Criminal Law

1. Criminal Law Chapter 9 Crimes Against Person I: Criminal Homicide Joel Samaha, 9th Ed.

2. The Meaning of ‘Person’ or ‘Human Being’ The meaning of ‘person’ is central to criminal homicide liability because it defines who is a victim. When life begins tells us when a potential victim becomes a real victim; when life ends tells us when a real victim is no longer a victim.

3. The Meaning of ‘Person’ or ‘Human Being’ For purposes of criminal homicide liability, when does life begin? and, when does life end? Explain how states may differ.

4. Murder Two types of homicide: • Murder: Killing a person with malice aforethought. • Manslaughter: Killing a person without malice aforethought.

5. Result Crimes* Actus Reus +Mens Rea +Circumstance | concurrence| concurrence | Conduct Crime | Causation(Factual and Legal)+Bad Result (Death) | Result Crimes * The required criminal acts, mental attitudes, tests of causation, and attendant circumstances vary from state to state.

6. Elements of Murder Murder is a result crime; therefore, proving murder requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt of these elements: • Actusreus: The act of killing is the heart of murder. • Mensrea: Purpose, knowledge, or extreme recklessness can qualify as the mental element in murder. • Causation: The act caused death. • Attendant circumstance: If any exists, it has to be proved.

7. First Degree Murder Two types: Premeditated, deliberate, intent-to-kill murders and, felony murders. First degree murder actusreuscan be critical when it comes to deciding whether to sentence a person convicted of first degree murder to death - or life without parole in states without the death penalty- or a lesser penalty.

8. The Death Penalty • The death penalty is discretionary in those states in which the penalty is authorized. • Most states require a bifurcated process: a guilt phase and a penalty phase in which aggravating and mitigating circumstances are presented. • The criteria for decision at the penalty phase is considered by judge or jury, depending on state law. The death penalty is valid only if they find “one of the aggravated circumstances…and further finds that there are no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency” (MPC/ALI; 1985).

9. First-Degree Murder Mens Rea All murder that is perpetrated by willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing is murder in the first degree. What do willful, premeditated, and deliberate mean? Explain the specific-intent-plus-real-premeditation-deliberation definition. Explain the equivalent-of-specific-intent definition.

10. Capital Murder What were the facts and opinions of the following cases regarding capital murder? Byford v. State (Nev. 2000) State v. Thompson (Ariz. 2003) State v. Snowden (Idaho 1957) Specifically how was willful, premeditation, and deliberation addressed in each case?

11. Aggravating Circumstances What are “heinous, atrocious, or cruel” acts? What were the facts and opinion in Henyard v. State (Fla. 1996)? What were the aggravating and mitigating circumstances? Explain the facts and decisions in Commonwealth v. Golston(Mass. 1977) Duest v. State (Fla. 1985)

12. Second-Degree Murder • The creation of second-degree murder was to limit capital punishment without eliminating it. • Examples include depraved heart murders and unintentional but extremely reckless murders. • Second-degree murder is sometimes treated as a catchall for all murders that are not first-degree murders. • Second-degree murder includes the “implied malice” crimes, e.g., depraved heart murders, felony murders.

13. Second Degree Murder:Depraved Heart Depraved heart murders are unintentional but extremely reckless murders.* Some states have specific depraved heart second-degree murder statutes, other states use second-degree murder as a default category. For example, California’s provision reads, “malice is implied…the circumstances attending the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.” * The are also reckless manslaughters, which are difficult to distinguish from depraved heart murders.

14. Second Degree Murder:Felony Murder Unintentional deaths that occur during the commission of some felonies. Although definitions vary among states, the most common felonies are criminal sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery, arson, and burglary. Felony murder mensreadoes not require the intent to either kill or to inflict serious bodily harm; however, there was specific intent to commit the underlying felony. Rationales for felony murder laws include: deterrence, reduce violence, and to punish wrongdoers.

15. Second Degree Murder:Felony Murder What is the third-party exception? What is the resisting-victim exception? What is the dangerous-to-life circumstance?

16. Second Degree Murder Depraved heart and second-degree murder: Explain the facts and opinion in People v. Protopappas(1988) People v. Thomas (1978) Felony Murder: Explain the facts and opinion in State v. Stewart (1995) People v. Phillips (1966)

17. Corporation Murder Both corporations and high corporate officers acting within the scope of their authority and for the benefit of a corporation can commit murder. However, in practice, prosecutors rarely charge corporations or their officers with criminal homicide – convictions rarely follow. What are the facts and opinion in People v. O’Neil (1990)?

18. Manslaughter “Manslaughter is…the unlawful killing of another… which may be either voluntarily upon a sudden heat, or involuntarily… where one had no intent to do another any personal mischief [harm].” (Blackstone, 1769: 191-192)

19. Manslaughter: Adequate Provocation Voluntary manslaughter (like all criminal homicides) consists of the elements actusreus, mensrea, causation, and death. However, it has one element or circumstance not present in murder – adequate provocation. Adequate provocation is the ‘trigger’ and has to be both subjective and objective. First, the defendant must be provoked (subjective); and second, the provocation has to be reasonable (objective).

20. Manslaughter For a provocation to be “adequate,” it must be “calculated to inflame the passion of a reasonable person and tend to cause that person to act for the moment from passion rather than reason.” (Maryland Court of Appeals) Reasonable provocation (understandable provocation) is provocation which cause a reasonable man to lose his normal self-control.

21. Manslaughter Examples of reasonable provocations include: mutual combat (fighting), assault and battery, trespass, and adultery. Voluntary manslaughter is not a justifiable homicide; it is only a lesser version of intentional murder. To prove voluntary manslaughter, the prosecution has to prove that the provocation caused the passion and the killing

22. Manslaughter Explain the following concepts as they relate to manslaughter: Objective test of cooling-off time; words-can-never-provoke rule; last straw rule (Pennsylvania); and the paramour rule. What were the facts and opinion in Commonwealth v. Schnopps(1983) People v. Washington (1976)

23. Involuntary Manslaughter There are two kinds of involuntary manslaughter: 1) Criminal negligence manslaughter which consists of two elements: • Actusreus: The defendant’s actions create a high (substantial and unjustifiable) risk of death or serious bodily injury. • Mensrea: Despite its name, the mensrea of involuntary manslaughter is recklessness.* * Recklessness means you know you are creating a high risk of harm; negligence means you should know (but don’t) know you are creating the risk.

24. Involuntary Manslaughter 2)Unlawful act maslaughter: occurs during the commission of unlawful acts , i.e., traffic violations such as speeding or drunk driving; city ordinances; and, noncriminal wrongs – often called “misdemeanor manslaughter.”