by Scheb ISBN 1285070119
9781285070117
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EXAM QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 6, HOMICIDAL CRIMES
TRUE/FALSE:
1. An example of an excusable homicide is where an executioner administers a lethal injection to a prisoner pursuant to a death warrant.
ANS: F REF: 141 LO: 6
2. Modern statutes extend the offense of manslaughter to embrace a person’s responsibility for a person’s death resulting from an omission to act in instances where the law imposes a duty to act.
ANS: T REF: 146 LO: 4
3. Shooting a firearm into a crowd or into an occupied house or automobile is a classic example of a depraved-heart-or-mind murder.
ANS: T REF: 145 LO: 2
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4. English common law defined the offense of manslaughter by degrees, from first-degree to third degree manslaughter.
ANS: F REF: 146 LO: 4
5. Provocation that would cause a reasonable person to lose control may be sufficient to convert an otherwise intentional killing of another to manslaughter.
ANS: T REF: 147 LO: 4
6. According to the authors, convictions for second-degree murder often reflect “jury pardons.”
ANS: T REF: 145 LO: 2
7. Under the early English common law, the goods belonging to a person who committed suicide were forfeited to the Crown.
ANS: T REF: 154 LO: 8
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8. Many state legislatures have adopted a definition of brain death that specifies that irreversible cessation of total brain functions constitutes death.
ANS: T REF: 153 LO: 7
9. The term “corpus delicti” refers to “strict liability offenses.”
ANS: F REF: 151 LO: 7
10. The Supreme Court’s 1973 abortion decision (Roe v. Wade) was based on the First Amendment’s “free exercise” clause.
ANS: F REF: 158 LO: 10
11. To obtain a conviction for first-degree murder the prosecution must establish the defendant’s specific intent to take the life of the victim.
ANS: T REF: 142 LO: 2
12. The common law developed a doctrine under which, where an accused was engaged in the commission of a felony and a homicide occurred, the felonious act substituted for proof of malice aforethought. This evolved into what we now know as the “Felony Murder Rule.”
ANS: T REF: 144 LO: 3
13. Death resulting from criminal negligence is second-degree murder.
ANS: F REF: 141 LO: 4
14. Second-degree murder is now frequently defined as “an unlawful killing of a human being by a person having a depraved mind or heart.”
ANS: T REF: 145 LO: 2
15. The English common law did not criminalize suicide.
ANS: F REF: 154 LO: 8
16. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that state statutes banning assisted suicide are unconstitutional.
ANS: F REF: 155 LO: 8
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17. Under English common law, abortion was a misdemeanor, but only after “quickening” of the fetus.
ANS: T REF: 157 LO: 10
18. Under English common law, for there to be a murder, the victim had to die within a year and a day.
ANS: T REF: 153 LO: 7
19. Nearly all states now have laws criminalizing intentional acts (other than medical abortions) that result in death to a viable fetus.
ANS: T REF: 157 LO: 10
20. The common law did not distinguish between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter; that distinction did not appear until the 20th century.
ANS: F REF: 146 LO: 4
MULTIPLE CHOICE:
1. The term “corpus delicti” refers to ______________________.
a. criminal intent
b. the standard of proof in a criminal case
c. the body of the crime
d. the concept of strict liability
ANS: C REF: 151 LO: 7
2. Which one of the following statements about the law of homicide is INCORRECT?
a. At common law, murder was defined as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.
b. In a homicide case where the defendant pleads not guilty, it is necessary for the prosecution to establish the corpus delicti.
c. A police officer who kills a fleeing felon is an example of an excusable homicide.
d. Second-degree murder is frequently defined by statute as the unlawful killing of a human being by outrageous conduct of the perpetrator or where the perpetrator’s acts evince a depraved mind.
ANS: C REF: 141 LO: 6
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3. The prosecution can establish premeditation in a homicide case by proving ________.
a. previous quarrels between the defendant and the victim
b. the weapon used and the nature of the wounds inflicted on the victim
c. threats and other expressions of ill will by the defendant toward the victim
d. any or all of these
ANS: D REF: 143 LO: 7
4. Which of the following do the authors identify as prosecutorial burdens in all homicide cases?
a. proof that the victim was alive before the homicidal act
b. proof that the victim’s death was proximately caused by the defendant
c. proof of ill feelings between the defendant and the victim
d. proof both that the victim was alive and that the victim’s death was proximately caused by the defendant
ANS: D REF: 151 LO: 7
5. In Washington v. Glucksberg (1997) the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a federal appellate court’s decision striking down a state statute prohibiting _________.
a. assisted suicide
b. abortion
c. same-sex marriage
d. indecent exposure
ANS: A REF: 156 LO: 8
6. At common law, ____________ was the “unlawful killing of another with malice aforethought.”
a. mayhem
b. manslaughter
c. murder
d. wrongful death
ANS: C REF: 140 LO: 1
7. __________ usually requires proof of gross or culpably negligent conduct that results in another’s death.
a. Mayhem
b. Involuntary manslaughter
c. First-degree murder
d. Aggravated battery
ANS: B REF: 146 LO: 4
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8. In 2005, the __________ case focused national attention on the need for individuals to execute legal directives clearly defining the extent of extraordinary medical procedures to be taken in the event a person is in a persistent vegetative state.
a. Elian Gonzales
b. Claus von Bülow
c. Terri Schiavo
d. None of these
ANS: C REF: 150 LO: 9
9. Homicide is generally considered _____________ when committed by accident or misfortune or in doing any other lawful act by lawful means, with usual and ordinary caution, and without any unlawful intent.
a. justifiable
b.unlawful
c. excusable
d.negligent
ANS: C REF: 141 LO: 6
10. When death is inflicted by public officers in obedience to a court judgment or in discharge of certain other legal duties it is considered. _________.
a. voluntary manslaughter
b. involuntary manslaughter
c. excusable homicide
d. justifiable homicide
ANS: D REF: 141 LO: 6
11. In Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), the U.S. Supreme Court held __________________.
a. that government has a legitimate and substantial interest in banning abortions that involve partial delivery of a living fetus
b. that Roe v. Wade should be overturned
c. that to be valid a federal statute that proscribes partial-birth abortion must contain a provision that allows an abortion to protect the mother’s health
d. none of these
ANS: A REF: 159 LO: 10
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12. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
a. The common law held that to convict a defendant of homicide, not more than a year and a day could intervene from the defendant’s criminal act to the death of the victim.
b. Either by statute or judicial decision the vast majority of states have now abolished the one year and a day rule.
c. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the Tennessee Supreme Court could not retroactively abolish the “one year and a day” rule.
d. In this age of advancing medical technology, the “one year and a day” rule has little relevance.
ANS: C REF: 153 LO: 7
13. Which one of the following acts would not be sufficient to convert an otherwise intentional killing of another to manslaughter?
a. A married person who discovers his or her spouse in an act of adultery with significant sexual contact taking place.
b. Gross or insulting words or accusations directed against an individual.
c. Death occurring to a patient as a result of criminal negligence of a medical practitioner.
d. The failure of parents to provide medical attention or adequate nourishment for their children.
ANS: B REF: 147 LO: 4
14. Which one of the following statements is INCORRECT?
a. Before an accused can be found guilty of a homicidal crime, the prosecution must establish that the victim was alive before the accused’s criminal act.
b. In a murder case, the corpus delicti consists of the fact that a human being is dead and that the death was caused by the criminal act or agency of another person.
c. In a murder case, the prosecution must establish that the defendant’s act was the proximate cause of the victim’s death.
d. Suicide was not regarded as a crime under early English common law.
ANS: D REF: 154 LO: 8
15. Which one of the following statements is INCORRECT?
a. A competent adult who is terminally ill may decide to forgo extraordinary medical measures or may order such measures discontinued.
b. There is yet no statutory or judicial consensus on the procedures to effect discontinuance of medical procedures for terminally ill children.
c. In 1976 the New Jersey Supreme Court in the Karen Quinlan Case ruled that withdrawal of life- support systems of a minor would constitute a criminal homicide.
d. Courts have generally been cautious not to allow criminal prosecutions where lifesustaining medical procedures have been discontinued in good faith based on competent medical advice and consent of a competent patient and the patient’s family.
ANS: C REF: 149-50 LO: 9
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16. At common law, _____________ was defined as the unlawful killing of one human being by another when no malice was involved.
a. murder
b. mayhem
c. manslaughter
d. wrongful death
ANS: C REF: 140 LO: 1
17. At common law, ___________ consisted of an intentional, unlawful killing that occurred in the heat of passion as a result of some adequate provocation.
a. voluntary manslaughter
b. involuntary manslaughter
c. negligent homicide
d. reckless homicide
ANS: A REF: 140 LO: 1
18. At common law, _______________ was the unintentional killing of another by the accused’s gross or wanton negligence.
a. voluntary manslaughter
b. involuntary manslaughter
c. negligent homicide
d. reckless homicide
ANS: B REF: 140 LO: 1
19. In a first-degree murder case, the prosecution usually attempts to establish _________ by introducing evidence bearing on the defendant’s motive and state of mind.
a. negligence
b. culpability
c. premeditation
d. animus
ANS: C REF: 143 LO: 2
20. The common law developed a doctrine that where an accused was engaged in the commission of a felony and a homicide occurred, the felonious act was regarded as a substitute for the proof of malice aforethought required to find the defendant guilty of murder. This became known as the ____________ doctrine.
a. transferred intent
b. culpable negligence
c. animus furundi
d. felony-murder
ANS: D REF: 144 LO: 3
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21. With the proliferation of crimes classified as felonies, legislatures have generally limited the applicability of ______________ to felonies involving violence or posing great threat to life or limb.
a. the death penalty
b. life imprisonment
c. involuntary manslaughter
d. the felony murder doctrine
ANS: D REF: 144 LO: 3
22. In many jurisdictions, _____ is a residual classification applied to unlawful homicides not evidenced by malice aforethought or premeditation, not occurring in conjunction with other felonies, and not falling within the statutory definition of manslaughter.
a. second-degree murder
b. voluntary manslaughter
c. involuntary manslaughter
d. reckless homicide
ANS: A REF: 145 LO: 2
23. In a prosecution for ________________, the prosecution need only establish the defendant’s general intent, and that may be inferred from the defendant’s act and surrounding circumstances.
a. first-degree murder
b. second-degree murder
c. involuntary manslaughter
d. voluntary manslaughter
ANS: C REF: 147 LO: 4
24. To reduce a homicide from _____________ to voluntary manslaughter, it must generally be shown that there was sufficient provocation to excite in the defendant’s mind such anger, rage, or terror as would obscure an ordinary person’s reasoning and render the person incapable of cool reflection.
a. first-degree murder
b. mayhem
c. reckless homicide
d. wrongful death
ANS:A REF: 147 LO: 4
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25. The carnage on American highways has prompted many states to enact statutes making ___________ a specific felony rather than opting to rely on prosecutors charging a defendant with manslaughter for causing a traffic death.
a. reckless driving
b. wrongful death
c. mayhem
d. vehicular homicide
ANS: D REF: 148 LO: 5
COMPLETION:
1. The offense of ____________ involves death resulting from the negligent operation of a vehicle or driving while in the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony.
ANS: vehicular homicide; manslaughter
REF: 148 LO: 5
2. In many jurisdictions, ______________ is a residual classification applied to unlawful homicides without premeditation and not falling within the statutory definition of manslaughter.
ANS: second-degree murder
REF: 145 LO: 2
3. At common law abortion was a misdemeanor, but only if it occurred after “_______” of the fetus.
ANS: quickening
REF: 157 LO: 10
4. The common law recognized that homicide was non-criminal if either __________ or excusable.
ANS: justifiable
REF: 141 LO: 6
5. The Latin term ____________ literally means “the body of the crime.”
ANS: corpus delicti
REF: 151 LO: 7
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6. In many states an unintentional killing that occurs during commission or attempted commission of another serious felony is called _______ _________.
ANS: felony murder
REF: 144 LO: 3
7. While cessation of heartbeat was the classic definition of death at common law, most jurisdictions either legislatively or judicially have supplemented this classic requirement of when death occurs by a new definition of ________.
ANS: brain death
REF: 153 LO: 7
8. In the landmark decision involving Karen Quinlan, the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1976 upheld the removal of a _____________ where Karen was comatose and there was no reasonable medical probability of her regaining a sapient existence.
ANS: respirator; life support system
REF: 149-50 LO: 9
9. Shooting a firearm into a crowd or into an occupied house or automobile is a classic example of a depraved-heart-or-mind or ________ degree murder.
ANS: second
REF: 145 LO: 2
10. The trend of judicial decisions has been to hold that a competent adult who is ___ may decide to forgo extraordinary medical measures or may order such measures discontinued.
ANS: terminally ill
REF: 150 LO: 8
11. Modern American laws on homicide are based on the English common law, which classified murder and manslaughter as criminal homicide, and classified noncriminal homicide as justifiable or _________________.
ANS: excusable
REF: 149 LO: 6
12. Comments made by a murderer before and after killing the victim may help the prosecution in establishing _____________________
ANS: malice aforethought; premeditation
REF: 143 LO: 2
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13. Under the common law, it was __________ murder when an accused unintentionally killed a human being while committing burglary, arson, rape, or robbery.
ANS: felony
REF: 144 LO: 3
14. Homicide is __________ when a person takes another’s life in obedience to a court judgment or when necessarily committed in overcoming actual resistance to execution of legal process.
ANS: justifiable
REF: 149 LO: 6
15. Homicide is __________ when a person kills someone while resisting the decedent’s attempts to murder or to inflict great bodily injury upon another.
ANS: excusable
REF: 149 LO: 6
16. The prosecution bears several burdens unique to homicide cases. First, it must establish the__________, or body of the crime.
ANS: corpus delicti
REF: 15 1 LO: 7
17. Today, statutes often define ____________ as the “unlawful killing of a human being without malice.”
ANS: manslaughter
REF: 146 LO: 4
18. Convictions for second-degree murder often reflect a where a jury concludes that circumstances surrounding the killing do not justify the penalty for first-degree murder
ANS: jury pardon
REF: 145 LO: 2
19. A statute that prohibits “killing of a human being caused by operation of a motor vehicle in a reckless manner likely to cause the death of, or great bodily harm to, another” defines the offense of ______________.
ANS: vehicular homicide
REF: 148 LO: 5
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20. All jurisdictions have now adopted laws that specifying that irreversible cessation of _______ activity constitutes death.
ANS: brain
REF: 153 LO: 7
CRITICAL THINKING:
A husband and wife had been married for seven years. One night after the couple returned from a cocktail party the wife admitted to her husband that for the past year she had been committing adultery with a man whom she had dated while she was a college student. During the wife’s confession the husband became enraged, went to his dresser and retrieved a gun. He then forced his wife at gunpoint to describe the affair in detail. After 10 minutes he pulled the trigger and shot his wife to death.
1. The state would likely charge the husband with:
a. Manslaughter
b. reckless homicide
c. hird-degree murder
d. first-degree murder
ANS: D LO: 2 REF: 141-43
2. The husband’s defense attorney is likely to seek to have the charges reduced to:
a. manslaughter
b. assisted suicide
c. reckless endangerment
d. felony murder
ANS: A LO: 4 REF: 146-48
Two ex-convicts kidnap a man from a bar and force him into a van. They steal the man’s money, his glasses, and all of his clothing except for his underwear. They leave the man who is legally blind without his glasses on the side of a dimly-light, rural highway late at night. The nearest building, a gas station, is over two miles away.
3. Suppose the temperature outside is minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and the kidnap victim freezes to death overnight. Felony murder is not applicable in this jurisdiction. Which of the following homicide charges seems most appropriate for our ex-convicts?
a. involuntary manslaughter
b. second-degree murder
c. voluntary manslaughter
d. no homicide charge should be made
ANS: B LO: 2 REF: 145
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4. Suppose the victim gets hit by a speeding car shortly after the ex-convicts leave him on the side of the road. The victim was standing in the shoulder waving his arms for help, and the driver swerved into him. It turns out the driver of the car was driving 20 miles over the speed limit and texting at the time of the accident. Which of the following charges seems appropriate for the driver?
a. vehicular homicide
b. first-degree murder
c. felony murder
d. no charge is appropriate
ANS: A LO: 5 REF: 148
5. Suppose that the victim suffered a broken neck as the ex-convicts were initially kidnapping him. The ex-convicts dump the victim on the side of the same rural, dimly-lit road, and the victim dies a short time later. A medical examiner later testifies that the broken neck led to asphyxiation, which was the ultimate cause of death. Which of the following charges seems most applicable? Assume all types of homicide charges are available options to the prosecutor.
a. no homicide charge
b. felony murder
c. involuntary manslaughter
d. vehicular homicide
ANS: B LO: 3 REF: 144-145
A wife returns home and finds her husband in bed with another woman. The wife shoots the other woman. Although the scene appears, at first glance, to be a classic “heat of passion” scenario, the District Attorney asks police to gather more evidence before levying a formal charge.
6. Which of the following pieces of evidence would best enable a district attorney to levy a charge of first degree murder against the wife?
a. The wife was aware of the affair and expected the couple to be in the bedroom at that time; she had purchased a gun the previous day in anticipation of walking in on them.
b. The wife was completely unaware of the affair until the moment she entered her bedroom, where a loaded gun lay on a nearby table.
c. The husband had a $1,000,000 insurance policy taken out on his wife.
d. The gun used in the killing was on a nightstand near the bed, and was already loaded when the wife picked it up.
ANS: A LO: 2 REF: 141-143
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7. Which of the pieces of evidence would point to a classic “heat of passion” voluntary manslaughter charge?
a. The wife was aware of the affair and expected the couple to be in the bedroom at that time; she had purchased a gun the previous day in anticipation of walking in on them.
b. The wife was completely unaware of the affair until the moment she entered her bedroom, where a loaded gun lay on a nearby table.
c. The husband had a $1,000,000 insurance policy taken out on his wife.
d. The gun used in the killing was on a nightstand near the bed, and was already loaded when the wife picked it up.
ANS: B LO: 4 REF: 146-148
8. Which of the following scenarios might suggest an excusable homicide in this instance?
a. The wife was an officer of the law.
b. The “other woman” grabbed a gun and pointed it at the wife, and the wife responded by drawing her own weapon from her purse, shooting the other woman.
c. The husband had previously discussed killing the other woman with one of his friends.
d. The wife had an insurance policy of $1,000,000 on the husband.
ANS: B LO: 6 REF: 149
9. Which of the following might suggest justifiable homicide?
a. The wife was a law enforcement agent who was entering the home make a lawful arrest of the victim on drug charges.
b. The wife intended to shoot the victim in the leg and wound her, but missed and struck her in the head.
c. The wife meant to shoot her husband.
d. The wife held a valid carry permit for her weapon.
ANS: A LO: 6 REF: 149
A man shoots a gun into the air on New Year’s Eve just before the stroke of midnight. The bullet ends up coming down and striking another person in the head and killing them.
10. Which of the following legal concepts is most applicable to this scenario?
a. first-degree murder
b. involuntary manslaughter
c. voluntary manslaughter
d. second degree murder
ANS: B LO: 4 REF: 146-148
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1. Explain what is meant by “felony murder.” Can a defendant be convicted of first-degree murder based on the felony-murder doctrine?
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 144-45 LO: 3
2. Describe three instances where a jury can find a defendant charged with murder guilty of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter.
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 146-48 LO: 4
3. The state legislature has before it a proposed bill to provide that any person who assists another person in committing suicide shall be guilty of a felony. What arguments can be logically advanced in support or rejection of the proposed law?
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 154-57 LO: 8
4. Discuss the unique burdens of the prosecution in securing a conviction for a homicidal crime.
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 150-54 LO: 7
5. In 2003 Congress enacted a law proscribing partial birth abortions. Lower federal courts found the law unconstitutional. In Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, reversed and held that the government has right to ban abortions that involve partial delivery of a living fetus. The dissenting justices viewed the decision as alarming. Explain the competing views of the majority and dissenting justices.
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 158-60 LO: 10
6. Discuss the development of the law as to when, under what circumstances, and by whom discontinuance of medical treatments may be ordered for terminally ill patients.
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 154-57 LO: 9
7. What types of evidentiary factors would a prosecutor typically attempt to establish in prosecution of a defendant for first-degree murder based on the defendant’s premeditation?
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 143 LO: 7
8. Discuss some competing arguments for and against laws that prohibit suicide by a terminally ill person.
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 156-57 LO: 8
© Cengage Learning 2014 ESSAY:
9. Why have many states enacted laws specifically criminalizing vehicular homicide?
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 148 LO: 5
10. Explain the difference between excusable and justifiable homicide. Provide an example of each.
ANS: Responses will vary REF: 149-50 LO: 6
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