Constitutional Limitations and the Law of Homicide
Review of Constitutional Limitations
Summary of Chapter 9 Material: The lecture concludes the review of constitutional limitations on the criminal justice system, focusing on three primary areas: the First Amendment (speech and religion), the Second Amendment (firearms), and the constitutional right of privacy.
First Amendment - Freedom of Speech:
Speech is not absolute. Certain categories are restricted because they create a "clear and present danger" or threaten individuals.
Fighting Words and Threats: These are not protected by the First Amendment and are specifically addressed in criminal statutes.
Obscenity: Regulated and outlawed, though the legal standards for determining what constitutes obscenity are flexible, broad, and difficult to apply. Consequently, there are few obscenity prosecutions.
Defamation: Generally treated as a civil matter rather than a criminal one. Public figures face a very high standard of proof, making it difficult for them to successfully sue for defamation.
Hate Speech and Symbols: Activities such as displaying a Nazi swastika, Ku Klux Klan activities, or burning the flag are usually protected. While these may feel like fighting words to some, the Bill of Rights and the courts protect free speech highly, and "hating itself" is generally not regulated unless it crosses specific legal lines.
The Second Amendment and Gun Control
Verbatim Text of the Second Amendment: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Interpretive Disputes:
Gun Rights Advocates: Focus on the phrase "the right of the people to keep and bear arms," arguing that this right is absolute and separate from the militia clause. They emphasize that this right "shall not be infringed."
Gun Control Advocates: Argue that the "well regulated militia" clause is the primary context, suggesting the right was intended for state-maintained armies in the wake of the Revolutionary War. They view the right to bear arms as being attached to the necessity of a militia.
Current Statistics and Regulations:
There are approximately to over privately owned guns in the United States.
State Regulations: Standardized age limits (typically in Indiana and elsewhere), permit requirements, and varying laws regarding concealed carry.
Federal Law (The Brady Bill): Imposes a waiting period and background checks, specifically for mental illness, before a handgun purchase can be finalized.
Loopholes: Critics point to private sales, gun shows, and the illegal importation of assault weapon parts as factors that undermine the effectiveness of gun control laws.
Freedom of Religion: Free Exercise Clause
State Power vs. Religious Practice: Conflicts arise when religious conduct violates general criminal laws.
Medical Treatment Refusal:
In approximately of states, parents are permitted to refuse medical treatment for their children based on religious grounds.
Indiana Status: Indiana has a statute stating that if a parent is charged with neglect for refusing medical treatment, religion can be used as a defense. It is not an automatic acquittal, but the defense must be presented to the jury for consideration.
Legal Case Studies:
Employment Services v. Smith: Involved a Navajo man in Wisconsin who used peyote as part of religious practice. The Supreme Court ruled that while he could not be prosecuted for the religious use of peyote, he could still be fired by his employer because there is no constitutional "right to a job" regardless of religious practice.
Wisconsin v. Yoder: The Yoder family (Amish) refused to send their children to school, which would typically result in jail time for parents. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Amish, stating that compulsory school attendance laws violated their First Amendment right to practice their religion.
Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah: Involved a Caribbean-based religion in a Miami suburb that practiced animal sacrifice (killing chickens). The Supreme Court struck down local laws targeting this practice, ruling they violated religious rights.
The Right of Privacy
Constitutional Basis: The right of privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution but has been established through judicial interpretation.
Primary Case Law:
Griswold v. Connecticut (): The case that fundamentally established the constitutional right of privacy. It struck down a state law banning the use of contraceptives, ruling that government regulation of birth control intruded too far into the "zone of privacy."
Roe v. Wade (): Built upon the right of privacy to strike down laws prohibiting abortion. It initially established that states cannot regulate abortion until the first months of pregnancy have passed.
Chapter 9 Quiz Case Study: Police Interaction
Scenario Facts: A -year-old immigrant, who had lived in the U.S. for years, was walking in a high-crime neighborhood late on Christmas night. Police received a report of a suspicious person. When the officer approached, the man refused to cooperate, walked away, and stated he would not tell the police anything. He was subsequently arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct."
Legal Question: Does a citizen have a legal obligation to speak to the police? The lecture poses this as a debate between public safety interests and the individual right to remain silent or refuse cooperation.
Chapter 10: Introduction to Homicide
Definition: Homicide is the killing of one human being by another. This is an over-arching category that includes accidental deaths, murder, and lawful killings.
Three Categorical Types of Homicide:
Justifiable Homicide: An intentional killing performed under necessity or duty. Examples include self-defense or police actions to protect others or apprehend a suspect. This is a protected legal rationale where life is taken, but it is excused by law.
Excusable Homicide: A killing where there is some fault, but it does not meet the standard for full criminal liability (intentional homicide). This serves as a "middle ground" with lesser crimes and sentences.
Intentional Homicide (Murder): The knowing and intentional act of taking another person's life.
Corpus Delicti and Causation
Corpus Delicti Requirement: Literally "body of the crime." In homicide law, the prosecution must prove that a crime actually occurred (i.e., that a person was actually killed).
Proving Death Without a Body: A physical body is not strictly required if the prosecution can provide sufficient circumstantial evidence.
Case Examples:
The Fisherman (Indiana): A man was convicted of murdering his girlfriend even though her body was never found in the White River. Conviction was based on blood and other evidence found at his fishing spot.
The Indianapolis Lawyer: A lawyer was convicted after his wife disappeared. Evidence included a struggle in the bedroom and a life insurance policy taken out only days prior to her disappearance.
The Rhode Island Aide: A politically connected lawyer (aide to the governor) was convicted of killing his girlfriend. The state used circumstantial evidence involving his brother's boat and the victim's journal entries to prove he dumped her body in the ocean.
Feticide: The death of a fetus. In one Indianapolis case, a pregnant woman ingested a toxin (Drano) under duress. The fetus died, but she survived. Feticide charges were eventually dropped because the prosecutor could not produce expert medical proof that her actions were the definitive cause of the death.
Legal Definition of Death: For criminal law purposes, death occurs when the brain dies ("brain death"), signaled by a flat brainwave, even if the body is kept functioning by mechanical means.
Causation and the Year and Day Rule: An old common law rule stating that a victim must die within year and day of the defendant's act for the defendant to be held liable for the death. If the victim lived for a year and days, causation was legally severed. Modern medical technology has caused many states to abolish or extend this rule.
Murder: Intent and Doctrines
Definition: An intentional killing with "malice aforethought," meaning there was premeditation and the act was done knowingly rather than by accident.
Deadly Weapon Doctrine: If a person uses a deadly weapon (gun, knife, or even a car), the intent to kill can be inferred by the jury or judge. The definition of a "deadly weapon" is broad; for example, a Texas case categorized cowboy boots as a deadly weapon.
Transferred Intent: If a defendant intends to kill person A but misses and kills person B, the intent to kill A is transferred to the death of B. The defendant remains liable for murder.
Intent to Do Serious Bodily Harm: Many homicides are categorized by police as "aggravated batteries gone bad." Even if the defendant only intended to hurt someone badly, if that person dies, it can still result in a murder charge.
Felony Murder
Definition: If a death occurs during the commission or attempted commission of a felony, it is considered murder, even if the death was accidental or unintended.
Three Requirements for Felony Murder:
The underlying felony must be a "dangerous" felony (e.g., robbery, burglary).
The felony must be "causally connected" to the death (e.g., a security guard falling and dying while responding to a noise made by a burglar).
The death must occur while the felony is "in progress."
Controversies and Cases:
The Store Robbery Scenario: A driver who takes a friend to rob a store can be charged with felony murder if the store clerk shoots and kills the friend.
The Carmel Case (Indianapolis): Three young men in their went to a home in Carmel to sell or rob teenagers while their parents were in Florida. The teenagers were killed. Although it wasn't clear if all the defendants knew about the intent to kill, all were charged with murder under the felony murder rule. They eventually pleaded guilty to life without parole to avoid the death penalty.