Homicide & Strict Liability

Question 1

rules authorizing conviction of morally innocent person for offense even though crime requires proof of mens rea.

Answer 1

Strict liability doctrines

Question 2

crimes do not contain mens rea requirement regarding one or more elements of actus reus

Answer 2

Strict liability crimes

Question 3

• statutory crime not derived from common law
• legislative policy would be undermined by mens rea requirement
• standard imposed is reasonable and adherence could be expected
• penalty is small
• conviction doesn’t “gravely besmirch”

Answer 3

Factors (Holdridge v. United States) to overcome presumption against:

Question 4

malum prohibitum (wrong because prohibited)
 Legislatures enacted laws with no express mens rea requirement
Examples = antipollution environmental laws, traffic violations

Answer 4

Public Welfare Offenses

Question 5

offenses are strict liability; don’t require proof defendant possessed mens rea regarding material element
Example (statutory rape) “consensual intercourse by a male with underage female”. No mens rea element regarding defendant’s knowledge of underage status (attendant circumstance). He has knowledge of conduct element of sex.

Answer 5

Non-Public Welfare Offenses

Question 6

§2.02 – subject to one exception, no conviction unless mens rea for each material element.
§2.05 (one exception). Mens rea requirement need not apply to offenses that are violations rather than crimes.
Violations are offenses that cannot result in imprisonment or probation, but may result in fines

Answer 6

MPC approach to strict liability

Question 7

Definition – unlawful killing of human being by another human with malice aforethought

Answer 7

Homicide (Common Law Murder)

Question 8

murder prosecution only if victim dies within one year and a day of injury

Answer 8

Common law year and a day rule

Question 9

Malice – person acts with malice if unjustifiably, inexcusably, and in absence of mitigating circumstances, kills person with any one of following mental states
intent to kill (knowingly or purposely)
intent (knowingly or purposely) to inflict grievous bodily injury on another
extreme reckless disregard for value of human life (depraved heart)
intent to commit felony during commission or attempted commission during which killing occurs (felony murder rule)

Answer 9

Mens Rea for Common law Murder

Question 10

malice mental state must exist at time of homicide, rather than after killing. Law doesn’t punish people for killing malice afterthought.

Answer 10

Aforethought

Question 11

(1) intent to kill
Purposely or knowingly taking another’s life (conscious object of killer or killer subjectively knew death was virtually certain to result)
Example – Cynthia wants to kill her husband. She places a bomb on an airplane he is riding. The bomb goes off and kills 101 people. She only wanted her husband to die but was nearly certain the others would die. She is guilty of murdering all 101.
(2) intent to inflict grievous bodily injury
Defendant acts with malice aforethought if intends to inflict grievous bodily injury on another. If death results, guilty of murder
Common law intent = knowingly or purposely
Must be intent to commit very serious bodily injury, not just some injury.
Often defined as injury that imperils life or is likely to be attended with dangerous or fatal consequences
Example – Debbie stabs Victoria in the stomach with a large knife. Victoria dies. Debbie claims she did not intend to kill Victoria. Even if the jury believes Debbie, Debbie could be convicted of murder because she intended to inflict grievous bodily injury.
(3) depraved heart (extreme recklessness)
Abandoned and malignant heart – conduct manifesting extreme indifference to value of human life. Today, would probably = extreme recklessness

Answer 11

Common Law Mental State for Murder

Question 12

Defendant guilty of murder if she kills another, even accidentally, during commission or attempted commission of a felony.

Answer 12

felony murder rule

Question 13

willful, deliberate, premeditated killing

Answer 13

1st Degree murder

Question 14

to weigh pros and cons; not hot-blooded (quality of thinking)

Answer 14

Deliberate

Question 15

to think about beforehand (quantity of thinking)

Answer 15

Premeditate

Question 16

intentional

Answer 16

Willful

Question 17

all the rest of common law murder

Answer 17

2nd Degree Murder

Question 18

Defendant guilty of criminal homicide if takes life of another human purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently.

Answer 18

MPC Criminal Homicide

Question 19

MPC divides criminal homicide into three offenses

Answer 19

murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide).

Question 20

murder if committed purposely, knowingly, or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to value of human life

Answer 20

Homicide MPC

Question 21

unlawful killing of person by another person without malice aforethought

Answer 21

Manslaughter (voluntary or involuntary)

Question 22

intentional killing in which defendant takes life in “sudden heat of passion,” as result of “adequate provocation”

Answer 22

Voluntary Manslaughter (Common Law)

Question 23

Must be such that it might inflame passion of ordinary person and tend to cause ordinary person to act for moment from passion rather than reason.

Answer 23

Adequate Provocation

Question 24

aggravated assault or battery,
mutual combat,
commission of serious crime against close relative of defendant,
observation by husband of wife in act of adultery,
resisting illegal arrest

Answer 24

Common law fixed categories (judge determined adequacy of provocation):

Question 25

trivial battery
learning about adultery instead of observing it
observation of unfaithfulness of girlfriend
words, no matter how offensive

Answer 25

Not Considered Provocation (Common Law)

Question 26

felony of second-degree, carrying minimum punishment of imprisonment from 1 to 3 years and maximum sentence of 10 years.

Answer 26

MPC Manslaughter

Question 27

it is commited recklessly or
a homicide which would otherwise be murder is commited under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse. The reasonableness of such explanation or excuse shall be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the actors situation under the circumstances as he believes them to be.

Answer 27

MPC Manslaughter

Question 28

person who kills another person in criminally negligent manner is guilty of

Answer 28

Involuntary Manslaughter (Common Law)

Question 29

Criminally negligent killing (involuntary manslaughter common law) is the lesser offense of

Answer 29

Negligent Homicide MPC