Crimes against the Person Flashcards
Assault
Assault is either an attempt to commit a battery or the intent to place another in fear of imminent injury.
Battery
Battery is the intentional or reckless causing of a bodily injury or an offensive touching to another.
Mayhem
Mayhem is the permanent dismemberment or disablement of a bodily part.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of another, involving movement or concealment in a secret place.
Rape
Rape is the unlawful sexual intercourse of a female, not one’s wife, without her consent.
Homicide
Homicide is the unlawful taking of the life of another. The two types of homicide are murder and manslaughter.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another person with malice aforethought.
Malice-(murder)
Malice is the requisite mental state for murder and can be established by:
- An intent to kill
- An intent to commit grievous bodily injury;
- A reckless indifference to the value of human life (also known as “depraved heart”
- An intent to commit a dangerous felony, known as the felony murder rule.
An intent to commit a dangerous felony, known as the felony murder rule
a. The intent to commit certain dangerous felonies supplies the malice requirement for murder where death is a natural and probable consequence of defendant’s conduct and occurs during the commission of the felony, even if the death is accidental. Including:
i. Death of co-felon:
ii. Death of bystander:
OR
b. Inherently dangerous felonies: The felony murder rule typically applies to the following inherently dangerous felonies: BARRK
i. Burglary
ii. Arson
iii. Rape
iv. Robbery
v. Kidnapping
Causation (murder)
The defendant’s conduct must also be the cause in fact and the proximate cause of the death.
Consent (Rape)
To be rape, the intercourse must be w/out the victim’s effective consent. Consent, even if given, may be ineffective in several situations:
- Force
- Threats
- Woman Incapable of Consenting
- Fraud
Intent for murder
Intent can transfer for murder (just like in torts).
“Fleeing felon”
Under the “fleeing felon standard,” a law enforcement officer can use deadly force against a fleeing felon if:
- The use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the felon’s escape;
- The fleeing felon has threatened the officer with a weapon or the officer has probable cause to believe that the felon has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm; and
- The officer gives the felon some warning of the imminent use of deadly force, if feasible.
Manslaughter
In most states there are two types of manslaughter, voluntary and involuntary.
Voluntary manslaughter
There are two types of voluntary manslaughter— heat of passion and imperfect self-defense.
Heat of passion Manslaughter
Murder can be reduced to voluntary manslaughter if the defendant killed in the heat of passion and the following requirements are met:
a. Reasonable provocation: He acted in response to a provocation that would cause a reasonable person to lose self-control,
b. Acted in heat of passion: Defendant was in fact provoked at the time he acted,
c. No cooling off time: There was insufficient time for a reasonable person to cool off between the provocation and the killing, and
d. Defendant did not cool off: The defendant did not in fact cool off by the time he killed.
Imperfect self-defense
Murder may also be reduced to voluntary manslaughter if the defendant kills under an unreasonable mistake about the need for self-defense.
Involuntary manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter can arise two ways:
- Gross negligence
- Misdemeanor-manslaughter
Gross negligence
Involuntary manslaughter arises when a person’s behavior is grossly negligent and the conduct results in the death of another. Gross negligence is the disregard of a very substantial danger of serious bodily harm or death.
Misdemeanor-manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter also arises when the defendant commits a misdemeanor and a death occurs accidentally during its commission.
First-degree murder
First-degree murder can arise two ways.
a. Premeditation and deliberation: First-degree murder applies when the killing was the result of premeditation and deliberation— in other words, where the defendant acted in a cool and dispassionate manner and had time to reflect upon the idea of killing, even if only for a moment.
b. Enumerated inherently dangerous felony under an application of the felony murder rule, such as the felonies of arson, robbery, burglary, rape, mayhem, or kidnapping.
Second-degree murder
If the murder does not rise to the level of first-degree murder and is not reduced to manslaughter, the defendant will be guilty of second-degree murder.
