Homicide

Question 1

What four states of mind qualify as malice aforethought?

Answer 1

1. Intent to kill;
2. Intent to cause serious bodily injury;
3. Reckless indifference to human life;
4. Intent to commit a felony.

Question 2

Why is “heat of passion” important when considering a defendant’s culpability for murder?

Answer 2

If the defendant presents sufficient evidence that the killing was committed in the heat of passion, then the defendant is guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder. This is important because manslaughter generally receives a lesser sentence than murder.

Note: Voluntary manslaughter is a separate crime from murder, rather than a lesser degree. Murder is reduced to manslaughter in the event of heat of passion as an element needed for murder (malice) has been disproven.

Question 3

In what two circumstances can a killing give rise to a charge of involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 3

i) A killing committed in the commission of a malum in se (wrong in itself) misdemeanor; or
(ii) A killing committed in the commission of a felony that is not statutorily treated as first-degree felony murder or second-degree murder.

Question 4

What kind of “adequate provocation” may reduce a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter?

Answer 4

A situation that could inflame the passion of a reasonable person to the extent that it could cause that person to momentarily act out of passion rather than reason.

Note: A serious battery, a threat of deadly force, or discovery of adultery by a spouse constitutes adequate provocation. Usually mere words, such as taunts, do not.

Question 5

Describe the independent felony requirement for felony murder.

Answer 5

To be guilty of felony murder, a felony independent of the death must have occurred. For example, a battery that causes the victim to die might be a felony, however it is not independent of the victim’s death, therefore, in a majority of states a felony murder charge would be inappropriate.

Question 6

Define common-law murder.

Answer 6

The unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.

Note: Common-law murder is a malice crime.

Question 7

What are the three common-law categories of homicide?

Answer 7

(i) Homicide justified by law;
(ii) Criminal homicide; and
(iii) Excusable homicide.

Question 8

What is voluntary manslaughter?

Answer 8

Homicide committed with malice aforethought, but also with mitigating circumstances (e.g., “heat of passion” or imperfect defense).

Question 9

What type(s) of causation must be established to prove a homicide? Define each.

Answer 9

1. Actual causation: The victim would not have died but for the defendant’s act.
2. Proximate causation: The death caused by the defendant’s conduct is foreseeable as the natural and probable result of the conduct.

Question 10

What is involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 10

Unintentional homicide committed:

(i) With criminal negligence (or recklessness under the MPC); or
(ii) During an unlawful act

Question 11

Is the defendant liable for felony murder when a co-felon is killed during the commission of a felony?

Answer 11

No.

A defendant is not guilty of felony murder when the defendant’s co-felon is justifiably killed by a victim or police officer.

Question 12

What is the difference between the agency theory and the proximate cause theory when a bystander is killed during the commission of a felony murder?

Answer 12

Agency theory (majority rule): the felon will not be liable for the death of a bystander caused by a felony victim or police officer, because neither is the felon’s agent.

Proximate cause theory: liability for a bystander’s death may attach to the felon because the death is a direct consequence of the felony.

Note: On the MBE, apply the agency theory unless instructed otherwise.

Question 13

When, on the MBE, should you consider degrees of murder?

Answer 13

When the fact pattern supplies a statute.

Note: Degrees of murder fo not exist at the common law. Under modern statutory rules, murder is generally divided into two degrees: first-degree and second-degree murder.

Question 14

What is depraved-heart murder?

Answer 14

Depraved-heart murder is a killing that results from reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life. The majority rule requires the defendant to be aware of the danger involved.

Question 15

What is a “cooling off” period for purposes of a voluntary manslaughter charge?

Answer 15

The “cooling off period” is the time immediately following the provocation and before the killing. If there was sufficient time between the provocation and the killing for a reasonable person to cool off, then murder is not mitigated to manslaughter, even if the defendant did not actually cool off.

Question 16

What are the five most common inherently dangerous felonies that can give rise to a felony murder charge?

Answer 16

BARRK
1. Burglary,

2. Arson,
3. Robbery,
4. Rape;
5. Kidnapping

Question 17

What is the year-and-a-day rule with regard to homicide causation?

Answer 17

If a victim survived a battery or assault for more than a year and one day, it was presumed that the cause of death was NOT that of the defendant.

The “year-and-a-day rule” is a common law rule that is no longer followed by the majority of jurisdictions.

Question 18

What is the usual definition of first-degree murder?

Answer 18

First-degree murder is a statutory offense, and is generally defined as (i) a deliberate and premeditated murder, or (ii) felony murder.

Question 19

What are the five most common inherently dangerous felonies associated with felony murder?

Answer 19

BARRK
1. Burglary,

2. Arson,
3. Robbery,
4. Rape;
5. Kidnapping

Question 20

What crime results when a person intends to cause grievous bodily harm but actually ends up killing someone?

Answer 20

Murder.

A defendant is guilty of intent to inflict serious bodily harm regardless of whether the defendant intended to kill the victim, as long as the defendant intended to cause serious injury to the victim. That intent to cause serious injury provides the malice required for murder.

Question 21

What is “imperfect self-defense”?

Answer 21

Although a defendant who is not the aggressor is justified in using reasonable force in self-defense against another person to prevent immediate unlawful harm to himself, the defendant’s belief that the other person’s actions represent an immediate threat must be reasonable.

When such belief is unreasonable but honest, the defendant is entitled to assert “imperfect self-defense,” which reduces his crime from murder to voluntary manslaughter