Street Law Ch' 09: Crimes Against The Person

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Street Law Ch. 09Crimes Against The Person
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Ch. 09 Homicide

• Key Terms
• Homicide
• Malice
• First Degree Murder
• Felony Murder
• Voluntary Manslaughter
• Involuntary Manslaughter
• Negligent Homicide

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Ch. 09 HomicidesWhy Do I Need To Know This?

• Because homicides are the most serious crimes and
  can result in the death penalty.
• Because when a person is killed it affects
  everyone in the society.
• Because not all homicides result in criminal
  punishment.
• Because suicide is a serious and growing problem
  for teenagers today.

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Homicides

• A homicide is any time that one person is killed
  by another person.
• Not all homicides result in criminal punishment.
• For example, when a soldier at war kills an enemy
  soldier on the battlefield, it is a homicide, but
  does not result in criminal prosecution.
• Also, when a doctor tries to do a life-saving
  operation and does everything right, but the
  patient still dies, it is not a homicide.

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Criminal HomicidesFirst Degree

• First Degree homicides are the most serious
  homicides and can result in the death penalty.
• There are 2 types of First Degree homicides.
  They are
• First Degree Murder
• Felony Murder
• First Degree Murder occurs when a person kills
  another with malice aforethought.
• Malice means to have the intent to kill or to
  cause serious harm to another person.
• Malice is also legally implied if the defendant
  acts with reckless indifference to life, has the
  intent to commit a felony, or uses a deadly
  weapon.
• Malice can form within a split second and can
  happen in just a second before the homicide.

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Criminal HomicidesFirst Degree

• Felony Murder is another type of First Degree
  homicide that can result in the death penalty.
• Felony Murder is the most common and easiest to
  prove type of first degree homicide.
• In order to be guilty of Felony Murder, the
  person must be guilty of an underlying felony.
• The underlying felony must be a serious or
  violent felony.
• Any death that happens during the commission of
  the felony will result in a felony murder charge.
• The death can happen after the felony is over,
  but the events must have triggered the death.
• The death could result from actions of the police
  or bystanders.
• The death could even be of an accomplice to the
  crime!

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Criminal HomicidesSecond Degree

• Second Degree homicides occur when a person kills
  another with malice but without premeditation.
• These are known as the depraved heart type
  homicides.
• These are very rare types of homicides.
• An example would be a person who starts a fist
  fight and in the fight decides to kill the
  victim.
• Another example would be a soldier killing an
  enemy who is trying to surrender during a
  firefight.

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Criminal HomicidesVoluntary Manslaughter

• Voluntary manslaughter is a homicide that would
  be murder, except that the victim provoked the
  defendant.
• The victim must have done something to the
  defendant that would cause a sudden and intense
  passion in an ordinary person to lose self
  control.
• And, the defendant must not have had any time to
  cool off between the provocation and the
  homicide.
• The provocation must be severemerely calling
  someone names is generally not enough for
  manslaughter.
• Manslaughter is generally punished much less than
  1st degree murder.

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Criminal HomicidesInvoluntary Manslaughter

• There are 2 types of involuntary manslaughter
• Involuntary Manslaughter
• Criminal Negligence
• Involuntary manslaughter is punished less than
  voluntary manslaughter, with the punishment
  depending on what the defendant did.
• Punishments can range from fines, to probation to
  short jail sentences.

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Criminal HomicidesInvoluntary Manslaughter

• Involuntary manslaughter is a killing in which
  there is no intent to kill at all, but results
  from conduct so reckless that it causes extreme
  danger or risk of bodily harm.
• Involuntary manslaughter can result when the
  defendant commits a misdemeanor that results in a
  persons death (this is essentially misdemeanor
  manslaughter).

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Criminal HomicidesCriminal Negligence

• Criminal Negligence occurs when a defendant fails
  to use reasonable or ordinary care.
• Some examples include playing with a loaded gun,
  lighting fireworks, speeding with a car or boat,
  DUI, etc.
• Not only can people be held criminally liable for
  criminal negligence, businesses can also be
  punished for this crime as well!
• Usually the business is punished with a fine,
  which may be placed upon the business itself or
  the officers and directors of the business.

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Noncriminal Homicides

• There are many cases in which a person is killed
  and the killer is considered faultless.
• Some examples include
• A soldier who kills an enemy in combat
• An executioner killing a condemned prisoner
• A police officer killing a person posing a threat
  to society
• Self-defense or defense of others
• A doctor performing a medical procedure
• However, in all of these cases, it really depends
  on the facts.
• In any one of these examples, there still exists
  the possibility that a criminal homicide was
  committed.

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Suicide

• Today, we only punish attempted suicide.
• However, someone who helps another commit suicide
  can be found guilty of a homicide.
• The reason we do this is because most people view
  an attempted suicide as a cry for help.
• The only legal way we can force a person to get
  psychological help against their wishes is to
  enter them through the legal system.
• A person who attempts suicide can be held against
  his or her will for psychological testing and
  treatment.

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Suicide

• Teen suicide today is a serious issue.
• According to the Centers for Disease Control
  (CDC) up to 9 of all teenagers attempt suicide.
• There is one successful suicide every 15 minutes
  in the U.S.
• If you or anyone you know is considering suicide,
  there are many resources out there to help.
• These include
• The National Crisis Hotline at [phone]
• The National Youth Crisis Hotline at (800)
  HIT-HOME (448-4663) or (800) 442-HOPE (442-4673)
• www.suicidehotlines.com

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Ch. 09 Assault and Battery

• Key Terms
• Assault
• Battery
• Stalking

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Ch. 09 Assault and BatteryWhy Do I Need To
Know This?

• Because any unlawful physical contact between
  without consent between you and another person is
  a criminal act.
• Because making someone believe that you are about
  to engage in unlawful physical contact without
  consent is a separate crime.
• Because the amount of punishment you will receive
  for committing either of these crimes depends on
  how much damage you did, why you did it and how
  you did it.

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Assault and Battery

• Traditionally, a battery is any unlawful physical
  contact on another person without consent.
• The contact has to be unlawful, meaning that it
  was not accidental, such as tripping and bumping
  into another person.
• The contact does not have to be directly between
  the two people.
• For example, you can commit a battery by throwing
  a rock and hitting another person or by pushing
  an object to bump into another much like a
  domino.
• Additionally, even in a sport where physical
  contact is allowed, going beyond the normally
  accepted contact can be considered a battery

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Assault and Battery

• Traditionally, an assault is any threat or action
  that would make a person believe a battery is
  imminent.
• Under traditional law, if you saw a punch coming,
  it was assault and battery (2 separate crimes).
  But, if you were hit from behind, it could only
  be a battery.
• Today, most states use the terms interchangeably
  to mean an unlawful contact on another.
• Today, most states now have separate terrorist
  threat laws to deal with that aspect of assault.
• Additionally, most states now have separate hate
  crime laws that specifically punish people for
  making threats against others based on their
  race, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual
  orientation.

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Aggravated Assault and Battery

• Most states have separate crimes for aggravated
  assault and battery.
• Aggravated assaults and batteries are punished
  much more than normal assaults and batteries.
• An aggravated assault can occur in several ways
• Using a weapon during the assault and battery
• Committing an additional felony such as a robbery
  during the assault and battery
• Committing or intending to commit great bodily
  injury during the assault and battery
• In California, using a weapon during the
  commission of a battery will result in an
  enhanced punishment which can add many years to
  the criminal sentence.

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Stalking

• Stalking is a growing problem in todays society.
• Stalking occurs when a person repeatedly follows
  or harasses another person and makes threats that
  cause the victim to fear death or bodily injury.
• There is a growing problem of cyber-stalking in
  which the threats and following are done via the
  internet.
• Unfortunately, women are most often the victims
  of stalking and males are usually the
  perpetrators.
• Most states now have anti-stalking laws.
• And, in most states it is fairly easy to get a
  restraining order against a stalker.

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Sexual Assault

• Sexual assault is a specific type of assault that
  includes rape or attempted rape.
• Sexual assault occurs whenever there is unlawful
  contact of a sexual nature and includes grabbing
  or fondling.
• A sexual assault can be an attempted or completed
  crime.
• A person does not need to use force in order to
  commit a sexual assualt.
• Both males and females can be either the victim
  or perpetrator of a sexual assault.

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Ch. 09 Rape

• Key Terms
• Rape
• Statutory Rape
• Acquaintance Rape
• Date Rape

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Ch. 09 RapeWhy Do I Need To Know This?

• Because according to the Centers for Disease
  Control (CDC), 1 in 6 women will be the victim of
  a rape.
• Because according to the CDC, almost 100,000 men
  are raped each year in the U.S. (or about 1 in 33
  men)
• Because in 8 out of 10 rape cases, the victim
  reports that the perpetrator was a
  boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, relative or
  acquaintance.
• Because NO means NO!

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Rape

• Rape is any sexual intercourse without consent.
• Consent can NEVER be given by someone who is
• Underage
• Unconscious
• Mentally Incompetent
• Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol
• In a rape, the victim and the perpetrator can be
  of either sex.
• So, males can be raped by females, females can be
  raped by females, and males can be raped by
  males.
• No force is necessary for a rape to occur. All
  that matters is that the sexual intercourse
  occurred without consent.
• However, if the perpetrator uses force or a
  weapon, most states will consider it an
  aggravated rape.

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Statutory Rape

• In most states, a person below a certain age can
  never consent to sexual intercourse.
• In a statutory rape case, the parent/guardian can
  decide to pursue charges even if the victim does
  not wish to do so and the victim can be forced to
  testify.
• In California, a person under the age of 18
  cannot consent to sexual intercourse at any time.
• In other states, the age may be different.
• In a statutory rape case, it does not matter what
  the victim says his/her age was. All that
  matters is the actual age of the victim at the
  time of the intercourse.
• In many jurisdictions, there is a growing trend
  not to prosecute statutory rape for people who
  are close in age.
• This is due to juries tending not to convict high
  school sweethearts.
• However, a statutory rape case can be made even
  if the victim was 1 day shy of his/her birthday.
• Statutory rape is a strict liability crime.
• That means that there are no defenses to this
  crime!

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Date Rape

• As noted earlier, the CDC reports that in 8 out
  of 10 cases, the victim knew the rapist.
• High school and college women are 4 times more
  likely to be the victim of rape.
• As stated earlier, a rape can and does occur
  without force or threat of force.
• No means No!
• The perpetrator of a date rape does not need to
  use drugs or alcohol in order to commit rape.
• However, most date rapes do occur when the victim
  has been drinking or under the influence of
  drugs.
• If you are the victim of a rape, there are many
  resources to help.
• You can call 911 for the police
• You can call (800) 656-HOPE (656-4673)
• You can visit www.rainn.org

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Rape Shield Laws

• In most states, and in the federal criminal
  system, the defendant in a rape/sexual assault
  trial may not introduce evidence about the
  victims sexual history.
• This is to avoid making the victim afraid to
  testify due to possibly revealing aspects of
  his/her sexual past.
• It does not matter what the victim wore or what
  the victim did prior to the rape.
• Even a prostitute can be raped.
• It does not matter if the victim struggled or
  tried to fight off the perpetrator.
• A victim can remain totally quiet and still be
  raped.
• All that matter is that the sexual intercourse
  occurred without consent.
• NO means NO!

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Rape Punishment

• Each and every sexual act performed in a rape is
  a separate crime.
• So, one rape can lead to many counts of rape
  being brought as criminal charges.
• Each count of rape results in separate
  punishment.
• Additionally, a rape can also lead to a
  kidnapping charge since the victim is often held
  against his/her will.
• Many states have additional punishments if the
  rape victim was extremely young, old, disabled,
  or threatened with a weapon.
• As part of the punishment, most states require
  rapists to register with the police within 10
  days of moving into a new area for the rest of
  their lives.
• Also, sexual predators may be prohibited from
  living in many areas, such as close to schools.