Criminal Law

1. Key Concepts in Criminal Law
   1. Culpability
      1. Understanding culpability
         1. Definition and significance in criminal law
         2. Role in establishing criminal responsibility
      2. Types of culpability
         1. Blameworthiness in varying degrees
         2. Relation to moral and legal fault
      3. Mens rea (mental state)
         1. Explanation of mens rea
            1. Importance in distinguishing between different levels of culpability
            2. Difference between mens rea and actus reus
         2. Types of mens rea
            1. Intention
               1. Direct intention
               2. Oblique intention
            2. Recklessness
               1. Conscious disregard of substantial and unjustifiable risk
            3. Negligence
               1. Failure to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk
            4. Knowledge
               1. Awareness of facts that make conduct criminal
         3. Role in defenses
            1. Impact on possible defenses available
            2. Negation of mens rea as a defense strategy
   2. Intent
      1. Nature of intent in criminal law
         1. Significance of intent versus negligence
         2. Importance in assessing criminal liability
      2. Specific intent
         1. Crimes requiring a particular intent
         2. Examples and implications
      3. General intent
         1. Overview of general intent crimes
         2. Differentiation from specific intent
      4. Transferred intent
         1. Concept and application
         2. Scenarios where transferred intent is relevant
      5. Constructive intent
         1. Understanding constructive intent
         2. Application in cases with unintended consequences
   3. Actus reus (physical act)
      1. Definition of actus reus
         1. Importance in combination with mens rea
         2. Distinction from mere thoughts or intentions
      2. Components of actus reus
         1. Conduct elements
            1. Voluntary actions and omissions
               1. Requirement for the conduct to be voluntary
               2. Liability for omissions where there is a legal duty to act
         2. Circumstance elements
            1. Conditions present during the act
            2. Relevance to defining criminal acts
         3. Result elements
            1. Consequences of the conduct
            2. Connection to causation in criminal law
      3. Causation
         1. Principle of causation in actus reus
            1. Factual causation ("but-for" test)
            2. Legal causation (proximate cause)
         2. Challenges in proving causation
            1. Intervening acts
            2. Foreseeability and remoteness
            3. Chain of causation in complex crimes
      4. Omissions as actus reus
         1. Duty to act in certain situations
         2. Legal obligations leading to liability for omissions
         3. Examples from established case law
      5. Inchoate offenses
         1. Attempted crimes and their links to actus reus
         2. Role of preparation versus completion
         3. Legal thresholds for establishing an inchoate offense