FORECITE National™
Instructions And Issues Omitted By The Pattern Instructions
Copyright & Publication Information
VOLUME 5 - CHAPTER 54
Go to Volume 5
Table of Contents
Chapter 54: Strict Liability
54.1 Strict Liability Limited To Public Welfare Offenses
54.2 Eighth Amendment Cruel And Unusual Punishment: Applicability To Strict Liability
54.3 Attempt To Commit A Strict Liability Offense Requires Intent To Bring About The Prescribed Result
54.4 Entrapment By Estoppel: Applicable To Strict Liability Crimes
FORECITE National™
Instructions And Issues Omitted By The Pattern Instructions
Copyright & Publication Information
VOLUME 5 - CHAPTER 54
54.1 Strict Liability Limited To Public Welfare Offenses
PRACTICE NOTE: It has been recognized that criminal liability may be based on strict liability for certain public welfare offenses. "Courts have concluded that under certain circumstances, public welfare offenses, such as traffic violations, need not contain a general criminal intent or criminal negligence requirement in order to comply with the due process clause." (Haxforth v. State (ID 1990) 786 P2d 580, 582-3; see also Morissette v. U.S. (1952) 342 US 246, 251 [72 SCt 240; 96 LEd 288].) Instead, such crimes can be premised upon ordinary negligence, or in some instances, even strict liability. (See e.g., Haxforth 786 P2d at 583; State v. Wojahn, (OR 1955) 282 P2d 675, 702; Holdridge v. United States (8th Cir. 1960) 282 F2d 302, 310.)
The United States and California Supreme Courts have emphasized that felony offenses which bear harsh punishment are not the type of "public welfare" offenses for which courts will readily dispense with the mens rea requirement when construing a statute. (See FORECITE National™ 45.1.3 [Presumption That Silent Statute Requires Criminal Intent].) However, liability for an attempt to commit a strict liability offense requires an intent to bring about the proscribed result. (See FORECITE National™ 66.5.5 [Attempt To Commit A Strict Liability Offense Requires Intent To Bring About The Prescribed Result].)
See FORECITE National™ 45.1.4 [Improper To Instruct That Ignorance Of The Law Is Not An Excuse When Prosecution Required To Prove Willfulness Or Intentional Violation Of A Known Legal Duty].
RESEARCH NOTE:
Wharton’s Criminal Law (West 15th Ed. 1993) § 23.
FORECITE National™
Instructions And Issues Omitted By The Pattern Instructions
Copyright & Publication Information
VOLUME 5 - CHAPTER 54
54.2 Eighth Amendment Cruel And Unusual Punishment: Applicability To Strict Liability
See FORECITE National™ 300.21.2 [Apprendi: Constitutional Rights Apply To Sentencing Decisions That Increase The Range Of Punishment].
FORECITE National™
Instructions And Issues Omitted By The Pattern Instructions
Copyright & Publication Information
VOLUME 5 - CHAPTER 54
54.3 Attempt To Commit A Strict Liability Offense Requires Intent To Bring About The Prescribed Result
See FORECITE National™ 66.5.5 [Attempt To Commit A Strict Liability Offense Requires Intent To Bring About The Prescribed Result].
FORECITE National™
Instructions And Issues Omitted By The Pattern Instructions
Copyright & Publication Information
VOLUME 5 - CHAPTER 54
54.4 Entrapment By Estoppel: Applicable To Strict Liability Crimes
See FORECITE National™ 257.4.4 [Entrapment By Estoppel: Applicable To Strict Liability Crimes].