Homicide

Question 1

MPC Homicide Roadmap

Answer 1

1. Is D guilty of murder?
2. Is D guilty of manslaughter?
3. Is D guilty of negligent homicide?
4. Is there adequate causation between D’s conduct and V’s death?
5. Any affirmative defenses?

Question 2

CL Homicide Roadmap

Answer 2

1. Is D guilty of 2nd degree murder?
2. If the answer to 1 is yes, is D guilty of 1st degree murder?
3. If the answer to 1 is yes, is there evidence to mitigate?
4. If the answer to 1 is no, is D guilty of involuntary manslaughter?
5. Is there adequate causation between D’s conduct and V’s death?
6. Any affirmative defenses?

Question 3

Deadly Force May Be Used When:

Answer 3

a. if D is not at fault
b. is confronted with unlawful force and
c. reasonably believes under threat of life or limb

Question 4

Insanity Tests

Answer 4

A. M’Naghten Rule (majority approach)
i. Lacked ability to know wrongfulness or
ii. Understand nature and quality of actions
B. Irresistible Impulse Test
i. D unable to control actions or conform actions to law
C. Durham (New Hampshire) Test
i. D’s crime was product of mental disease or defect
D. The MPC/American Law Institute (ALI) Test
i. Combination of M’Naghten and irresistible impulse

Question 5

Malice Aforethought can mean

Answer 5

1. Intent to kill
2. Intent to inflict great bodily injury
3. Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (depraved heart murder)
4. Intent to commit a felony that is inherently or foreseeably dangerous (felony murder)

Question 6

Elements of Provocation

Answer 6

1. D was actually provoked
2. A reasonable person would have been provoked too
3. D did not cool off between the provocation and the killing
4. There was insufficient time between the provocation and the killing for a reasonable person to cool off

Question 7

Limitations of Felony Murder CL

Answer 7

1. Independent Felony
2. Inherently Dangerous Felony
3. The Res Gestae Requirement
4. Third Party Killings (Agency majority or proximate minority)