Glannon Guide: Mansalughter Flashcards
common law manslaughter
the unlawful killing of another human being w/o malice
CL: two types of manslaughter
voluntary and involuntary manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter
killing in the heat of passion or under extreme emotional disturbance
involuntary manslaughter
reckless killing or those committed by grossly negligent behavior
when is voluntary manslaughter apply
1) provocation 2) extreme emotional disturbance 3) imperfect self-defense
voluntary manslaughter hypo: Tom recently killed his landlord when the landlord threatened to increase Tom’s rent. Dick killed his wife’s lover when he found them in bed upon his return from a hard day of work. The prosecutor wants to throw the book at both of them. Which of the following is true
A. Both Tom & Dick are guilty of murder b/c all intentional killings are murder
B. Both Tom & Dick are guilty of murder b/c they had motives to kill their victims
C. Neither Tom nor Dick is guilty of homicide b/c they were provoked to kill their victims
D. Only Tom is guilty of murder b/c it is a full defense for Dick to kill his wife’s lover
E. none of the above
E is the correct answer.
killing in the sudden heat of passion requirements. In order to prove provocation the evidence must show:
1) the defendant acted in actual heat of passion
2) there was legally adequate provocation
3) there was inadequate time for the defendant to cool off after the was provoked.
Actual heat of passion hypo 1: Ellie returns home after a hard day’s work. He catches his wife, Debi in bed with the gardner. Elie starts laughing hysterically and says to the gardener, “if you want her, you can have her. I’d rather mow the lawn.” Elie then heads outside. While he is mowing the law, he reconsiders what he said and decides this would be a good opportunity to get rid of his wife and her lover. He heads back into the house, loads his gun, and walks to the bedroom. Cooly, he takes aim and fires. He kills the lover instantly. Ellie claims he killed in the heat of passion, his defense will most likely
A. Succeed b/c reasonable person might be provoked to kill if he finds his wife in bed with another man.
B. succeed if Elie’s wife and her lover intentionally provoked Elie.
C. Fail b/c Elie may have been provoked to kill his wife, but not the gardener
D.fail b/c Elie was not acting in the heat of passion.
D is the correct answer b/c Elie does not get a heat of passion defense b/c he did not act in the heat of the passion. Rather he deliberated then killed his wife and lover.
historically the courts recognized limited categories that included:
1) aggravated assault
2) observations of adultery by a spouse
3) illegal arrest
4) mutual combat
5) attacks against a close family member.
Legally adequate provocation categorical approach hypo 1: Ben hears from his best friend Mike, that Ben’s wife has been having an affair with their neighbor. Been immediately leaves work and gets home in time to see his wife go into the neighbor’s house. An hour later, the neighbor smirks at Ben and says, “she says I’m definitely a better lover than you.” The neighbor then flicks a cigarette at Ben. Ben erupts in anger and grabs a brick on the walkway, and throws it at the neighbor and Ben’s wife. He kills the neighbor. If Ben is charged with murder and the categorical approach is applied, Ben can
A. successfully argue heat of passion b/c his wife was clearly having an adulterous affair
B. successfully argue heat of passion b/c the neighbors assaulted Ben with a cigarette butt
C. successfully argue heat of passion because a reasonable man would have been provoked by Ben’s situation
D.not succeed in asserting a heat of passion defense.
D. provocative words are not enough at common law
Legally adequate provocation reasonable person approach hypo 1: Bob hates everything about his job. He hates the job he does, he hates his co-workers, and most of all he hates his boss. Every day, his boss berates Bob in front of his fellow employees. Because of physical infirmity, Bob uses crutches; his boss calls him stump. One day, Bob’s boss sees him taking a break to get a drink from the water cooler. the boss tosses a file at Bob that causes him to trip and fall. As the boss and co-works are laughing and shouting, Bob grabs the letter opener in his pocket and throws it at his boss. It hits him in the heart and kills him. Under which of the following standards would Bob have the best chance to mitigate the killing to manslaughter because of legally adequate provocation?
A. a categorical approach
B. A reasonable person approach that takes into account Bob’s physical characteristics of being handicapped
C. a reasonable person approach that takes into account the boss’s prior humiliations of Bob
D. B & C
The correct answer is D b/c it allows the jury to step in Bob’s shoes as much as possible in deciding whether there has been legally adequate provocation.
insufficient cooling time hypo: For Billy, the day was an absolute nightmare. When he got home, he learned that a man in the park had seriously assaulted his daughter. The assailant was still on the loose. After visiting his daughter in the hospital, Billy joined the hunt for the assailant. He spotted a man in the park hiding behind some bushes. Billy yelled “did you do that to my little girl?” The man only grinned and said you bet. And, I loved every minute of it.” Enraged Billy lashed out at the man and struct him in the head with a baseball bat. The assailant died and Billy was charged with murder.
if billy argues that the killing should be mitigated to manslaughter, he will most likely
A. succeed b/c the assailant had earlier assaulted his daughter
B.fail, b/c grin ia insufficient legal provocation
C.fail b/c he had sufficient time to cool off after learning about the assault of his daughter
D.succeed, if the court recognizes the doctrines of rekindling and long-smoldering passions.
D. is correct b/c it recognizes the exceptions to the cooling time rule.
MPC Extreme mental or emotional disturbance. two types of killings as manslaughter
1) recklessly killing another human being
2) killing another person under circumstances that would ordinarily constitute murder, but which homicide is committed as the result of extreme mental or emotional disturbance fir which there is a reasonable explanation or excuse.
MPC EMED hypo: Rudy’s life has been a nightmare. He has never had a successful social life b/c of a large, physical deformity on his face. All his life he has been taunted by people calling him names. Some have even attacked him. Even after psychological therapy, he rarely has been able to leave his home b/c constant ridicule tends to set him off into an uncontrollable rage. One day, Rudy reluctantly ventures out to buy some food at the market. While he is there, a group of people start to point and laugh at him. Scared and furious Rudy explodes and in anger kills an innocent bystander. Under the Model Penal Code
A. Rudy, has a full defense b/c he was provoked by the group’s laughter.
B. Rudy is entitled to a manslaughter instruction b/c there was legally adequate provocation.
C. Rudy is entitled to a manslaughter instruction b/c he suffers from an extreme emotional disturbance
D. Rudy is guilty of murder
C. is correct b/c Rudy would be entitled to a manslaughter instruction under the MPC.
involuntary manslaughter and criminal negligence hypo: The roaring stones play a concert in a crowded nightclub. Many of the attendees realize that anything can happen in a crowded nightclub, but they shove their way in anyway. To please the crowd, the nightclub owner decides to use some indoor fireworks to punctuate the band’s performance. The fireworks misfire and cause the curtains in the club to burst into flames. As the customers rush to flee the burning building club, several are trampled to death. The nightclub owner is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
the nightclub owner is guilty of involuntary manslaughter if:
A. He was on notice of the risk of using indoor fireworks, but disregard those risks during the show because he was willing to take any risk to bring in more patrons
B. he should have realized the risk caused by his extremely negligent behavior, especially when there was no good reason for him to take the risk.
C. he acted in the heat of passion
D. he premeditated the deaths of the patrons
E. the victims did not contribute to the negligent behavior.
B. is correct b/c the owner should have realized the risk by his use of fireworks.
