Q&A Hero

Q: According to the Uniform Brain Death Act, a person is considered dead when a. his or her heart stops. b. he or she is in a deep coma, with only sustained breathing and heartbeat. c. he or she has suffered irreversible cessation of all brain functions, including those of the brain stem. d. his or her breathing has ceased.

Q: Much of the body of criminal homicide law is about a. grading the seriousness of the offense. b. grading the punishment for the offense. c. reducing the seriousness of the offense. d. reducing the punishment for the offense.

Q: Explain how degrees of murder developed through history.

Q: Define euthanasia. Explain the the arguments for and against euthanasia. Which do you agree with? Why?

Q: Explain the mens rea and actus reus of criminal negligence manslaughter. What are the most common criminal negligence homicide statutes? Provide examples of some less common criminal negligence homicide statutes.

Q: Explain how most criminal homicide statutes can be applied to corporations. Why are prosecutions of corporations for criminal homicide rare?

Q: According to the felony murder rule, unintentional deaths that occur during the commission of another felony are murders. The law varies widely, due mainly to efforts to limit the rule in a number of ways. One of the limitations involves the crimes to which the rule applies. Explain this limitation. Provide some example of crimes that would qualify for the felony murder rule.

Q: Discuss the issues surrounding the definition of the terms "premeditated" and "deliberate" in first degree murder statutes.

Q: Most states today have four main types of criminal homicide. Define and discuss these and provide examples. Some main points: Most states have four basic types of homicide: first degree murder, second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter. Grading murder into first and second degree is important because in some states only first degree (or capital) murders qualify for the death penalty (or prison for life without parole in states without the death penalty). Second degree murder is typically an unpremeditated but intentional killing. Voluntary manslaughter is an intentional, sudden killing triggered by an adequate provocation. Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing by a voluntary act or omission.

Q: Discuss the current law of the actus reus and mens rea of murder. Be sure to provide examples.

Q: Define, compare, and contrast voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.

Q: Discuss how the meaning of "person" is integral to homicide law. How does it present problems at both ends of the life cycle?

Q: The meaning of "____________" is integral to homicide law.

Q: If the defendant had sufficient time to cool-off after the sudden passion and before the killing, the crime is considered ____________, not voluntary manslaughter.

Q: Unintentional deaths that occur during the commission of another ____________ are murders.

Q: The intentional killing form of manslaughter is ____________ manslaughter.

Q: Criminal homicide is different from all other crimes because of the ____________ of its result.

Q: The mens rea for involuntary manslaughter is negligence or ____________.

Q: Criminal ____________ homicide statutes cover a wide field.

Q: Insulting gestures and words are not legally adequate____________ for purposes of voluntary manslaughter.

Q: Most of the law of criminal homicide is about ____________the seriousness of the offense.

Q: According to the ____________, a fetus could not be the victim of a homicide.

Q: The death penalty is discretionary in all states in which the penalty is authorized.

Q: Most state codes have adopted the MPC general criminal reckless and negligence provisions.

Q: Involuntary manslaughter includes the elements of causation and resulting harm.

Q: Words are never adequate provocation.

Q: Most laws today recognize adultery as adequate provocation.

Q: The one element not present in voluntary manslaughter that is present in murder is adequate provocation.

Q: Manslaughter is an ancient common law crime created by legislators.

Q: Prosecutions of homicide for corporations are common.

Q: Degrees of murder have remained unchanged through history.

Q: The meaning of "person" is integral to homicide law.

Q: Grading murder into first and second degree is important because only first-degree murder qualifies for the death penalty.

Q: The mens rea of homicide is killing another person or human being.

Q: The term "aforethought" refers to planning in advance.

Q: In a voluntary manslaughter case, adequate provocation is evaluated using a subjective test that examines what was adequate to provoke a particular defendant to kill the victim.

Q: "Express" malice aforethought was reserved for killings that fit the original meaning of murderintentional killings planned in advance.

Q: In some states, the legislatures have created the new crime of feticide, specifically aimed at the killing of a fetus.

Q: Depraved heart murder is defined as extremely reckless killings.

Q: Criminal negligence homicide statutes cover a wide field.

Q: The trend in the law is to abolish the unlawful act manslaughter rule.

Q: The central elements in involuntary manslaughter are its actus reus and its mens rea.

Q: Corporations cannot be guilty of criminal homicide.

Q: Most criminal homicide statutes apply to corporations.

Q: All felony murders are intentional homicides.

Q: The heart of voluntary manslaughter is an unintentional, sudden killing triggered by an adequate provocation.

Q: A criminal homicide committed with malice aforethought is murder.

Q: Insulting gestures or words and racial slurs are adequate legal provocation for manslaughter.

Q: Degrees of murder developed through history.

Q: The meaning of "person" is unimportant to homicide law.

Q: Much of the body of criminal homicide law is about grading the seriousness of the offense.

Q: Criminal homicide is different from all other crimes because of the finality of its result: the death of the victim.

Q: Terrell has been drinking in a bar for several hours. As he is preparing to leave a man walks by and bumps against him. Terrell punches the man in the face hard enough to break his nose. The man pulls a gun from his pocket and shoots Terrell, killing him. The law of this crime takes into account both the seriousness of this felony and a. the reality of human frailty. b. the reality of intoxication. c. the reality of no cooling-off time. d. the reality of adequate provocation.

Q: Terrell has been drinking in a bar for several hours. As he is preparing to leave a man walks by and bumps against him. Terrell punches the man in the face hard enough to break his nose. The man pulls a gun from his pocket and shoots Terrell, killing him. A punch to the face hard enough to break Terrell's nose is an example of what? a. adequate provocation. b. depraved heart. c. last-straw. d. mental disturbance.

Q: Terrell has been drinking in a bar for several hours. As he is preparing to leave a man walks by and bumps against him. Terrell punches the man in the face hard enough to break his nose. The man pulls a gun from his pocket and shoots Terrell, killing him. What crime is Terrell a victim of? a. first degree murder. b. involuntary manslaughter. c. voluntary manslaughter. d. second degree murder.

Q: Terrance robs a convenience store with a gun. While exiting the convenience store a customer grabs him from behind and attempts to take the gun from him. The gun fires and kills the customer behind Terrance. According to the felony murder rule doctrine, deaths that occur during the commission of another felony are murders a. even if they are unintentional. b. because they are unintentional. c. only if they are unintentional. d. none of these answers is correct.

Q: Terrance robs a convenience store with a gun. While exiting the convenience store a customer grabs him from behind and attempts to take the gun from him. The gun fires and kills the customer behind Terrance. Which of the following limitations on felony murder apply to the crime committed by Terrance? a. limits regarding the crime the rule applies to. b. limits on the time period that commission of the predicate crime includes. c. the underlying crime has to be independent of the death. d. all of these limits apply to the crime committed by Terrance.

Q: Terrance robs a convenience store with a gun. While exiting the convenience store a customer grabs him from behind and attempts to take the gun from him. The gun fires and kills the customer behind Terrance. Terrance has committed what crime? a. felony murder. b. euthanasia. c. feticide. d. manslaughter.

Q: Josiah is angry at Valerie for failing him in his psychology class. Josiah loads his .357 revolver, carefully aims it at Valerie and pulls the trigger, killing her. Regarding mens rea for the above crime, what doctrine is exhibited ? a. the deadly weapon doctrine. b. the bodily integrity doctrine. c. the justifiable homicide doctrine. d. the malice aforethought doctrine.

Q: Josiah is angry at Valerie for failing him in his psychology class. Josiah loads his .357 revolver, carefully aims it at Valerie and pulls the trigger, killing her. What crime has Josiah committed? a. first degree murder. b. euthanasia. c. second degree murder. d. manslaughter.

Q: Stewart accidently shot his pregnant girlfriend Daphne. Daphne died shortly after arriving at the hospital but the baby was born alive. Due to complications resulting from the fatal injury to Daphne, the baby died the following day. If the baby had died prior to being born what might some states have called the death? a. euthanasia. b. feticide. c. negligence. d. neglect.

Q: Stewart accidently shot his pregnant girlfriend Daphne. Daphne died shortly after arriving at the hospital but the baby was born alive. Due to complications resulting from the fatal injury to Daphne, the baby died the following day. Based on the "born alive" rule, Stewart is guilty of a. one count of reckless homicide. b. two counts of reckless homicide. c. one count of voluntary manslaughter. d. two counts of voluntary manslaughter

Q: Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing by a voluntary act or a. omission. b. neglect. c. incompetence. d. recklessness.

Q: To prove voluntary manslaughter, the prosecution has to prove that a. the provocation caused the passion and the killing. b. there was no cooling-off time. c. the death was unintentional. d. the death was an accident.

Q: The common law (and most laws today) recognized how many adequate provocations? a. two. b. three. c. four. d. five.

Q: Adequate provocation has how many elements? a. two. b. three. c. four. d. five.

Q: Probably the most publicized corporate murder case involved the deaths of three young women who were killed on an Indiana highway in 1978 when what car exploded? a. Ford Pinto. b. Ford Fiesta. c. Ford Ranger. d. Ford Fairlane.

Q: What is the name of the catchall offense that includes killings that are neither manslaughter nor first-degree murder? a. second degree murder. b. malicious homicide. c. depraved heart murder. d. felony murder.

Q: Some have argued that the "liberty interest," guaranteed in due process clauses of what amendments to the Constitution, includes the right to die and to seek assistance in exercising the right? a. the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. b. the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments c. the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. d. the Fifth and Eighth Amendments.

Q: The argument that a state can"t exercise power over individual members of society except to prevent harm to others is called a. presumption of bodily integrity. b. justifiable homicide. c. adequate provocation. d. malum prohibitum crime.

Q: The end of the second trimester, when the fetus can live outside the womb, is the definition of a. viability. b. quickening. c. fertilization. d. conception.

Q: What three words did the California legislature add to its existing murder statute to overturn Keeler v. Superior Court? a. or a fetus. b. after the birth. c. soon after conception. d. prior to birth.

Q: Unlawful act manslaughter is sometimes also referred to as a. voluntary manslaughter. b. misdemeanor manslaughter. c. felony murder. d. depraved heart murder.

Q: Knowingly creating a substantial and unjustifiable risk is the definition of a. negligence. b. gross negligence. c. recklessness. d. criminal negligence.

Q: The mens rea of involuntary manslaughter is usually a. negligence or recklessness. b. intentional. c. deliberate and premeditated. d. implied malice.

Q: Which of the following would not be included in criminal negligence homicide statutes? a. unintentional deaths caused by handling explosives b. unintentional deaths caused by delivering dangerous drugs c. unintentional deaths caused by failing to care for a sick child d. unintentional deaths caused by accidental discharge of a firearm during a robbery

Q: Which of the following is true about provocation? a. it is not an excuse for criminal homicide b. it does not reduce the seriousness of the crime c. it does not reduce the punishment for the crime d. it only applies to depraved heart murders

Q: Which of the following is not a kind of involuntary manslaughter? a. criminal negligence manslaughter b. unlawful act manslaughter c. misdemeanor manslaughter d. common-law manslaughter

Q: With regard to cooling off for voluntary manslaughter, assuming the defendant did not, in fact, cool off, most courts would then apply what test? a. objective test of cooling-off time b. overt test of cooling-off time c. lenient test of cooling-off time d. subjective test of cooling-off time

Q: Which of the following is generally not deemed to be a legally adequate provocation for voluntary manslaughter? a. verbal assaults b. mutual combat c. adultery by spouse d. assault and battery