When does a criminal intent create liability? How much liability can a criminal intent create? When you

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Question:

When does a criminal intent create liability? How much liability can a criminal intent create? When you intend to steal your neighbor's apparently insignificant deck chair are you culpable if it is actually a priceless heirloom? If you intend to break a window with a rock, but the rock strikes and kills someone on the other side are you liable for homicide of some variety? Should you be? Have you forgotten our most important question? Why punish the accidental murderer? Should we only punish for what was intended? Or should we punish for any criminal result which stems from an underlying evil intent? Can intent be different for different elements of a crime? What if the statute is silent? Consider NY Penal Law 15.15. If a defendant enters a gift shop with an intent to rob the register, is there a burglary if the owner happens to have an apartment at the back of the shop? Consider NY Penal Law 140.25. Is motive the same thing as intent? How is it different or how is it the same? Consider the different levels of intent discussed in the text and in NY Penal Law 15.05. Why are these different intents defined and discussed? What is the purpose of having multiple types of intent? Pay extra attention to recklessness and criminal negligence.

Why do we punish these types of acts?

Is there a true difference between these two? Is the test for identifying these types of acts subjective or objective?

What should the test be? Is a person reckless if they have special skills or training as compared to the general public?

Should we consider those types of special skills? How would we do that?

What is specific intent versus general intent? Why is this difference important? Should conditional intent be considered a specific intent? Finally be sure to consider deliberate ignorance. How can you prove this? How does it compare to an omission? Should deliberate ignorance be grounds for culpability?