REDONE Module 6 and 7 - Common Law (Organized) (copy)

Homicide Definition

Killing of one human being by another. Not always a crime (e.g., self-defense).

What is a Human Being?

Must be born alive (not a fetus).

What is Death?

Irreversible cessation of breathing/heartbeat or cessation of brain-based criteria. Entire brain must stop functioning.

What is required for a murder charge?

Voluntary act

Year and a Day Rule

If the victim dies MORE than a year and a day after the defendant's act, the killing cannot be murder. (abolished in some jurisdictions)

What is Res Gestae?

Time and geography/place.

If Defendant is far away days later, his conduct is no longer part of the crime.

1. First-Degree Murder: Rule

Unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought that meets all three elements: (WDP)

• Willful: Specific intent to kill (wanted the victim dead).

• Deliberate: Weighed and evaluated the choice.

• Premeditated: Defendant planned in advance (thought about beforehand, even briefly).

What is malice aforethought?

Inherently blameworthy, purposeful. D has malice aforethought if he has one of these:

1. Intent to kill

2. Intent to inflict grievous bodily harm

3. A depraved heart: Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life—extreme indifference

4. Intent to commit an inherently dangerous felony (the felony murder rule)

What are the different types of malice?

Explicit: Expressed intent and actions that demonstrate disregard for life.

Implied: the circumstances attending the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart

First-Degree Murder: Felony Murder Rule

An unintended killing during the commission or attempted commission of an enumerated felony.

Despite being unintentional, committing the felony upgrades the offense to first-degree murder if committed during BARRK: burglary, arson, rape, robbery, kidnapping.

Note: FM rule serves as a substitute for malice. Prosecution no longer has to prove intent.

What is the Agency Approach (Majority) rule for the Felony Murder rule?

The felony murder rule applies only when the killing is committed by the defendant or a co-felon acting in furtherance of the felony.

D is not liable for felony murder when the fatal act was committed by a non-felon, such as a victim, bystander, or police officer resisting the felony.

What is the Proximate Causation Approach (Minority) rule for the Felony Murder rule?

Felons can be held responsible if their felony set in motion the acts resulting in death.

Factors: Time, distance, and causation analysis (proximate cause, avoiding superseding or intervening causes).

2. Second-Degree Murder: Activators

DIG

1. Depraved Heart (Recklessness+): Unintentional killing. Results from D’s reckless, conscious, subjective disregard of an extreme and unreasonable risk to human life showing a complete indifference to the value of human life.
   So extreme it shows an "abandoned and malignant heart" (wanton, willful recklessness). Defendant is subjectively aware of the risk. (e.g. driving 150mph in a 25mph school zone). It’s distinguished from involuntary manslaughter by the degree of risk and indifference.

2. Intentional but Unplanned - No Premeditation: Intent to kill WITHOUT premeditation (decided on the spot). (e.g. bar fight suddenly escalates to intentional brutal beating to produce death, and death results). Depending on the jurisdiction, this can be first degree murder (even a fraction of a second is enough).

3. Grievous Bodily Harm: Defendant meant to seriously injure, not kill, but the victim dies. (D punches victim in the face with a beer bottle, resulting in death despite D not wanting to produce such result)

Second-Degree Murder: Felony Murder Rule

An unintentional killing occurs during a non-enumerated felony. D gets upgraded to 2nd degree murder.

Courts decide which felonies are dangerous enough to qualify.

How is “dangerous enough” determined? Depends on the jurisdiction:

Maryland: The non-enumerated felony qualifies if D committed it in a way inherently and extremely dangerous to human life.

California (merger): A felony qualifies only if the defendant had an independent felonious purpose, meaning the felony aimed at a result other than injuring the victim (such as stealing money). Otherwise every assault resulting in death would become murder.

Note: FM rule serves as a substitute for intent. Prosecution no longer has to prove intent.

3. Voluntary Manslaughter (Heat of Passion): General Rules (PROF SAID COMMIT THIS TO MEMORY)

A killing is voluntary manslaughter if it was

1. An intentional killing

2. committed in a sudden rage/heat of passion,

3. resulting from adequate provocation—an objective standard,

4. which negates malice aforethought,

5. with a causal link between the provocation and the killing

3. Voluntary Manslaughter: Provocation Rules

1. Passion, not reason: Must inflame a reasonable person to act from passion rather than reason.

2. Frailties: Defendant's own idiosyncratic psychological frailties do not count.

3. Words alone: Words alone are never enough unless accompanied by conduct showing intent/ability to harm.

3. Heat of Passion, a type of Voluntary Manslaughter: What mental state does Defendant have to be in (Rule)?

Defendant's State (Subjective): Defendant must actually be in the grip of rage/fear/jealousy.

3. Voluntary Manslaughter (Cool-Off Period): Rule

Killing must occur before a reasonable person would have calmed down. If there is time to cool off, it escalates back to murder.

4. Involuntary Manslaughter: Activators

CUM

1. Criminal Negligence: An unintentional killing while the underlying conduct lawful is legal. It is involuntary manslaughter if the defendant acted negligently—a gross deviation from the care a reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances. D’s own ignorance of the risk is irrelevant. Example: texting while driving through a crosswalk.

2. Unduly Dangerous Act: D did something inherently risky to human life (e.g., throwing a heavy object out a window onto a sidewalk) but Defendant FAILED to understand the risk. This is what differentiates it from Depraved Heart Murder.

1. Misdemeanor-Manslaughter: Committing an unlawful act (a misdemeanor or a non-inherently dangerous felony) that accidentally results in death. The unlawful act replaces the need to prove a negligent mental state. (e.g., D punches Victim in the face that results in Victim’s death). The conduct is less severe than Depraved Heart Murder.