Homicide Cases Flashcards
Officer attempting to arrest the possession of marijuana. D sprinted toward Ward and onto the bridge. Three officers responded to help. One officer sees him change his direction and is caught by another officer. Other officer proceeds to concrete barrier and vaults over the barrier.
Should D be charged with 2nd degree manslaughter for recklessly causing the officer’s death?
Yes. The cause of Officer Parton’s death was not his own act of vaulting over the concrete barrier, but rather the continuation of Robertson’s unlawful flight when he saw Parton’s vehicle stop, requiring Parton to cross the open space.
- Officers negligence to jump is not determinative of D’s guilty
- D grossly deviated from standard of conduct
- Using mens rea as a measure for proximate cause —> causation analysis is a place to vindicate moral intuitions about the right outcome
Robertson v. Kentucky (2002)
He claims the victim wife has mental disorder (made worse when she suffered a fractured skull while attempting to leave D’s car). Decent to electronic school so I put a gun at the head of their bed so wife would feel safe. When got into an argument, and he got the gun and shot her twice in the back of her head while she was on her side sleeping. When asked if he was aware intended to shoot her “ I wanted to help my boys. I don’t know positively. All I remember hearing was two shots and feeling myself cold all of a sudden.”
Charged with 1st degree murder?
There was sufficient evidence of premeditation to support the charge of first degree murder.
Court says disregard psychiatric testimony they wouldn’t have been able to pick up the gun if it fell on the floor, loaded her emotionally upset feelings and blind impulses
The approximate five minutes of laps between his wife’s last remark and the shooting
no time too short for premeditation
Pennsylvania v. Carroll (1963)
Case 1: do you stab his coworker in the neck and killed him after that they were joking around and victim snapped him with a dish owl. Dishtowel hit his nose —> D became a ragged stab victim and neck, and then another coworker and arm. He suffers from chronic depression obsession with his nose and personality disorder.
Case 2: when he visited his father in the hospital, denied the nurse from caring for him “ go to hell I’ve been taking care of him for years. I’ll take care of him. He shot his father four times “he’s out of his suffering. I killed my daddy”
Premeditation?
Case 1: no reasonable choices being made here but instead ask the jury to get inside these head to determine if he cool he could do the murder—was charged w 1st degree
State v. Guthrie
Case 2: most persuasive our defendants of statements after the incident saying that he thought about putting his father out of his misery because he knew it was suffering. He promised his father he would not let him suffer and he couldn’t stand to see his father suffer anymore—yes premeditation
North Carolina v. Forrest
Hundreds of people died in a nightclub fire. Boy asked to light an electric bulb which ignited a palm tree next to it —> fire spread in main stairway closed and other doors to street locked. Owner was in the hospital when it happened.
Charge?
Manslaughter: Commonwealth was not required to prove that he caused the fire by some wanton or reckless conduct—fire in a place of public resort is an ever present danger. Was enough to prove that death resulted from his wind and a reckless disregard of the safety of patrons in the event of fire from any cause.
Disregard is of the risk to their safety in the event of the fire, not necessarily risk of the fire
Case 1: these four year old daughter became ill with flu like symptoms. These religion uses prayer instead of medical care. Do you called on a practitioner who heals the prayer kid died. During last 17 days of life received no medical treatment.
Case 2: kid of two Indians with high school education got sick. Had toothache and gave baby aspirin, but scared to take baby to doctor for fear of Welfare department taking away. They wanted to wait for swelling to go down because heard that neither doctor nor dentist pull out tooth and swollen.
Charge?
Both negligent because parents are not intentionally disregarding the risk
1: Walker v. Superior Court
2: State v. Williams
Was it a gross deviation or just a tort deviation?
Who is the reasonable person? The reasonably Christian scientist or reasonable person, irrespective of religion?
Do we customize based on the man? MPC is variable as to what we are willing to customize for
