Criminal Law

CRIMINAL HOMICIDE

A homicide is a killing of a human being caused by another human being. When an exam question tests on criminal liability and the facts indicate the crime victim is dead, the student must determine which, if any, of the four general types of criminal homicide applies: (1) first degree murder, (2) second degree murder, (3) voluntary manslaughter or (4) involuntary manslaughter. If the determination is that none of these applies, it is possible to conclude that no crime at all has been committed.

One logical way to sort through these four types of criminal homicide and determine what, if any, criminal liability attaches, is to ask three questions: (1) Was the victim’s death the result of a homicide? If so, (2) Did the defendant act with malice? If so, (3) Should the defendant be charged with first or second degree murder? Students will see how these three questions encapsulate the main issues once they have reviewed the distinct rules on each area below. (Thus, after reviewing the entire section on homicide, return briefly to these questions.)

§ 1 Homicide

A homicide results when there is a killing of a human being caused by another human being (i.e., the defendant). A perhaps more complete way of stating the rule is that a

criminal homicide results from some action or actions of the defendant that cause the death of another human being with criminal intent and without legal excuse or justification.

The first elements (killing, human being, and causation) will be discussed immediately below; criminal intent and legal excuses and justifications will be discussed somewhat further on but still in this first section on Homicide. § 1.1 Killing

Generally, the “killing” element is not a testable issue. The facts will state that the victim is dead. The question of whether a “killing” occurred typically arises only in unusual fact patterns when no physical evidence (such as a dead body) proves that someone has been killed. In such...