Criminal Law Outline

Criminal Law Outline
Crump – Spring 2012
 
 
Chapter 2: Homicide
 
I.                    Common Law Homicide
 
a.       Must have both a mens rea (evil mind) and an actus reus (evil act; or circumstance)
 
b.       Originally, only two forms of common law homicide
 
                                                                                          i.      Murder
 
1.       Subject to capital punishment
 
2.       Malice aforethought present
 
                                                                                         ii.      Manslaughter
 
1.       Not subject to capital punishment
 
2.       No malice aforethought
 
                                                                                                                           i.      Malice aforethought typically no longer employed
 
                                                                                                                          ii.      D doesn’t need to be malicious or preparatory
 
                                                                                                                        iii.      Must kill with one of the requisite states of mind necessary for murder
               
b.       Intent to kill
 
                                                                                                                           i.      Intent to inflict serious bodily injury
 
1.       Some jurisdictions, assault with a deadly weapon
 
c.        Outrageous recklessness amounting to a depraved heart
 
d.       Killing committed while perpetrating a felony
 
II.                  Mens Rea and Actus Reus elements
 
a.       Mens Rea for types of homicide
 
                                                                                          i.      First Degree Murder (M1)
 
1.       Express malice (intent to kill); AND
 
1.       Look at circumstantial or direct evidence to show D purposefully killed victim
 
2.       Premeditation; AND
 
3.       Deliberation
 
                                                                                         ii.      Second Degree Murder (M2)
 
1.       Express malice (intent to kill); OR
 
2.       Implied malice
 
                                                                                                                           i.      Intent to cause SBH
 
                                                                                                                          ii.      Depraved heart homicide
 
1.       Intentional, unlawful felonious act with an extremely high risk of death
 
2.       Extreme indifference to human life
 
3.       Some jurisdictions call it gross recklessness
 
                                                                                                                        iii.      Felony murder
 
1.       Accidental killing during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony
 
2.       NO premeditation OR deliberation
 
                                                                                       iii.      Voluntary Manslaughter
 
1.       Murder mitigated by:
 
                                                                                                                           i.      Heat of passion
 
                                                                                                                          ii.      Adequate cause
 
                                                                                       iv.      Involuntary Manslaughter
 
1.       Reckless; OR
 
2.       Misdemeanor manslaughter
 
b.       Actus Reus for types of homicide (ALL THREE ELEMENTS MUST BE PRESENT ALONG WITH THE APPROPRIATE MENS REA)
 
                                                                                          i.      Voluntary Act (act)
 
                                                                                         ii.      Causation (act)
 
                                                                                       iii.      Death (result)
 
                                                                                       iv.      Circumstances
 
c.        “Involuntary acts”
 
                                                                                          i.      Reflex or convulsion;
 
                                                                                         ii.      Bodily movement during unconsciousness or sleep
 
                                                                                       iii.      Bodily movement under hypnotic suggestion (not all jurisdictions)
 
                                                                                       iv.      Bodily movement not otherwise the product of the effort or determination of the actor (conscious or habitual)
 
III.               Aspects of Homicide
 
a.       Premeditation
 
                                                   i.            Most legislatures have divided murder into degrees
 
                                                  ii.            Premeditation divides M1 from M2
 
                                                iii.            Definitions
 
a.       Deliberate formation of and reflection upon the intent to take a human life (Wash)
 
b.       Process of thinking, reflecting, weighing or reasoning for a period of time (Wash)
 
c.        Acting with either the intention the knowledge of killing another human being (AZ)
 
d.       Reflection must be more than the mere passage of time (AZ)
 
e.        No premeditation if the act is done in the instant effect of a sudden quarrel or heat of passion (AZ)
 
                                                iv.            Common law tends to say that if there is no weapon, then there is likely no premeditation and therefore M2
 
a.       Can still have a weapon and be charged with M2
 
                                                 v.            If a weapon is present, there will likely be premeditation
 
a.       Exception:
 
                                                                                                         i.      In Anderson it was determined that a guy who stabbed a girl 60 times and then cut out her genitals could not be convicted of M1 because of the absence of planning or proven motive coupled with the randomness of the 60 stab wounds (as opposed to one wound in the heart or jugular vein). There was not a jury question of premeditation. Therefore, D could be guilty of nothing more than M2 because there was no premeditation
 
                                                vi.            Determining premeditation
 
a.       Facts about how and what D did prior to the actual killing to show that D was engaged in activity directed toward, and explicable as intent to result in the killing (“planning” activity)
 
b.       Facts about D’s prior relationship and/or conduct with the victim from which the jury can reasonably infer a “motive” to kill
 
c.        Facts about the nature of the killing from which the jury could infer that the “manner and means of killing” was so particular and exacting that D must have intentionally killed according to a preconceived design
 
                                                                                                         i.      i.e. multiple wounds, throat slash, attack from behind
 
1.       Be careful, in Anderson while there were 60 stabs wounds it was determined to be an extreme emotional state and the manner and means of killing actually pointed away from premeditation
 
                                                                                                        ii.      Presence of a weapon
 
                                              vii.            Premeditation does not always help with what is or isn’t a bad crime
 
a.       Anderson had no premeditation even though it was extremely vicious
 
                                             viii.            Premeditation is a state of mind
 
a.       Requires D’s subjective thought process
 
                                                                                                         i.      Proven through direct and/or circumstantial evidence (usually circumstantial)
 
                                                ix.            Even if D was very angry, if there is some sort of semi-cool calculation, there can be premeditation
 
                                                 x.            North Carolina has four classes of M1:
 
a.       Murder perpetrated by poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, or torture;
 
                                                                                                         i.      Policy rationale: avoids defense of “I didn’t mean to”
 
b.       Murder perpetrated by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing;
 
c.        Murder committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of certain felonies;
 
d.       Murder committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of any felony committed or attempted with the use of a deadly weapon
 
b.       Heat of Passion
 
                                             i.            Killings that would normally constitute murder, but are committed during the heat of passion will sometim