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A Criminal Law Prelude……

A Criminal Law Prelude……. The haughty and humbling tale of Holly and the Honeysuckle Hummer. “JUST WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” Determining Culpability in Criminal Law. Elements of a Crime. A bad or harmful act + A criminally culpable state of mind = A crime. What is Culpability?.

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A Criminal Law Prelude……

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  1. A Criminal Law Prelude…… The haughty and humbling tale of Holly and the Honeysuckle Hummer

  2. “JUST WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?”Determining Culpability in Criminal Law

  3. Elements of a Crime A bad or harmful act + A criminally culpable state of mind = A crime

  4. What is Culpability? • The official legal definition: “the state of mind which is necessary in order to commit a crime.” • What it means: The intentions of the criminal will in part determine the severity of the punishment.

  5. Jon - Kate + Hailey (Forget About the Eight )Celebrity Criminal Justice??? • You are the District Attorney in Hollywood, CA • You are to determine the charges you will file for the following alleged crimes • Here’s your criminal code

  6. Degrees of Culpability • Intentionally (1st Degree Murder) (acting with the intent of committing a specific harm) • Purposely (2nd Degree Murder) (acting with malice: the general intention of causing harm) • Recklessly (Voluntary & Involuntary Manslaughter) (voluntary: committed when one loose self control (involuntary: acting with complete disregard that a harm would likely occur) • Negligently (Negligent homicide) (when one should have reasonably foreseen that his or her actions would result in harm)

  7. Kate hears through TMZ that Jon has already proposed to his new girl Hailey. Kate goes to Jon’s apartment and says “You ruined my life and the T.V. show! You are a crummy dad and you don’t deserve to live!” She pulls out a gun, shoots and kills him at point blank range.

  8. Kate learns about Jon’s proposal to Hailey as they are waiting outside the court room to finalize their divorce. Enraged, Kate grabs the gun of a guard in the court house and shoot Jon to death.

  9. Assume instead that Kate learns of the proposal when she sees that Jon has given Hailey a $180K engagement ring. Angered, Kate decides to break into Jon’s apartment to steal the ring. As Kate is escaping, Hailey surprises her. Kate picks up a golf club by the door and hits Hailey in the head killing her.

  10. By happenstance, Kate is driving through town when she spots Jon and Hailey next to her. When Kate looks over, Hailey begins to taunt her by flashing the big diamond ring. Instinctively Kate repeatedly rams her car against theirs until she forces them off the road into an oak tree. Neither Jon or Hailey survive.

  11. Assume the same facts as before except that this time Kate becomes so distraught she looses control of the car. In the process she drives in front of Jon forcing him off the road into an oak tree. Neither Jon or Hailey survive.

  12. Jon spots another photographer in a different tree. Incensed, Jon grabs a chain saw out of the gardener’s shed and cuts the tree down as the photographer pleads with him to stop. As the tree hits the ground, the photographer breaks his neck and dies.

  13. Same scenario as before, but instead of grabbing a chain saw, Jon grabs a super soaker water pistol and begins to fire upon the photographer. In the process of trying to protect his valuable equipment the photographer looses his balance, falls out of the tree, breaks his neck and dies.

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