Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections bar exam questions & notes.
Statutory crimes, defenses, and the constitutional protections of accused persons. Try 4 free exam-format questions with explanations below, preview the notes, and see every topic NCBE lists for the NextGen exam.
The full Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections guide is $9.99 in PDF and EPUB, or part of the ten-volume series. See the book
Notes preview
From the Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections notes: Mental States & General Principles
The first topic of every subject is free with an account, notes included. Here is how the notes read.
Why this matters
Almost every crime is built from two pieces: a bad act (the "actus reus") and a guilty mind (the "mens rea"). The prosecution must prove both — and it has to attach the right state of mind to the right part of the act. On the NextGen exam you will usually be handed the criminal statute itself and asked to apply it, so your job is less about memorizing a catalog of crimes and more about reading a statute carefully, spotting which mental state it demands, and testing the facts against it. This topic is the toolkit every other Criminal Law question leans on: what counts as a voluntary act, the ladder of mental states, when a mistake excuses, which court can hear the case, and who must prove what. Get fluent here and the specific crimes — homicide, theft, burglary — become plug-and-play.
A crime needs a voluntary act
The "actus reus" is the physical, outside-the-body part of a crime. The law only punishes conduct a person could control, so the act must be voluntary — a willed muscular movement, something the actor chose to do. We do not punish people for the involuntary misfires of their own bodies. Importantly, you only need one voluntary act somewhere in the chain of events; the whole sequence does not have to be voluntary from start to finish.
These are NOT voluntary acts (no liability on their own)
- A reflex or convulsion (your knee jerks, your muscles spasm).
- A bodily movement while unconscious or asleep — including sleepwalking.
- Conduct during a seizure or epileptic fit.
- Movements made under hypnosis or hypnotic suggestion.
- Any bodily movement that is not a product of the actor’s own effort or determination.
All 11 topics in Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections
Scope-alignedmarks the 5 topics NCBE flags at memorize level — know these cold; the rest lean on provided materials and reasoning.
- 01Free
Mental States & General Principles
General principles of criminal liability: acts and omissions (voluntariness, possession as an act); states of mind (intent or purpose, knowledge, recklessness, criminal negligence, mistake of fact or law); criminal jurisdiction; and burdens of proof and persuasion.
Listen to the episode - 02
Defenses
Defenses to criminal liability: provocation (cooling time and rekindling), voluntary and involuntary intoxication, self-defense (stand your ground, duty to retreat, castle doctrine, initial aggressor), defense of others, and defense of property.
Listen to the episode - 03
Homicide (statutory)
Statutory homicide: levels of intent applied to homicide, intentional murder (premeditated and impulsive), manslaughter (provocation or extreme emotional disturbance, and recklessness), unintentional and negligent homicide, felony murder, and vehicular manslaughter.
Listen to the episode - 04
Property & Person Crimes (statutory)
Statutory crimes against property and persons: theft and aggravated theft, burglary, robbery, and assault and battery, together with the defenses to these crimes.
Listen to the episode - 05
Possession, Trafficking & DUI Offenses
Statutory possession and trafficking offenses (drugs, guns, or contraband; possession with intent to distribute) and operating a motor vehicle while impaired or under the influence, together with the defenses to these crimes.
Listen to the episode - 06
Inchoate Crimes & Parties
Inchoate crimes and parties to a crime: attempt (actus reus and the substantial-step test, merger, and lesser included offenses), conspiracy (elements, defenses, and coconspirator liability), and accomplices and accessories before and after the fact.
Listen to the episode - 07
4th Am: Searches★
Fourth Amendment searches: the reasonable expectation of privacy (open fields, surveillance, technological information gathering, false friends, dog sniffs, curtilage); reasonable suspicion and probable cause; and administrative and suspicionless searches.
Listen to the episode - 08
4th Am: Seizures & Warrants★
Fourth Amendment seizures and warrants: search-warrant requirements and exceptions (search incident to arrest, automobile, plain view, consent, stop-and-frisk, hot pursuit, exigent circumstances), proper warrant execution, and seizures of persons (Terry stops and arrests).
Listen to the episode - 09
Exclusionary Rule★
The exclusionary rule and its exceptions (fruit of the poisonous tree, independent source, inevitable discovery, good faith, impeachment) and standing to object, including coconspirators and third parties, and the state-action doctrine.
Listen to the episode - 10
5th Am & Miranda★
The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination (testimonial versus nontestimonial, the incrimination standard); the triggering, adequacy, invoking, and waiving of Miranda rights; involuntariness under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; and the related exclusionary rule.
Listen to the episode - 11
6th Am Counsel & Trial Rights★
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel (when it attaches, waiver, ineffective assistance, and counsel of choice); the right to disclosure of exculpatory and impeachment evidence; due process implications of identification procedures (lineups, showups, photo arrays); and the right to trial by jury.
Listen to the episode
Try before you buy
4 sample CRM questions
Real questions from the Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections bank, with the full explanation. The paid bank covers all 11 topics and difficulty levels.
While shopping in a grocery store, Owen suffers a sudden epileptic seizure — his first ever, with no prior symptoms or diagnosis. During the seizure his arm swings out violently and strikes an elderly customer beside him, who falls and fractures her hip. The state charges Owen with battery, defined as unlawfully causing bodily injury to another. Owen had taken no medication, had never been warned of any seizure risk, and had no reason to expect the episode. His lawyer moves to dismiss, arguing the prosecution cannot establish an essential requirement of criminal liability.
What is Owen's strongest argument for dismissal?
- He did not intend to make contact with the customer.
- The contact was neither harmful nor offensive to the customer.
- His movement during the seizure was not a voluntary act. Correct
- He was legally insane at the moment of the seizure.
Relaxing on the shore of a lake, Grant notices a stranger flailing in the water about fifteen feet away. A flotation ring hangs on a post within his reach, and tossing it would take almost no effort. Grant has never met the stranger, did nothing to put her in the water, and owes her no special obligation. Irritated at having his quiet afternoon interrupted, he ignores her and returns to his book. The stranger drowns. Prosecutors consider charging Grant with criminal homicide based solely on his failure to throw the ring.
Is Grant likely criminally liable for the death?
- Yes, because he could easily have saved her life with the ring.
- Yes, because his indifference to her plight was morally blameworthy.
- No, because he did nothing to place the stranger in danger.
- No, because he owed the stranger no legal duty to act. Correct
The state police lawfully stop a car registered to and driven by Nadia. In the locked glovebox they find an unregistered handgun; Nadia holds the only key, and no one else has used the car in weeks. Nadia is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. She argues she cannot be possessing the gun because it was locked away and never in her hands. The prosecutor responds that Nadia exercised dominion and control over the weapon even though it was not on her body.
Which concept best supports the prosecutor's position?
- Transferred intent.
- Constructive possession. Correct
- Strict liability.
- Vicarious liability.
A statute defines burglary as 'breaking and entering the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony therein.' One night Wes pries open a window and climbs into a house he wrongly believes is empty and abandoned. His plan is only to sleep somewhere warm; he intends no theft or other felony inside. A patrol officer finds him asleep on the couch and arrests him. Wes is charged with burglary, and his attorney argues that a key element of the offense is missing.
Why is Wes most likely not guilty of burglary as defined?
- He honestly believed the house was empty and abandoned.
- He did not break the window but merely pried it open.
- Sleeping inside a dwelling is not itself a criminal act.
- He lacked the intent to commit a felony inside the dwelling. Correct
Free study plan
Studying Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections? Start with a plan.
Tell us your exam date and we’ll email you a week-by-week schedule that gives Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections the time it needs — alongside the other subjects.
Common questions
Criminal Law & Constitutional Protections FAQs
Ready to start preparing?
One-time payment. Pick the plan that fits your timeline. Start with the free readiness quiz.