Homicide

Question 1

What is CL murder?

Answer 1

An unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.

Question 2

Proof of these elements are required for CL Murder

Answer 2

1. Act or failure to act if a duty exists
2. Malice aforethought
3. Causation
4. In certain juris, death must occur within 1 yr and 1 day after fatal injury

Question 3

CL Murder Elements #1

Answer 3

Act or failure to act if duty exists

-one must take some act or one must fail to act if duty to act

Question 4

CL Murder Element #2

Answer 4

Malice can either be express or implied based on these 4 circumstances:

1. Intent to kill
2. Intent to inflict serious bodily harm
3. Depraved (extremely reckless or willful and wanton disregard for risk to human life (most commonly tested)
   * **Read the fact pattern carefully to see ifthere was a substantial risk to life: If so, murder, if not in murder, another crime or no crime
4. Death in inherently dangerous felony (Felony Murder)

Question 5

Statutory Degrees

Statutory Circumstances

Answer 5

Most juris = 2 degrees
Generally CL murder = 2nd degree
However certain circumstances raise it to 1st degree murder
1. Premeditation and deliberation (duration doesn’t matter, can be instant) (intoxication may negate premeditation)
2. Committed with premeditation during inherently dangerous felony (aka BAARK)
NOTE: intoxication won’t reduce 2nd degree murder to involuntary manslaughter
EXAM: Don’t presume Felony Murder is 1st degree (look to what the statute says since sometimes the examiners classify it as 2nd degree murder.
3. Some jurisdictions make certain murders first degree such as killing a judge, police officer or politician.

Question 6

Statutory Degrees Recap

Answer 6

-Typically 2 degrees
-Read text carefully for degree classification because they have deviated from the default rules on past exams
-murder by default = 2nd degree
(Unless circumstances exist to rise it from 2nd to 1st)
-cirsunstamces =
1. Premeditation &deliberation: reflects on killing before, kills anyway
2. Killing during inherently dangerous felony
3. Killing certain individuals: judges, police officers, politicians

Question 7

Malice Aforethought
4 Ways to Prove
1. Intent to kill
2. Intent to do serious bodily injury
3. Depraved heart: reckless disregard of risk of life
4. CL Felony Murder- during commission of inherently dangerous felony (BAARK)

Question 8

Murder
Statutory Degrees
First and Second Degree

Answer 8

Second Degree = default
Murder under CL is at least 2nd degree

First degree if aggravating circumstances exist:

• premeditation and deliberation
• concurrent commission of a felony
• statutorily defined Killin of judges, police officers, politicians

Question 9

Voluntary Manslaughter

General

Answer 9

Lesser degree of homicide
May be charged if element provocation is present
-element of provocation is a critical element for Voluntary Manslaughter

EXAM TIP: on exam, unless statute dictates otherwise and unless using imperfect self defense, one won’t be guilty of VM without element of provocation
-provocation serves to mitigate level of offense’s intent and severity

Question 10

Provocation

Elements

Answer 10

1. Victim provoked accused
2. Accused intentionally kills V
3. In heat of passion
4. That would overcome reasonable person
5. With no cooling off period (no time for accused to reduce passion)

Question 11

Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 11

The unintended killing of a living human being .

NOTE: it is a lesser degree of homicide because it does not require that an accused possess a specific level of intent to kill another human being. Instead, a reckless or careless type of crim neg is involved whereby D causes death by engaging I conduct creating an unreasonable (or high and unreasonable) risk of death or serious bodily injury.

Question 12

Recklessness

Answer 12

Conscious disregard of a known risk

Question 13

Majority Rule Concerning Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 13

A D must have acted recklessly to be convinced inv manslaughter (i.e., the D must have been aware of the unreasonable (or high and unreasonable) risk of death or serious bodily injury.

Question 14

Minority Rule of Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 14

It is enough for the D to have acted with greater than ordinary negligence. Some states call this std gross, criminal or culpable negligence.

Question 15

Involuntary Manslaughter
Criminal negligence or recklessness
Parent’s Failure to Provide Medical Attention

Answer 15

An omission, such as parent’s failure to furnish medical care to an ill child, may consititute crim neg or recklessness based on the parent’s duty of care.

The test:

• did an accused have a legal duty to act to assist the injured V; and
• but for the accused’s failure to act, would the victim have survived?

Question 16

Felony Murder

Answer 16

A person is criminally liable for an unintended death of a human being while attempting to commit a felony, committing a felony, or as a result of committing a felony if:

1. the felony is inherently dangerous to human life;
2. The death naturally and probably results from the felony; and
3. The felony is independent of the death.

Note: If D flees from the place of the felony and reaches a place of temporary safety, the felon will not be liable for subsequent deaths.

Question 17

Unlawful Act Manslaughter

Minority of States

Answer 17

A person may commit unlawful Act Manslaughter by killing a victim in the course of an unlawful Act that does not constitute a felony.

A person may be guilty of unlawful act manslaughter by committing an unlawful act intending to inflict injury (but not serious bodily injury) upon a human being, if the victim dies as a consequence of the injury.

Question 18

Voluntary Manslaughter

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