Crimes Against the Person Flashcards
What is homicide?
A killing of a human being by another human being.
Criminal homicide is the unlawful killing of a human being by another human being?
Suicide is not homicide. However, to persuade or aid in a suicide is a basis for homicide.
A killing is unlawful when it:
- is without legal justification or excuse; and
- is committed as a result of a criminal state of mind.
What is murder?
At common law, it is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice.
A human being must be “born alive”; however some states include a fetus after the first trimester to be a human being.
What is the one year and one day rule at common law?
if the victim died more than one year and one day after the D’s act, courts will rule that the D’s act was not the proximate cause. Most states have eliminated or extended this rule.
What are some ways for a D to be legally responsible for a killing when it was not done personally?
- Accomplice;
- Conspiracy;
- Substantial factor; and
- Co-Felon liability.
What are the four categories of mental states for common law murder?
- Intent to kill - D consciously desires to kill another person or knows that his conduct will kill another human being. Under the deadly weapons doctrine, n inference of intent is raised throug the intentional use of any instrument which is calculated to produce death or great bodily injury. This is express malice.
- Intent to cause serious bodily harm - This is an intent to cause significant but nonfatal injury. This can arise from a conscious desire or substantial certainty that the D’s actions will result in the victim’s injury. This is express malice.
- Depraved heart murder - Implied malice where the D causes a killing by reckless or grossly negligent conduct that creates an extreme risk to others and demonstrates a wanton indifference to the value of human life and a conscious disregard of an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury.
- Felony-murder.
What is Felony-murder?
Felony murder is an unintentional killing proximately caused during the commission or attempted commission of a serious or inherently dangerous felony.
The underlying felony must be the right type of felony. That is, it must be expressly listed in the murder statute, or be a. independent of the killing and b. inherently dangerous.
To be independent, a majority of states require the killing to be collateral to the felony. If the underlying felony has a purpose of serious bodily injury, then the felony is not independent/collateral.
To be inherently dangerous, a majority of states apply the abstract test; that is, the felony is dangerous in all contexts. A minority of states apply the context test; that is, the felony is dangerous in this particular case.
Generally these felonies are dangerous: BARRK: burglary, arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping.
Also, there must be the right connection to the felony. In other words, the resulting death must be a foreseeable outgrowth of the felony.
Also, the death must have occurred in the right time. In other words, the death must have occurred during the commission, attempt, or immediate flight for the felony. The felony starts when the D could be convicted of attempt. The felony ends when the felon has reached a place of temporary safety.
What is the vicarious liability in felony murder?
At common law all felons were liable for any homicide that occurred during the perpetration of the felony. There was also no exceptions for homicides by non-felons.
Under the majority rule, there is no felony murder liability when a non-felon causes the death. Under the minority rule, there is liability for killings by non-felons. In the minority jursidictions, Redline Limitation applies. That is, a co-felon is not guilty of felony murder where the killing constitutes a justifiable or excusable homicide.
Non-violent felon exception - No liability for felons who were unarmed, unaware that violence would occur, and did not encourage the violence.
Deserving victim exception - No liability for the killing of a co-felon.
What is murder by degrees?
Most jurisdictions distinguish between degrees of murder which the common law did not.
What is first-degree murder?
This is murder that includes the intent to kill with premeditation and deliberation. That is, intent to kill malice is required with P&D.
Premeditation - This is quantity of thought. At common law, intent to kill is enough. Under majority rule, a reasonable period of time is required. this can be brief.
Deliberation - This is quality of thought. This requires rational thought. At common law, intent to kill is enough. Under majority rule, some evidence of reflection is required.
What is second-degree murder?
All other murders that does not fit into first-degree murder. It is murder with malice but not the additional P&D.
What are common examples of murders that can be elevated to first-degree?
Felony murder, murder accompanied by lying in wait, poison, terrorism, or torture, or murder of specially defined victims.
What is voluntary manslaughter?
An intentional killing mitigated by adequate provocation or other circumstances negating malice.
Adequate provocation - This is measured objectively: a provocation that would lead a reasonable person or ordinary person to lose self-control and fly into a sudden homicidal rage.
Mere words are not enough.
There must be a causal connection between the provocation and the killing; that is, the decision to kill must be caused by the provocation.
The killing must occur while the rage is hot, not after a time that a reasonable person would have cooled off.
What are some other mitigating circumstances for voluntary manslaughter?
Diminished mental capacity - mental disturbances that fall short of insanity.
Imperfect self-defense - an honest but unreasonable judgment can be used to nullify malice.
What is involuntary manslaughter?
An unintentional killing resulting without malice either by recklessness, criminal negligence, or during the commission or attempted commission of an unlawful act.
If D is subjectively aware of the risk and ignores it, that is recklessness. If D was unaware of the risk but a reasonable person would have been aware, that is gross negligence.
This recklessness and negligence does not arise to the wanton disregard of the value of human life for implied malice.
What is misdemeanor manslaughter?
An unintentional killing that occurs during the commission or attempted commission of a misdemeanor, which is malum in se (evil in and of itself) or of a felony which is not of the inherently dangerous type required for felony-murder is classified as involuntary manslaughter under the so-called misdemeanor-manslaughter rule.
