2nd Assessment (b) Flashcards
(22 cards)
AR (~causation) + Mens Rea + (No Def) =
Criminal Liability
If you see no Mens Rea portion of statute then ..
Consider STRICT LIABILITY - at least in essay cover it
Causation means ?
A result Element is required ..ex: unlawfully CAUSING the death of another
Causation - 2 Prongs
- “But For”
2. Proximate Cause (Legal Causation)
“But For “ means
But for the Def action would the Victim have died?
If Yes - Possible Homicide
Proximate Cause means
Directness from injury to death,Foreseeability link to death without an intervening event
Ex- Arson -> death of fireman / Serious Bodily Injury -> Medical Malpractice
Voluntary Manslaughter
Heat of Passion Murder
MPC equivalent is Extrem Emotional Disturbance
Willful - in terms of Homicide
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
Felony Murder
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
Elements for Heat of Passion
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
Examples of Malum Prohibitum
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]
Defenses to Crime
Justification, Excuse, and Mitigation.
Heat of Passion Killing (mitigation)
Mitigates murder to voluntary manslaughter
Mistake of Law
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
Mistake of Fact
Specific intent crime Mistake of Fact can be unreasonable, but must be in good faith honest mistake.
Malum in Se Crimes
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]
Types of Murder
Intent to Kill Murder, Serious Bodily Injury Murder, Extreme Recklessness or Depraved Heart Murder, Felony Murder
What are the types of Homicide?
Murder and Manslaughter
How do you treat Proximate Cause and freak acts of nature ?
Freak acts of Nature are ordinarily seen as independent, intervening acts
If Thomas was already dead when Margot stabbed him is she guilty if prosecuted for murder?
She is not guilty because Thomas was already dead.
[The crime of murder cannot occur unless a life has been taken]
Before she can jump, defendant Jones shoots her. Renee falls to her death. Can Jones be prosecuted for murder?
- *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.
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?
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.
