Homicide

Question 1

Homicide (Common Law)

Answer 1

“Malice Aforethought”

• Intent to cause death or serious injury
• Knowledge that the act will cause death or serious injury (malice aforethought)
• During commission of felony
• With intent to oppose, by force, a police officer.

Question 2

Modern Approach to HOMICIDE

Answer 2

• Intentional Killings
• Unintentional Killings
• A matter of degrees.
  (Almost every jurisdiction follows this approach)

Question 3

Illinois First Degree Murder (Illinois Statutory)

Answer 3

1) Intent to kill or do great bodily harm, or
acts with knowledge that acts will cause death, OR
2) knowledge acts create strong possibility of Death or Bodily Harm, OR
3) attempting or committing a forcible felony other than 2nd degree murder.

Question 4

Aggravating Factors (Illinois)

Answer 4

• Cold, calculated and premeditated manner planned to take life by unlawful means, AND
• Defendant created a reasonable expectation death would result.
  (Length of time and quality or nature of the planning / preparation)

Question 5

Voluntary Manslaughter / SDM

Answer 5

• Intentional murder (otherwise 1st degree) but for the presence of “mitigating factors”.
• Mitigating factors (most common)
  1) Provocation
  2) Heat of passion.

Question 6

Voluntary Manslaughter: MPC

Answer 6

Homicide Committed

• under influence of extreme mental or emotional distress, AND
• there is a reasonable explanation from the viewpoint of a person in the actor’s shoes.

Question 7

VM - SDM: Statutory Illinois

Answer 7

• Intentional Murder
• Mitigated by:
  1) heat of passion, OR
  2) Serious Provocation
  (Presence of MF = Defendants burden = POE)

Question 8

Provocation

Answer 8

• Actual and

- Reasonable from the standpoint of the RRPP person in the defendants shoes.

Question 9

Lesser Included Offense (VM - SDM)

Answer 9

• VM - SDM = “lesser included” offense to FDM.

- Succesfully asserting provocation or imperfect defense does not mean that the defendant is not guilty and goes free.

Question 10

Serious Provocation

Answer 10

-Conduct sufficient to excite an intense passion in a Reasonable Person.

Question 11

Imperfect Defense (belief in justification, but unreasonable)

Answer 11

• By POE, Defendant must establish he honestly - though UNREASONABLY - believes he has a legal justification / defense for murder (self defense).
• Defendant - Meets a Subjective Test, but not an Objective test, for Self-Defense.

Question 12

First Degree Murder

summary of all jurisdictions

Answer 12

1) Actus Reus: killing of a person without lawful justification.
2) Mens Rea: Intent (most jurisdictions)
(Illinois Law = intent or knowledge of a strong possibility)
3) Premeditation - required my many (not all) FDM statutes.
(Illinois Does not require premeditation, it is an aggravating factor in Illinois.)

Question 13

VM - SDM (As a Defense)

Answer 13

• Usually Raised by the Defense

- Burden of proof may be placed on the prosecution to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt the D was NOT provoked.

Question 14

Felony-Murder: Defined

Answer 14

Felony-murder is proved by demonstrating that an unintended killing took place in the commission of certain felonies.

In many jurisdictions, the felony that triggers the felony-murder statute cannot be an offense that is inherent in the act of killing itself (assault / battery).

Question 15

MPC: Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 15

Criminal homicide constitutes [involuntary] manslaughter when it is committed recklessly

Question 16

Statutory: Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 16

An unintentional killing

With a mens rea of negligence or recklessness, depending on jurisdiction.

Question 17

Illinois Involuntary Manslaughter

Answer 17

• A person who UNINTENTIONALLY kills an individual without lawful justification, and
• by performing acts, whether lawful or unlawful, which are likely to cause death or great bodily injury, and
• performs those acts with mens rea of RECKLESSNESS.

Question 18

MPC: MURDER

Answer 18

• unlawful killing
• committed purposely or knowingly, or
• Recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.
• Recklessness is presumed if committing, attempting, or fleeing:
• robbery, rape, deviate sex int. by force, threat or force, arson, burglary, kidnapping or felonious escape.

Question 19

MPC: Manslaughter

Answer 19

Criminal Homicide constitutes manslaughter when:

• committed recklessly, or
• is committed under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is a reasonable explanation or excuse.

(Reasonableness = objective / subjective test: viewpoint of the person in the actor’s situation under the circumstances as he believes them to be.)

Question 20

MPC: Negligent Homicide

Answer 20

• committed negligently

- felony of the third degree