Article 2. General
Principles of Liability
§2.01. Requirement
of Voluntary Act; Omission as Basis of Liability; Possession as an Act
(1) In order to be found guilty, you must
either do something or not do something that you were physically capable of
doing.
(2) Here’s a list of acts that aren’t
voluntary: (a) reflexes, (b) unconscious or sleep movements, (c) stuff you do
when hypnotized or as the result of being hypnotized, (d) any other thing
that’s not done of your own “effort and determination”.
(3) The only ways you can be found guilty
due to omission are:
(a)
If
the law says that your omission makes the crime, or
(b) If you breach a duty imposed by law.
(4) Possession means that you knew you got
or was given something and knew about it long enough to get rid of it.
§2.02. General Requirements of Culpability
(1)
Except
in cases of strict liability, you are not guilty unless you are shown to have
acted purposefully, knowingly, recklessly or negligently.
(2)
(a)
Here
is the definition of purposefully.
(i)
The
person acts with the conscious object of doing conduct or achieving a result
set out as an element of an offense.
(ii)
A
person knows, believes, or hopes that required attendant circumstances exist.
(b)
Here
is the definition of knowingly.
(i)
In
regard to conduct or attendant circumstances, the person is aware. (Even if the conduct is not their conscious
objective.)
(ii)
In
regard to result, the person is either aware or “practically certain” that his
conduct will cause such a result. (Even
if they don’t have that result as their conscious objective.)
(c)
Recklessness
is conscious disregard for a “substantial and unjustifiable” risk.
(d)
Negligence
is unconscious disregard of risk that the person ought to be aware of.
(3)
If
one of the Top Four is not prescribed, purposeful, knowing, or reckless acts
will establish material elements. But not
negligence.
(4)
If
a statute says a certain kind of culpability applies to an offense, we’ll take
it to mean that that kind of culpability applies to all the elements.
(5)
There
is a hierarchy or ranking of these kinds of culpability. #1 is purpose, which can stand in for
anything else. #2 is knowledge, which
can stand in for anything but purpose.
Recklessness is #3 and can stand in for negligence, and negligence is
last at #4 and stands alone.
(6)
We
don’t care if purpose is conditional unless that negates the harm.
(7)
Knowledge
is satisfied with knowledge of high probability, unless the person believes it
doesn’t exist.
(8)
Wilfulness
will be the same as knowledge.
(9)
Only
purpose applies to elements of an offense unless we’re told otherwise by the statute.
(10)
If
the degree of an offense depends on the kind of culpability, you use the lowest
grade consistent with the kind of culpability proved.