CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON Flashcards
Crimes Against the Person Checklist
- Assault
- Battery
- Kidnapping
- Homicide
- First Degree Murder
- Second Degree Murder
- Voluntary Manslaughter
- Involuntary Manslaughter
Homicide and Murder Checklist
- Homicide
- Common Law Murder
- Malice Aforethought
- Intent to Kill
- Intent to Inflict Great Bodily Injury
- Reckless Indifference or Depraved Heart Murder
- Felony Murder
- Guilty of Underlying Felony
- Foreseeability
- Causation
- Death of a Co-Felon
- Agency Theory
- Point of Safety
- Malice Aforethought
- Common Law Murder
- First Degree Murder
- Premeditated
- Deliberate
- Felony Murder Rule
- Second Degree Murder
- Voluntary Manslaughter
- Involuntary Manslaughter
Assault
Criminal assault is (i) an attempt to commit a battery or (ii) intentionally causing another’s reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm.
Battery
Criminal battery is the (i) unlawful application of force to another’s person that causes bodily harm or (ii) an offensive touching. Battery, a general intent crime, may be established through intentional conduct, recklessness, or criminal negligence.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping is the (1) unlawful confinement of (2) a non-consenting person involving either movement or concealment of that person.
Homicide - Common Law Murder
Common law murder is the unlawful killing of a person committed with malice aforethought
Malice aforethought
Malice aforethought exists if the defendant committed the killing with any of the following states of mind:
(i) intent to kill,
(ii) intent to inflict great bodily injury,
(iii) reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (depraved heart murder),
(iv) intent to commit an inherently dangerous felony (felony murder)
* *use of a deadly weapon creates an inference of an intent to kill and intent to inflict great bodily injury*
Intent to Kill
The defendant must have acted with the intent to kill the victim
Intent to Inflict Great Bodily Injury
The defendant must have acted with the intent to inflict great bodily injury upon the victim
Reckless Indifference or Depraved Heart Murder
The defendant must have acted with reckless indifference to an exceptionally high risk to human life
Felony Murder
Under the Felony Murder Rule, a defendant can be liable for the unintended, yet foreseeable, killing that occurs during, or is proximately caused by, the attempted commission of an inherently dangerous felony*
(*burglary, arson, rape, robbery, kidnapping)
Guilty of Underlying Felony
Enter rule statement of the underlying felony and analyze each element of that felony. The underlying felony should be analyzed even if it was not completed; an attempt is sufficient
Foreseeability
Here, the killing was foreseeable because [enter legally significant facts]
Causation
The killing was proximately caused by the [name of inherently dangerous felony] because [enter legally significant facts]
Death of a Co-Felon
According to the Redline doctrine, the defendant is not liable for Felony Murder if his co-felon is killed by the victim in self-defense or by a police officer attempting to prevent escape or further criminal activity
Agency Theory
A felon is liable for a death caused by his agent. Therefore, a felon will not be liable if a bystander is killed by someone other than his agent
Point of Safety
The commission of a felony concludes when the defendant reaches a point of safety. If the killing occurs after the defendant has reached a point of safety, the Felony Murder Rule is inapplicable
First Degree Murder
First degree murder is murder that is
premeditated and deliberate
Premeditated
Premeditation is satisfied if the defendant had enough time to reflect on the killing
Deliberate
A murder is deliberate if the defendant’s decision to kill was made in a cool and dispassionate manner
Felony Murder Rule
Several jurisdictions categorize felony murder as first-degree murder. [See Felony Murder Rule above]
Second Degree Murder
Second-Degree Murder lacks premeditation and deliberation. It is analyzed in the same manner as Common Law Murder. See above for Common Law Murder analysis
Voluntary Manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter has four elements:
- There was provocation that would cause a sudden and intense passion in the mind of an ordinary reasonable person
- the defendant was actually provoked
- there was insufficient time for a reasonable person to cool off between the provocation and the killing, and
- the defendant did not cool off
*Analyze each element separately
Involuntary Manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing committed (i) with criminal negligence or (ii) during an unlawful act
