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Involuntary Manslaughter
- 1. Recklessness
- 2. caused Death
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Double Jeopardy
- - Rule- DJ violated when remedy sought by prosecution would require a retrial of D.
- - Prosecution may still appeal acquittals
- - Decina: P sought re-entry of Decina's trial ct conviction, thus not DJ not violated
- -Think about in every case
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Standard of Review
- - Standard review for a claim of insufficiency of the evidence is "Plain Error"- If D claims facts not strong enough to support conviction, decision to be reversed based on..
- - evidence taken in light most favorable to the prosecution, no rational jurur could have convicted the defendend
- -very hard standard to overcome
- -only gross plain error.
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Specific Intent Crimes
Elements
- 1. basic act AND
- 2. Future act or consequence
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Specific Intent Crimes
Practical consequences
- - Voluntary Intox IS a defense!
- - Any belief in inconsistent with an element of the crime will defeat liability
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Specific Intent Crimes
Examples
- - 1st degree murder
- - Express Malice 2nd degree murder
- - burglary
- - theft
- - Solicitation
- - all attempts
- - Whitfield
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General Intent Crimes
Element
Basic/blunt act
(no future contemplated act or consequence beyond)
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General Intent Crimes
Practical Consequences
- - voluntary intox IS NOT a defense
- - A belief must be REASONABLE to defeat liability
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General Intent Crimes
examples
- - Implied Malice 2nd degree murder
- - involuntary manslaughter
- - voluntary manslaughter
- - rape
- - arson
- - kidnapping
- - simple assault
- - assault with deadly weapon
- **these are all blunt acts
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Human Action
every action is that is not voluntary, involuntary or mixed is "ordinary" and does not require classification.
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Human Action
Unconsciousness
- - RULE: unconscious person not acting. but liable via knowledge of risk in proportion to risk that materialized.
- - Decina- Knew he could have SZ while driving, and that risk could cause a death. (risk proportional)
- - Cogdon- knew she could sleep walk, but didn't think she would kill in her sleep. (risk not proportional)
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Human Action
Omission
- -RULE: No criminal responsibility to act UNLESS following elements met..
- 1. Duty to act
- 2. breach
- 3. mental state
- 4. causation
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Human Action
Omissions
Situations giving rise to duty to act..
- - special relationship
- - contract
- - Statute
- - Voluntary Assumption of Care*
- * Flippo
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Ommissions
types of mental state
- - Reckless: involuntary manslaughter
- - intent to kill: murder
- - malice: murder
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Homicide
First Degree Murder
2 types
- 1. 1st Degree Felony Murder
- 2. Premeditation and deliberation
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1st degree Felony Murder
Elements
- 1. Perpetration or attempted perpetration of a numerated felony
- 2. Death of a victim*
- * Stamp- death need not be foreseeable (strict liability)
- * eg. Honeyman - HA death during robbery
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1st degree felony murder
numerated felonies
- - Burglary
- - Arson
- - Rape
- - Robbery
- - Kidnapping
- - CA: mayhem and train-wrecking
- - BARRK
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1st degree felony murder
When felony member commits the murder
- - all for 1 and 1 for all
- - Cabaltero - Principle and accomplices are all killers
- - even if they kill one of their own.
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1st degree felony murder
when an Innocent does the killing
- - Perpetration by Means
- - if malicious felon survives, all share his malice*
- * Caldwell
- - if malicious felon dies, then others only guilty of underlying 3.01 offense*
- * Antick
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1st degree felony Murder
Perpetration by means explanation
- - shoot back case: you are responsible for initiating gun fight as principle murderer.
- - responsible for causing police to shoot, and any resulting deaths
- - Cervantes- intervening superseding event removed his liability
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1st degree felony murder
MPC v. CA
- - both utilize rule for conviction
- - sentencing differs:
- *MPC: can only sentence for 1 felony
- *CA: can sentence for a 3.01 offense AND murder
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1st degree murder
premeditation and Deliberation explained
- -1. premeditation - how, when, planning to do it
- 2. deliberation - weather to do it
- - Anderson - no planing or motive as manner was violent and random , thus not first degree.
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Second degree murder
3 types
- 1. Second degree Felony Murder
- 2. Express Malice Second Degree Murder
- 3. Implied Malice Second Degree Murder
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Second Degree Felony Muder
Elements
- - Non BARRK felony
- - death occurs
- *need not prove malice
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2nd degree felony murder
Cannot use this rule if...
- 1. Offense can be done too easily, and is not inherently dangerous enough
- *eg. Williams- conspiracy to possess methedrine without a Rx
- 2. Offense is too dangerous: Purely assaultive.Merger Doctrine
- *sarun Chun
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2nd degree Felony Murder
Merger doctrine
- - The offense must have an independent, non assaultive purpose, or the offense will merge with the killing and felony murder rule will not apply.
- - eg. Sarun Chun- shooting at an occupied vehicle is very assaultive and dangerous, thus must try for murder, not felony murder.
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2nd degree murder
Express Malice 2nd degree murder
- - intentional
- - death occurs
- - not premeditated
- - Anderson -
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2nd degree Murder
Implied Malice 2nd degree murder
- - not intentional
- - death occurs
- - Extreme Recklessness: high probability that D's actions will cause death.
- - Watson - driving extremely recklessly while drunk (not a defense) implied malice though not expressed.
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Involuntary Manslaughter
Elements
- 1. Recklessness (ordinary)
- * D's actions create a high probability will cause death, but not extreme probability
- 2. Causes death.
- - Watson, Decina, Flippo
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Voluntary Manslaughter
2 types
- 1. Heat of Passion
- 2. Imperfect Self Defense
- - RULE: VM negates malice and reduces murder to manslaughter
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Voluntary Manslaughter
Heat of Passion type
- - combines partial excuse with Justification.
- - excuse is D's , justification is something victim did.
- - Spurlin: peggy was provoker and partially to blame, but Scott did not provoke, so murder.
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Voluntary Manslaughter
Heat of passion
CA v. MPC elements
- CA elements
- - 1. must be a provoker
- - 2. Provoker must be one killed
- - UNLESS- mistake, accident, victim aiding and abetting killer
- MPC
- - Extreme emotional disturbance
- - no need for CA elements
- * broad view, lower standard.
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Voluntary Manslaughter
Imperfect Self Defense Type
Elements
- 1. D believed deadly force was necessary
- 2. Deadly force was not necessary AND
- 3. Belief that DF was necessary was unreasonable
- - Villanueva - instructions on imperfect self defense must be given sua sponte if evidence exists.
- ** perfect self defense would be deadly force IS necessary or was reasonable to believe so. Goetz
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Voluntary Manslaughter
Imperfect Self Defense
CA/MPC and NY views
- CA/MPC
- - imperfect SD mitigates murder to manslaughter
- NY
- - no middle ground, imperfect SD = murder; perfect = acquittal.
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Voluntary Manslaughter
Imperfect Self Defense Type
Villanueva analysis
- - Accident = unintentional = unforeseen incidental
- - if unforeseeable then reasonable and not negligence
- - if foreseeable, then unreasonable and guilty of negligence.
- - like provocation, imperfect self defense mitigates murder to manslaughter in CA/MPC, even for otherwise intentional or extremely reckless killing
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Inchoate Criminality
3 types
- 1. Attempts
- 2. Solicitation
- 3. Conspiracy
- *SAC
- *inchoate means undeveloped
- * must also remember Complicity and Accomplice Liability if more than one person.
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Attempt
- - Bond: look at facts and physical appearance to determine if D had Specific Intent to commit crime
- - Attempt makes any crime Specific intent
- - voluntary intox is a defense, any belief inconsistent with elements of crime will defeat liability
- - Mere preparation not an attempt
- - MPC - substantial step toward commission (easy)
- - CA: unambiguous manifestation of intent to commence unless stopped (harder than MPC)
- * Decker: solicitation + subsequent conduct = attempt
- - Last proximate act - nothing left to be done
- * think as sliding scale using "acts"
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Attempt
Mistakes
Types
- 1. Legal Impossibility
- 2. Factual Impossibility
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Attempt
Mistakes
Legal Impossibility type
- - if what D was trying to do was legal, then no attempt
- - "man was never on the thing"
- - eg. can't attempt poaching alligators, if no law exists prohibiting the killing of alligators.
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Attempt
Mistake
Factual Impossibility type
- - a non delusional mistake = attempt; i.e. man tricked by undercover cop, or tried to kill decoy
- - delusional mistake = no attempt; something wrong with him; i.e delusional beliefs, shot at post thinking it was a man
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Attempt
Punishment
CA v. MPC
- CA
- - 50% off completed offense sentence
- MPC
- - 100% of completed offense,
- - exception: 1st degree felonies
- * only reduces punishment of attempted serious offenses, like 1st degree murder.
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Solicitation
Elements
- 1. ask another to commit a crime with
- 2. Specific intent that person commit the crime
- * i.e not joking around
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Conspiracy
Elements
- 1. Agreement by 2 + to commit a crime
- 2. with Specific intent to commit crime
- 3. An overt act in furtherance of the agreement
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Conspiracy
Analysis
- - all members responsible for Natural and Probable Consequences of the conspiracy
- - Zielesch - killing cop was natural and probable
- - take your assassin as you find him
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Complicity
Accomplice Liability
Elements
- 1. Knowledge
- 2. Intent
- 3. Aid or encourage
- * Beeman: lacked intent
- * above for 3.01 offense
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Complicity
3.02 offense
- - excess liability
- - rear actor vicariously liable for surplus acts that are natural and probable consequences of the 3.01 offense
- - Prettyman: wife encouraged
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Complicity
Accomplice Liability
when front actor/principle is off the hook... 2 approaches
- 1. Hayes Approach:
- -Accomplice Liability is Derivative.
- - if front actor excused, then rear is excused
- 2. Grafting Approach:
- - Graft front act with rear intent
- - accomplice needs his own excuse or justification
- - eg: McCoy: Lakey's conviction stands despite McCoys reversal.
***do both approaches on Exam!!!
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Inchoate Crimes
Punishments
MPC v. CA
- CA:
- - Sentencing for Solicitation or Conspiracy AND intended offense
- - can get sentenced for 2 convictions
- MPC
- - Can only sentence for 1 convictions
- - either Solicitation, Conspiracy OR intended crime. no combo
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