary acts
c.
voluntarily induced voluntary acts
d.
involuntarily induced voluntary acts
Instructor’s Resource Manual with Test Bank
11. Which doctrine imposes a legal duty to help or call for help for imperiled strangers?
a.
“Family Member” doctrine
b.
health care professionals rule
c.
the American Bystander rule
d.
the “Good Samaritan” doctrine
12. Most states follow which of the following?
a.
“Family Member” doctrine
b.
health care professionals rule
c.
the American Bystander rule
d.
the “Good Samaritan” doctrine
13. Which of the following are the two kinds of criminal possession?
a.
actual possession and constructive possession
b.
real possession and constructive possession
c.
actual possession and fictional possession
d.
actual possession and factual possession
14. Which type of possession is it where one has physical control of banned stuff?
a.
constructive possession
b.
actual possession
c.
knowing possession
d.
mere possession
15. When you possess something you don’t know you possess, it is called
a.
constructive possession.
b.
actual possession.
c.
knowing possession.
d.
mere possession.
16. Which of the following refers to who we are?
a.
action
b.
status
c.
possession
d.
duty
Chapter 3: The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
17. Which of the following refers to what we do?
a.
action
b.
status
c.
possession
d.
duty
18. In Robinson v. California (1962), the Supreme Court held that Robinson’s conviction
must be
a.
upheld because his addiction resulted from a voluntary act.
b.
upheld because people addicted to narcotics are a danger to themselves
and others.
c.
reversed because a person cannot be punished for a status or condition.
d.
reversed because there was no showing that Robinson was dangerous.
19. The existence of a legal duty is what element of a crime?
a.
attendant circumstance
b.
adjunct
c.
concurrent
d.
permissive
20. What failures to perform legal duties are punishable as criminal omissions?
a.
premeditated
b.
planned
c.
justified
d.
unreasonable
21. The criminal law refers to a failure to act as
a.
an omission.
b.
a commission.
c.
a breach of contract.
d.
a refusal.
22. A legal fiction turns what into an act, although it is really a passive state?
a.
legal duty
b.
omission
c.
possession
d.
convolutionism
Instructor’s Resource Manual with Test Bank
23. Legal duties can arise from
a.
statutes, contracts, and omissions.
b.
statutes, contracts, and special relationships.
c.
moral obligations that are generally recognized.
d.
laws that require certain events to be reported.
24. If there is no criminal conduct, there’s no criminal
a.
possession.
b.
liability.
c.
omission.
d.
conduct.
25. A friend of yours puts illegal drugs into your backpack without your knowledge. This
is known as
a.
constructive possession of the drugs.
b.
knowing possession of the drugs.
c.
mere possession of the drugs.
d.
real possession of illegal drugs.
26. What type of possession is required by most states before an act can be criminalized?
a.
knowing
b.
mere
c.
constructive
d.
perfunctory
27. The concurrence element means that a criminal intent has to
a.
trigger the criminal act.
b.
lead directly to the harm.
c.
be the legal cause of the result.
d.
flow from the act.
28. Serious crimes that include (1) a voluntary act, (2) the mental element, and (3)
circumstantial elements, (4) causation and (5) criminal harm are also called
a.
harm crimes.
b.
mens rea crimes.
c.
causation crimes.
d.
bad result crimes.
Chapter 3: The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
29. Some serious crimes include five elements. Which of the following is not one of those
elements?
a.
a voluntary act
b.
the mental element
c.
causation
d.
omission
30. For an omission to act to be a crime, what must exist?
a.
a compulsion to act
b.
a legal duty to act
c.
a moral duty to act
d.
a necessity to act
31. Which of the following cannot be a criminal act?
a.
fantasizing
b.
speech
c.
possession
d.
omission to act
32. What modern phrase comes from the ancient idea of manifest criminality?
a.
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
b.
between a rock and a hard place
c.
stuck in a rut
d.
caught red-handed
33. Which of the following is a voluntary act?
a.
being addicted to the use of narcotics
b.
knowing possession
c.
attacking someone while sleepwalking
d.
assaulting someone while suffering from automatism
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34. In the plurality opinion in Powell v. Texas (1967), the conviction for public
drunkenness was
a.
affirmed because Powell was not punished for being an alcoholic but for
the act of being drunk in a public place.
b.
affirmed because Powell was being punished for being afflicted with
alcoholism.
c.
reversed because Powell was being punished for being a chronic
alcoholic.
d.
reversed because Powell committed no actus reus.
35. Which of the following are the two kinds of criminal omission?
a.
failure to observe and failure to intervene
b.
failure to report and failure to observe
c.
failure to move and failure to intervene
d.
failure to report and failure to intervene
TRUE/FALSE
1. If there’s no criminal conduct, there’s no criminal liability.
a. true
a. false
2. The term actus reus refers to the act element of a crime.
a. true
b. false
3. All crimes have to include a criminal act. That’s why it’s the first principle of criminal
liability.
a. true
b. false
Chapter 3: The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
4. In Robinson v. California, the Supreme Court stated that it would be cruel and unusual
punishment to punish someone for a disease or illness.
a. true
b. false
5. Offenses that don’t require a mens rea do include an attendant circumstances element.
a. true
b. false
6. The general principle of actus reus includes a voluntary act.
a. true
b. false
7. Failure to file income taxes is an example of a failure to intervene crime.
a. true
b. false
8. Under the Good Samaritan rule, strangers have a duty to aid other strangers in peril.
a. true
b. false
9. Legal duties are created in three ways: statutes, contracts, and specific relationships.
a. true
b. false
10. An omission to act is a crime only if there was a legal duty to do the act.
a. true
b. false
Instructor’s Resource Manual with Test Bank
11. A parent-child relationship is an example of a “special relationship.”
a. true
b. false
12. Criminal conduct is conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens
substantial harm to individual or public interests.
a. true
b. false
13. Constructive possession means the person has the item on them.
a. true
b. false
14. Serious crimes include both a criminal act and mens rea.
a. true
b. false
15. Failure to act can never be a crime.
a true
b. false
16. We punish people for what they do, not for who they are.
a. true
b. false
17. A status or condition cannot be an actus reus.
a. true
b. false
Chapter 3: The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
18. The requirement that attitudes have to turn into deeds is called manifest criminality.
a. true
b. false
19. The actus reus requirement reserves the harsh sanction of the criminal law for cases of
actual danger.
a. true
b. false
20. The law considers all bodily movements to be voluntary.
a. true
b. false
COMPLETION
1. The voluntary act is the first principle of criminal .
2. The actus _______________ is the act element of the crime.
3. The mens _______________is the mental element of the crime.
4. The ____________ element requires that the mental element trigger the act.
Instructor’s Resource Manual with Test Bank
5. Only when it’s outrageous to fail to do something to help someone in danger can
criminal omissions satisfy the act requirement.
6. Legal duty is an attendant circumstance element that the prosecution has to prove
beyond a doubt.
7. A failure to act is called a/n ____________.
8. Nearly all jurisdictions follow the approach of the bystander rule.
9. It’s only by means of a legal that the principle of actus reus includes
possession.
10. _______________ involves a connection between the mens rea and the actus reus.
Chapter 3: The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
ESSAY
1. Define, compare, and contrast constructive, actual, mere, and knowing possession. Be
sure to provide an example of each.
2. Explain the importance of the general principle of actus reus. Be sure to discuss the
three purposes served by the principle of actus reus.
3. What is the principle of manifest criminality? Provide an example. Explain why you
agree or disagree with this principle.
4. Identify and define the two kinds of criminal omission. Describe the circumstances in
5. Define, compare, and contrast the “Good Samaritan” rule and the American bystander
rule. Which rule is dominant in the United States? Which rule is best? Explain your
position.