Criminal Law Fall Launch: Homicide Part One: Murder, Malice Aforethought, Premeditation, Depraved Heart, Felony Murder, and Causation

📘 FREE COMPANION STUDY GUIDE 📘👉 CLICK HERE TO OPEN YOUR FREE STUDY GUIDE 👈Turn this episode into an exam-ready study plan.🎧 EPISODE SUMMARY 🎧Homicide is the killing of a human, which may be lawful or criminal.Assess causation, mental state, category, and potential defenses.Common-law murder is an unlawful killing with malice aforethought.Malice requires one of four mental states:Intent to kill (proven by circumstantial evidence).Intent to inflict serious bodily injury.Extreme reckless indifference (depraved heart).Felony murder.Premeditation requires prior reflection, distinguishing statutory first-degree murder from second-degree.Depraved-heart murder involves high-risk extreme recklessness exceeding criminal negligence.Felony murder applies to deaths during inherently dangerous felonies: burglary, arson, rape, robbery, kidnapping (BARRK).Under the merger doctrine, predicate felonies must be independent of the killing.Liability spans attempt, commission, and flight until reaching safety.The agency approach requires a felon to inflict the fatal wound, while the proximate-cause approach covers any foreseeable death.All homicides require actual cause (but-for) and proximate cause (foreseeable result without superseding acts).Remember: murder is not synonymous with intentional killing.ℹ️ INFORMATION, PRIVACY POLICY & TERMS OF USE ℹ️The Podcast and Website PurposeThe Law School Podcast and 1L Study Aide webpage supplements law-school and Bar Exam study with strategies, condensed rules, quizzes, and flashcards.Educational DisclaimerContent is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal advice, creates no attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee law-school or Bar Exam success.Privacy PolicyNo account or login is required.This webpage uses no forms or analytics to collect personal information.Quiz and flashcard activity stays in your browser and may clear when local site data is removed.Terms of UseBy using this webpage, you agree to use its content only for lawful, personal, noncommercial educational purposes. It supplements—not replaces—courses, textbooks, official materials, or qualified instruction.