CJ 330 Common Law Exam 1

Homicide basically.

What are the components needed to qualify an act as homicide?

The alleged victim must be human, the victim must be alive at the time of conduct, and there must be evidence that someone legally died.

What do forensic scientists do to prove someone is human?

They mark down the race, gender, age, and state of the body.

Is the species of the body questioned by Forensic Scientists?

No.

Why is there sometime a question if the victim was human?

Sometimes there is no body available to show in the cases where it has been disposed. (A case can still be made based on circumstantial evidence and missing person.)

When does this component become complicated?

When there is a fetus.

Why is a fetus complicated?

All fifty states geopolitics and beliefs, so the criminal codes generally follow the same political codes as the political state voter majority.

What does Sovereignty mean?

We are a nation with a system of federalism, in which each state has a principal sovereign power over its citizens.

In what ways must the accused be culpable of the crime of homicide?

The record must reflect that the victim was alive at time of conduct. For instance, if the “victim” died of a heart attack before the action of said conduct, it cannot count as a homicide.

Can the state charge you for homicide if you are helping someone else commit suicide?

Yes. No one has the right to grant permission to others to take their life.

What intent must there be for someone to be charged with murder?

Intent to kill.

In a self-defense incident or the use of brutal force used without the intent to kill, will the defendant be charged with murder?

No, they did not have the intent to kill.

What eliminated the dilemma associated with pronouncing someone dead?

The Uniform Determination of Death Act.

What does the Uniform Determination of Death Act do?

It assures that the death of the victim must meet the legal standard before a charge of murder is tried.

What must a person be to be considered dead?

Brain dead, because they cannot be resuscitated.

What are the components for the Uniform Determination of Death Act?

Flat EEG, no reflexes, No spontaneous movements or respiration, and no response to external stimuli.

What is an EEG?

It measures the electrical activity of the brain (this tool can sometimes malfunction). The brain must have a flat reading of brain activity, meaning there is reading of electrical activity in the brain.

What are some standards needed in the Human Being component of Homicide?

The born-alive standard and viability.

What is the Born-Alive Standard?

A baby must be removed from the womb and achieve independent respiration.

What is the separate crime created when a fetus is murdered?

Feticide.

What is the Viability Standard?

The fetus can survive outside the womb, typically with the help of medical tools.

Different states have different standards for Viability, what are they?

Quickening, viability, and unviability

What is quickening?

When the fetus moves inside the womb.

What is unviability?

States don’t care if the fetus can survive outside the womb.

What is Criminal Homicide?

Anything that cannot be considered non-criminal. It is subdivided into levels of intent, which is where first and second degrees come into play.

What is Non-criminal Homicide?

It is when someone either commits Justifiable Homicide or Excusable Homicide.

What is Justifiable Homicide?

When you have the right to kill someone or a duty to kill them.

What does it mean to have the right to kill someone?

You have no other choice, such as self-defense.

What are the two types of self-defenses?

Perfect self-defense and Imperfect self-defense.

What 3 concepts must you have for it to count as perfect self-defense?

An unlawful act must be taking place that warrants the use of deadly force, you must prove that it was necessary, and the deadly force must be reasonable.

What is the understanding of duty in self-defense that must be done prior to the use of deadly force?

You have a duty to retreat force (exceptions are made when retreat is impossible.)

What does it mean to have a duty to kill someone?

Regardless of what someone does, they are mandated to kill them through responsibility to bring about peace and order (ex: police officer’s shooting fleeing felons).

What is Excusable Homicide?

When the act was an accident, misadventure or misadventure.

What does it mean for the act to be an accident?

You did not put into motion a chain of events where harm was foreseeable. In other words, you were doing everything right, and something still went wrong.

In what ways can this act not count as an accident?

When you can prove that a situation is handled with negligence, it is no longer considered an accident (ex: texting and driving).

What does it mean when an act is a misadventure?

When you are initially justified in your actions, but a harm that was not intended was the ultimate outcome [ex: when an act of self-defense (returning shots fired) leads to the harm of an errant victim (the bullet hits someone who was not the target)].

What is the Actus Reus of a Homicide?

Corpus Delecti (body of crime)

What is the proximate cause of a Homicide?

Actual Cause or Legal Cause

What tests are used to determine the Actual Cause?

“But-For” test and “Substantial Factor” test.

What is the “But-For” Test?

Used when you have 1 perpetrator. “But for the actions of (perpetrator), would (victim) still be alive?”

What is the “Substantial Factor” test?

More than 1 perpetrator. “Were you a substantial factor in the harm of (victim), leading up to or causing their death?”

What tests are used to determine the Legal Cause?

“Foreseeability” Test and Independent Intervening Circumstance.

What is the “Foreseeability” Test?

“Would a reasonably prudent person be able to perceive the likelihood of bodily harm from that harm?”

What is the Independent Intervening Circumstance?

“Did something come between the act, the fact that it was foreseeable, and the end result?”

What is specific and general deterrence used for?

To punish.

What does specific deterrence do?

It encourages individuals not to do certain things, or this will be the punishment/outcome.

What does general deterrence do?

It encourages society not to do general things, or this will be the punishment/outcome.

What is a strict liability crime?

The Guilty Mind does not have to be proven in relation to one or more elements of comprising of the Guilty Act.

What is Rebuttable Presumption?

It is the legal principle that presumes something to be true unless proven otherwise.

What is Conclusive Presumption?

It is the legal principle that assumes something is true without allowing any evidence to be presented to be proven otherwise. It cannot be challenged in court and is usually considered an Irrebuttable Presumption.

What is True Crime?

It is when the Guilty Mind (Mens Rea) and the Guilty Act (Actus Reus) have been proven to share relation to each other.

What are the two types of Murder?

First-Degree and Second-Degree.

What are the concepts of a First-Degree Murder?

Premeditation and Deliberation.

What is Premeditation?

An individual gave conscious thought to the idea.

What is Deliberation?

An individual had full and conscious knowledge of the plan to kill.

What must we also ask when dealing with First-Degree murder?

If there are aggravating factors, but if it is decided that there is none, we then must ask if there are mitigating factors.

What is mitigation?

It is partial dismissal of culpability.

What is exoneration?

It is a complete dismissal of culpability and exoneration.

What are the concepts of Second-Degree Murder?

General Intent (Serious Bodily Injury).

What does General Intent mean?

That it was a crime done in the Heat of Passion.

What does it mean to be a crime committed in the Heat of Passion?

They had no ability to premeditate and deliberate before the action.

What are the types of Manslaughter?

Voluntary and Involuntary.

What are the concepts of Voluntary Manslaughter?

Imperfect Self-Defense and Heat of Passion.

What is an Imperfect Self-Defense?

When an action of self defense does not match the action taken against them, making it imperfect defense. An individual may be presumed to be committing a crime against you and presumed to be carrying a deadly weapon, then you may match the threat being used against

What are the concepts of Heat of Passion?

Is it an actual heat of passion, was there adequate provocation, did you have time to cool down, and was there a causal connection?

What classifies a true Heat of Passion?

“Were you really pushed to the point of no return? Or were you as “cool as a cucumber” as you committed the act?'“

What classifies as Adequate Provocation?

Spousal Infidelity (Witnessing and learning of the infidelity in the act), Fighting Words Doctrine (Racial or Ethnic Slurs), and Testimonial/Informational Words (A murder/rapist looking at a close friend of their victim and saying, “she was the best I ever had.” Intent to Kill movie is a good example of this. Aka telling someone information that is designed to cause mental distress and harm about a close friend or family member.)

What qualifies as No Cooling?

“Were inflamed with anger and could not calm down?”

What qualifies as Causal Connection?

The event must all happen within the same episode, and there must be a causation linking these components together.

What are the concepts of Involuntary Manslaughter?

Constructive Intent.

What is Constructive Intent?

It is when someone dies due to an unlawful or dangerous act, even if death was not intended.

What is Negligence?

A reasonably prudent person should be and is aware of possible outcomes of committing an action.

What are the types of Negligence?

Gross Negligence and Ordinary (Careless) Negligence.

What are the concepts of Gross Negligence?

You have a DUTY to follow the rules set before you, did you BREACH the rules set before you, did the breaching of these rules lead to the HARM of another, and was the breaching of your duty the responsibility of the harm of another (Causal Connection)?

What are the concepts of Ordinary (Careless) Negligence?

When a reasonably prudent person did not know a certain situation would happen and even believed it would not occur.

What does the Misdemeanor-Manslaughter Rule or Unlawful Act Manslaughter refer to?

Doctrine of Implied Malice in which there was no malice.

What are the concepts of the Doctrine of Implied Malice?

Felony Murder Rule, Deadly Weapon Rule, Depraved Heart Rule, and Rule of Transferred Intent.

What is the Felony Murder Rule?

It is applied when an individual commits a felony that is inherently dangerous to human life.

What is the Deadly Weapon Rule?

It is an object can be and was used as a deadly weapon against another individual.

What is the Depraved Heart Rule?

It is when an individual shows such indifference to the value of human life that it signs of a malignant heart.

What is the Rule of Transferred Intent?

It is expressed malice aimed at one individual did not land on the intended target but instead resulted in the harming of another individual. The malice expressed for the missed target is transferred and tried as if the malice was intended for the harmed individual.

What is Natural Law?

It is the influence of religion on federal and state law. Religious principles, such as Christianity, heavily influence what we may see as wrong or right (i.e. murder, theft, homosexual relations, transgender mindsets, etc.)

What is Positive Law?

It is law made to make up for loopholes or mistakes within our already created laws. Doctrine of Transferred Intent is a good example of this. Without the Doctrine of Malice, the individual that committed the act would not be charged for murder, despite meaning to murder another, but involuntary manslaughter and gross negligence.

To distinguish between murder and malice, what is the first thing you need to ask?

Is there malice? Is there intent to cause death or serious bodily harm?