Criminal Law Chapter 10
-homicide= the killing of one person by another
→ justifiable- necessity without evil intent; perfect defense
→ excusable- self-defense; perfect defense
→ felonious- unlawful, criminal; murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide
-corpus delicti= body of crime (proof the crime has been committed); must be proven by
prosecutor beyond a reasonable doubt; proving corpus delicti in “no body” homicide cases is
harder but not impossible through use of circumstantial evidence or confessions that have been
corroborated
In homicide prove 1) person is dead 2) defendant did it
Body without proof of cause of death, unknown if death resulted from criminal acts or natural
causes
Under common law fetus not considered a person; “born alive” requirement can make it
possible to charge with double homicide if fetus viable; feticide- murder of unborn child
In some jurisdictions, one cannot be guilty of sexual assault if victim was dead at the time of the
assault
Person legally dead at the time of brain death
-murder= unlawful, intentional killing of another
1st Degree Murder- specific intent crime; malice aforethought
→ deliberation- weigh options and make choice
→ premeditation- thinking about the choice you are going to make (has element of
fixation)
→ planned in advance; planning long term is not required; intent to kill precedes killing (even
for a moment)
-deadly weapon doctrine= person responsible for the natural and probable consequences of
their actions; inferred that this person is trying to kill someone with deadly weapon
-some jurisdictions make body parts deadly weapons
-jury considers what used, by who, and how used
-transferred intent= when one intends to hurts one person, hurts second person instead (bad
aim defense) still responsible
-felony murder= when someone dies in the commission of a felony (the predicate
crime) → catergory of 1st degree murder
→ defendant robs a bank and unintentionally kills someone; guilty of felony murder
because the underlying felony showed intent to kill
BUT the death of co-felon in felony in progress by third person (victim) is not felony muder (no
malice)
→ provocative act murder (1st degree murder) if co-felon provoked third party into
using deadly force
-homicide= the killing of one person by another
→ justifiable- necessity without evil intent; perfect defense
→ excusable- self-defense; perfect defense
→ felonious- unlawful, criminal; murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide
-corpus delicti= body of crime (proof the crime has been committed); must be proven by
prosecutor beyond a reasonable doubt; proving corpus delicti in “no body” homicide cases is
harder but not impossible through use of circumstantial evidence or confessions that have been
corroborated
In homicide prove 1) person is dead 2) defendant did it
Body without proof of cause of death, unknown if death resulted from criminal acts or natural
causes
Under common law fetus not considered a person; “born alive” requirement can make it
possible to charge with double homicide if fetus viable; feticide- murder of unborn child
In some jurisdictions, one cannot be guilty of sexual assault if victim was dead at the time of the
assault
Person legally dead at the time of brain death
-murder= unlawful, intentional killing of another
1st Degree Murder- specific intent crime; malice aforethought
→ deliberation- weigh options and make choice
→ premeditation- thinking about the choice you are going to make (has element of
fixation)
→ planned in advance; planning long term is not required; intent to kill precedes killing (even
for a moment)
-deadly weapon doctrine= person responsible for the natural and probable consequences of
their actions; inferred that this person is trying to kill someone with deadly weapon
-some jurisdictions make body parts deadly weapons
-jury considers what used, by who, and how used
-transferred intent= when one intends to hurts one person, hurts second person instead (bad
aim defense) still responsible
-felony murder= when someone dies in the commission of a felony (the predicate
crime) → catergory of 1st degree murder
→ defendant robs a bank and unintentionally kills someone; guilty of felony murder
because the underlying felony showed intent to kill
BUT the death of co-felon in felony in progress by third person (victim) is not felony muder (no
malice)
→ provocative act murder (1st degree murder) if co-felon provoked third party into
using deadly force
