2nd Assessment (b)

Question 1

AR (~causation) + Mens Rea + (No Def) =

Answer 1

Criminal Liability

Question 2

If you see no Mens Rea portion of statute then ..

Answer 2

Consider STRICT LIABILITY - at least in essay cover it

Question 3

Causation means ?

Answer 3

A result Element is required ..ex: unlawfully CAUSING the death of another

Question 4

Causation - 2 Prongs

Answer 4

1. “But For”

2. Proximate Cause (Legal Causation)

Question 5

“But For “ means

Answer 5

But for the Def action would the Victim have died?

If Yes - Possible Homicide

Question 6

Proximate Cause means

Answer 6

Directness from injury to death,Foreseeability link to death without an intervening event
Ex- Arson -> death of fireman / Serious Bodily Injury -> Medical Malpractice

Question 7

Voluntary Manslaughter

Answer 7

Heat of Passion Murder

MPC equivalent is Extrem Emotional Disturbance

Question 8

Willful - in terms of Homicide

Answer 8

A willful killing is one where the killer’s purpose in engaging in the actus rea is to kill another person. In other words, an intentional killing

Question 9

Felony Murder

Answer 9

strict liability rule that says if you satisfy the elements of the predicate felony, then you automatically responsible for the murder that takes place during

Question 10

Elements for Heat of Passion

Answer 10

A) Legally Sufficient Provocation (words alone are not enough)
[Prior provocation can never be SOLE cause of sudden passion] [Same sex advance doesn’t count as provocation]
B).Reasonable Person might act similarly
C) There has been no cooling off period

Question 11

Examples of Malum Prohibitum

Answer 11

Selling liquor to a minor, Speeding, and Running a stop sign.
[conduct that constitutes an unlawful act only by virtue of statute, as opposed to conduct that is evil in and of itself]

Question 12

Defenses to Crime

Answer 12

Justification, Excuse, and Mitigation.

Question 13

Heat of Passion Killing (mitigation)

Answer 13

Mitigates murder to voluntary manslaughter

Question 14

Mistake of Law

Answer 14

If Defendants conduct is illegal, mistake of law is no defense, even if he/she think his/her conduct is legal. Ignorance of the law is no defense. Also, bad advice from a lawyer, that an act is legal, is no defense to a crime

Question 15

Mistake of Fact

Answer 15

Specific intent crime Mistake of Fact can be unreasonable, but must be in good faith honest mistake.

Question 16

Malum in Se Crimes

Answer 16

A crime that is wrong in itself. An act involving illegality from the nature of it’s transaction.
[Rape, murder, robbery, and assault and battery are all considered morally wrong actions. These crimes also violate the law, but they are first and foremost actions which go against the standards of society]

Question 17

Types of Murder

Answer 17

Intent to Kill Murder, Serious Bodily Injury Murder, Extreme Recklessness or Depraved Heart Murder, Felony Murder

Question 18

What are the types of Homicide?

Answer 18

Murder and Manslaughter

Question 19

How do you treat Proximate Cause and freak acts of nature ?

Answer 19

Freak acts of Nature are ordinarily seen as independent, intervening acts

Question 20

If Thomas was already dead when Margot stabbed him is she guilty if prosecuted for murder?

Answer 20

She is not guilty because Thomas was already dead.

[The crime of murder cannot occur unless a life has been taken]

Question 21

Before she can jump, defendant Jones shoots her. Renee falls to her death. Can Jones be prosecuted for murder?

Answer 21

• *Read Facts - she FELL ..did NOT JUMP**
• Yes, Jones was a cause in fact (but for cause) of Renee’s death.
• Gunshot may not have been the only cause of Renee’s death, it was a cause in fact. But for Jones shooting her, we cannot state with any certainty that Renee would have plunged at that moment to her death.

Question 22

Barney Strikes Ellis. When Ellis is taken to the hospital, he is mistakenly left in the corner of an overcrowded emergency room. He dies of internal bleeding before doctors can treat him. According to the defense experts, if Ellis had been treated in a more timely manner, he could have been saved.
Is Barney the proximate cause of Ellis’ death?

Answer 22

Yes, because the hospital staff’s actions did not break the chain of causation. It is not merely because he started the chain of causation that Barney is criminally responsible, but because that chain was not broken by the actions or omissions of the hospital staff.