Criminal Law Before 1L: Homicide Murder, Manslaughter, Felony Murder, and Causation of Death

» 📘 VIEW THE COMPANION STUDY GUIDE 📘 [💡FREE💡] «▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬EPISODE SUMMARYHomicide is the killing of one human being by another, but not every killing is murder. Homicide may be criminal or noncriminal, justified or excused, intentional or accidental, murder or manslaughter.At common law, murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought. Malice traditionally includes intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily injury, depraved-heart recklessness, and felony murder. Premeditation and deliberation may elevate intentional murder to first-degree murder under many statutes.Felony murder imposes murder liability for deaths caused during qualifying felonies, traditionally burglary, arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping. Important limits include inherently dangerous felony requirements, merger, timing during the felony or immediate flight, causation, foreseeability, and the distinction between agency and proximate-cause theories.Voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing mitigated by legally adequate provocation or extreme emotional disturbance. Common-law heat of passion requires adequate provocation, actual provocation, no reasonable cooling time, and no actual cooling off. The Model Penal Code’s extreme emotional disturbance standard is broader.Involuntary manslaughter generally involves unintentional killing caused by criminal negligence, recklessness, or an unlawful act not amounting to felony murder. Criminal negligence requires more than ordinary civil negligence. Reckless manslaughter requires conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.Homicide always requires causation of death. The defendant must be both an actual and legal cause of death. Foreseeable medical treatment, rescue, and victim reactions usually do not break causation; extraordinary unrelated events may.The key lesson is careful grading. A strong homicide answer separates murder theories, manslaughter mitigation, felony murder limits, causation, and defenses before reaching a conclusion.