Criminal Law 1

SUPPLEMENTAL READING MATERIAL 2

FELONIES

Felonies are acts or omissions punishable under the Revised Penal Code, as amended.

Elements of Felonies (General):

1. There must be an act or omission, i.e., there must be external acts.

2. The act or omission must be punishable by the RPC (based upon the maxim “nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege”.

3. The act is performed or the omission is incurred, by means of dolo (malice) or culpa (fault).

Intentional Felonies – the act is performed or the omission is incurred with deliberate intent or malice to do an injury.

Requisites of dolo or malice:

1. Freedom

· Voluntariness on the part of the person to commit the act or omission

· When a person acts without freedom, he is no longer a human being, but a tool.

Lack of freedom = offender is exempt from liability (i.e. presence of irresistible force or uncontrollable fear).

2. Intelligence

· Capacity to know and understand the consequences of one’s act

· Without this power necessary to determine the morality of human acts, no crime can exist

Lack of intelligence = offender is exempt from liability (i.e. offender is an imbecile, insane or under 15 years of age).

3. Intent (Criminal)

· The purpose to use a particular means to effect such result

· Intent to commit an act with malice; a mental state, hence, its existence is shown by overt acts.

Lack of intent = act is justified; offender incurs NO criminal liability.

General Criminal Intent Specific Criminal Intent

An intention to do a wrong An intention to commit a definite act
Presumed to exist from the mere doing of a wrongful act Existence of the intent is not presumed
The burden of proving the absence of intent is upon the accused The burden of proving the existence of the intent is upon the
prosecution, as such intent is an element of the crime

Culpable Felonies – felonies performed without malice.

Requisite of culpa:

1. Freedom

2. Intelligence

3. Negligence, imprudence, lack of foresight, lack of skill

Negligence – indicates deficiency of perception; usually involves lack of foresight.

Imprudence – indicates deficiency of action; usually involves lack of skill.

Intentional Culpable
Act is malicious Not malicious
With deliberate intent Injury caused is unintentional being incident of another act
performed without malice
Has intention to cause an injury Wrongful act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of
foresight or lack of skill

Elements of Criminal Liability (Art. 4, RPC)

· Elements of par. 1: Criminal liability for a felony different from that intended to be committed

· Rationale : He who is the cause of the cause is the cause of the evil caused.

· Requisites:

1. That an intentional felony has been committed

No Intentional Felony

a. When the act or omission is not punishable by the RPC; or

b. When the act is covered by any of the justifying circumstance in Art. 11 of the RPC

2. That the wrong done to the aggrieved party be the direct, natural and logical consequence of the felony committed.

Impossible Crime

· Elements of par. 2 (Impossible Crime)

1. That the act performed would be an offense against persons or property

2. That the act was done with evil intent

3. That its accomplishment is inherently impossible, or that the means employed is either inadequate or ineffectual.

v Inherent impossibility of its accomplishment:

a. Legal impossibility – where the intended acts, even if completed would not amount to a crime.

b. Physical impossibility – when extraneous circumstances unknown to the actor or beyond his control prevent the
consummation of the intended crime.

4. That the act performed should NOT constitute a violation of another provision of the RPC.

Stages of Execution

· Formal Crimes or Crimes of Effect – felonies by which a single act of the accused consummates the offense as a matter of
law (i.e. physical injuries, acts of lasciviousness, attempted flight to an enemy country, coercion, slander)

· Material Crimes – crimes which involve the three stages of execution

1. Consummated felony – when all the elements necessary for its execution and accomplishment are present

2. Frustrated felony

Elements:

a. The offender performs all the acts of execution.

b. All the acts performed would produce the felony as a consequence (belief of accused as to whether or not he had performed
all acts of execution is immaterial).

c. But the felony is not produced.

d. By reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator.

· What crime(s) does not admit of frustrated stage? They are those which, by the definition of a frustrated felony, the
offender cannot possibly perform all the acts of execution to bring the desired result without consummating the offense.

Examples:

a. Rape, since the gravamen of the offense is carnal knowledge, hence, no matter how slight the penetration, the felony is
consummated.

b. Indirect bribery, because it is committed by accepting gifts offered to the public officer by reason of his office. If he does not
accept, he does not commit the crime. If he accepts, it is consummated.

c. Corruption of public officers, because the offense requires the concurrence of the will of both parties, such as that when the
offer is accepted, the offense is consummated. But when the offer is rejected, the offense is merely attempted.

d. Adultery, because the essence of the crime is sexual congress.

e. Physical injury since it cannot be determined whether the injury will be slight, less serious or serious unless and until
consummated.

f. Theft, because the unlawful taking immediately consummates the offense and the disposition of the thing is not an element
thereof.

3. Attempted felony

Elements:

a. The offender commences the commission of the felony directly by overt act.

b. He does not perform all the acts of execution which should produce the felony.

c. The non-performance of all acts of execution was due to a cause or accident other than the offender’s own spontaneous
desistance.