First Degree Murder (1)

Specific Intent + (SI+)

- Aggravated or 2nd Degree Kidnapping

- Aggravated Escape

- Aggravated Arson

- Aggravated or Forcible Rape

- Aggravated Burglary

- Armed, 1st Degree, 2nd Degree or Simple Robbery

- Drive-by Shooting

- Terrorism

- Cruelty or 2nd Degree Cruelty to Juvies

(CJ Brown Rents Duplexes To Kids Eating and Robbing)

First Degree Murder (2)

SI +

• Fireman
• Peace Officer* (police, sheriff, constable, etc.)
• Civilian employee of LSP Crime Lab or any forensic lab engaged in the performance of his duties

OR when SI to kill is directly related to the victims status as a fireman, peace officer or civilian employee.

*Includes FBI, AG, prison guard, parole officers and judges.

First Degree Murder (3)

SI +

Intent to kill more than one person.

First Degree Murder (4)

SI +

• Has offered
• Has been offered
• Has given
• Has received

Anything of value for the killing.

(Contract Killing/Murder for Hire, Both parties subject to 1st Degree Murder Charge)

First Degree Murder (5)

SI +

• Victim under 12
• Victim over 65

First Degree Murder (6)

SI +

• Distribution
• Exchange
• Sale
• Purchase

Or any attempt thereof

Of controlled dangerous substances (Schd I - V)

First Degree Murder (7)

SI +

• Engagement in ritualistic mutilation, dismemberment or torture as part of a ceremony, rite, initiation, observance, performance or practice.

Basically killing someone for a voodoo or satanic ritual.

First Degree Murder (8)

SI +

A restraining order in effect against the defendant
in protection of the victim.

First Degree Murder (9)

SI +

Victim is a witness to a crime or immediate family of a witness to a crime.

• Prevention of testimony
• Retribution for testimony

First Degree Murder (10)

SI+

Offender has previously acted with SI to kill

that resulted in killing of one or more persons.

(SI + Second Offense Killing)

Second Degree Murder (1)

Just Specific Intent to Kill

(SI with no +)

Second Degree Murder (2)

Engaged in the perpetration or attempt of:

aggravated or forcible rape

aggravated arson

aggravated burglary

aggravated or 2nd degree kidnapping

aggravated escape

drive-by shooting

armed, 1st, 2nd, or simple robbery

cruelty and 2nd degree cruelty to juvies (includes shaken babies)

terrorism

Even without intent (no SI required)

Second Degree Murder (3 & 4)

Unlawfully distributes or dispenses controlled dangerous substance (I - V) which is the direct cause of death of the recipient who ingests or consumes.

Unlawfully distributes or dispenses controlled dangerous substance (I - V) to another who subsequently distributes or dispenses to someone whose death results from ingested or consuming.

Deadly Drug Dealer and Deadly Drug Lord Laws

Manslaughter (1)

PROVOCATION

a homicide which would be a murder under first or second degree murder BUT,

Is committed in sudden passion or heat of blood immediately caused by provocation sufficient to deprive an average person of self-control and cool reflection.

Can't be used if the jury finds offender's blood cooled or that the average person's blood would have cooled.

Manslaughter (2)

Homicide committed WITHOUT INTENT

when the offender is engaged in any felony not enumerated under First or Second degree murder

OR

when offender is resisting lawful arrest by means that are not inherently dangerous and under circumstances that would not qualify for First or Second degree murder.

Negligent Homicide (1 & 2)

Killing of a human being by criminal negligence

(grossly outside the reasonable care that should be taken)

OR

By a dog (or other animal) when the owner is reckless and criminally negligent in confining or restraining the dog or other animal.

Vehicular Homicide

Killing of a human caused proximately or directly by someone engaged in the operation or physical control of

• any motor vehicle
• aircraft
• watercraft
• other means of conveyance

whether or not the offender had intent; AND

whenever they are under the influence of
alcohol or drugs.

What are the 5 grades of homicide?

1. First Degree Murder
2. Second Degree Murder
3. Manslaughter
4. Negligent Homicide
5. Vehicular Homicide

Second Degree Kidnapping

Forcible seizing and carrying of any person from one place to another or enticing/persuading any person to go from one place to another or the imprisoning or forcible secreting of any person when:

1) Victim is used as shield or hostage.

2) Victim is used to facilitate a felony or the flight after an attempt to commit a felony.

3) Victim is physically injured or sexually abused.

4) Victim is imprisoned or kidnapped for 72 hours or more.

5) Victim is imprisoned or kidnapped when the offender is armed with a dangerous weapon or leads the victim to believe he is armed with a dangerous weapon.

Simple Kidnapping

1) Intentional and forcible seizing and carrying any person from one place to another without his consent. (SI)

2) Intentional taking, enticing or decoying away for an unlawful purpose any child who is not his own and uder the age of 14 without the consent of its parent or person charged with its custody.

3) Talking a person from orphan, insane or feeble-minded institution.

4) Parent taking a child from the state in a custody dispute to defeat jurisdiction of court.

5) Court appointed custodian taking a child from the state to defeat jurisdiction of court.

Aggravated Kidnapping

Doing any of the following acts with the intent to force the victim or some other person to give up anything of value or grant advantage or immunity in order to secure a release of the person under the offender's actual or apparent control: (ransom)

1) forcible seizing and carrying of any person from one place to another;

2) enticing or persuading of any person to go from one place to another; or

3) imprisoning or forcible secreting of any person.    *(SI)

Rape (Statute Definition)

Act of oral, anal or vaginal sexual intercourse with a male or female without lawful consent.

• Emission not necessary
• Any penetration however slight
• Oral includes the offender touching the victim w/ tongue or mouth AND the victim being forced to touch the offender with tongue or mouth.

3 Kinds: Aggravated, Forcible and Simple

Aggravated Rape

Rape perpetrated against:                                          *(GI)

1) victim is 65 or older OR

2) under the following conditions:

a) victim resists to utmost, but is overcome by force

b) victim is prevented from resisting by threats of great bodily harm

c) victim is prevented from resisting b/c offender is armed with a dangerous weapon

d) victim is under the age of 13

e) 2 or more offenders participate

f) victim is prevented from resistance due to physical or mental infirmity.

Forcible Rape

Forcible Rape Conditions

1) Victim is prevented from resisting by force or threats of physical violence where the victim reasonably believes such resistance would not prevent the rape.

2) Victim is incapable of resisting because the offender has administered drug or narcotic w/o knowledge of the victim and victim is incapable of resisting or understanding the nature of the act.

*(GI)

Simple Rape

Conditions:

1) Victim was imparied by their own intoxication and the offender knew or should have known of the victim's incapacity.

2) Victim, through unsoundness of mind, was temporarily or permanently incapable of understanding the nature of the act and the offender knew or should have known of the victim's incapacity.

3) Female victim under the belief that the offender was her husband when belief is induced by artifice, pretense or concealment by the offender.                           *(GI)

False Imprisonment

The intentional confinement or detention of another without his consent and without legal authority.

(There can also be False Imprisonment; Offender Armed with a Dangerous Weapon).

*(SI)

Assault (Statute Definition)

An attempt to commit a battery or the intentional placing of another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery.

There are 3 Kinds: Aggravated, Aggravated w/ a Firearm and Simple.

*(SI)

Aggravated Assault

Assault committed with a dangerous weapon.

*(SI)

Aggravated Assault with a Firearm

An assault committed by the discharge of a firearm.

(Includes firing a gun into the air)

*(SI)

Simple Assault

An assault committed without a dangerous weapon.

*(SI)

Battery (Statute Definition)

Intentional use of force or violence upon the person of another.

OR

Intentional administration of a poison or other noxious liquid or substance to another.

4 Main Kinds: Aggravated, 2nd Degree, Aggravated 2nd Degree, and Simple. All Battery is SI.

Aggravated Battery

Battery committed with a dangerous weapon.

*(SI)

Second Degree Battery

Second degree battery is battery when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury. (SI)

Does not apply to a medical provider who has the consent of a patient.

Serious injury means unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted/obvious disfigurement, protracted loss or impairment of a bodily member, organ or mental faculty, and substantial risk of death.

Aggravated Second Degree Battery

Intent to inflict bodily injury with a dangerous weapon.

(SI)

Simple Battery

Battery committed without the consent of the victim.

*(SI)

Simple Robbery

The taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, but not armed with a dangerous weapon.

(GI)

Second Degree Robbery

Taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury.

(SI)

Serious bodily injury = any serious injury short of death.

Armed Robbery

The taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another by use of force or intimidation while armed with a dangerous weapon.

Victim does NOT have to know the offender had a weapon.

(GI)

First Degree Robbery

The taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, when the offender leads the victim to reasonably believe he is armed with a dangerous weapon.

Victim knows or believes offender has a weapon whether he really does or not.

(GI)

Illegal Possession of Stolen Things

Illegal possession of stolen things is the intentional possessing, procuring, receiving or concealing of anything of value which has been the subject of any robbery or theft, under circumstances which indicate that the offender knew or had good reason to believe that the things were the subject of one of these offenses.  *(SI)

An affirmative defense to a violation of this law is if the accused alerts their local DA within 72 hours of acquiring knowledge that the objects in possession were stolen.

Aggravated Arson

Intentional damaging by any explosive substance or the setting fire to any structure, watercraft or movable whereby it is foreseeable that human life may be endangered.

(SI)

Simple Arson

1) Intentional damaging by any explosive substance or the setting fire to any property of another without the consent of the owner. (SI element)

2) The starting of a fire or causing an explosion while the offender is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a felony offense even though the offender does not have intent to start a fire or cause an explosion. (GI element)

Theft

The misappropriation or taking of anything of value which belongs to another, either without consent of the other or taking by means of fraud, with the intent to deprive the other permanently of whatever may be taken.

BASICALLY: Misappropriation or Taking w/o Violence

                 Either w/o Consent or By Fraud

                 With INTENT to deprive permanently

(SI)

Aggravated Burglary

The unauthorized entering of any inhabited dwelling (house) or of any structure, watercraft or movable where a person is present, with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therin if the offender:  (SI)

1) is armed with a dangerous weapon;

2) after entering arms himself with a dangerous weapon;

3) commits battery upon any person while in such place or in entering or leaving such place.

Simple Burglary

The unauthorized entering of any dwelling, vehicle, watercraft or other structure movable or immovable, or any cemetary, with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein outside of what is listed under Aggravated Burglary.  (SI)

BASICALLY: Unauthorized Entry

                 w/ Intent to commit a felony or theft

                 w/o a weapon or committing battery.

Unauthorized Entry of an Inhabited Dwelling

The intentional entry by a person without authorization into any inhabited dwelling or other structure belonging to another and used in whole or in part as a home or place of abode by a person.

(SI)

Omission

Omission is the failure to do something when the law says you have a duty to do so.

Duty is established by:

1) Relationship

2) Statute

3) Contract

4) When you intervene to help and prevent others from offering assistance.

Ordinarily it is doing something that makes a person criminally liable, however omission is when someone does NOT do something and they become criminally liable.

Causation

One is deemed to be the cause of something when they set in motion a chain of events that causes a particular outcome. Events in that chain that are foreseeable are deemed to be intervening events. Events in the chain that are not foreseeable are supervening events because they break the chain and relieve the perpetrator of responsibility.

The key to causation is proving: "but for the actions of A, B would not have suffered X, Y or Z."

Insanity Defense

In order to be successful with an insanity defense, the defendant must prove:

1) Mental disease or defect AND

2) That at the time the offense was committed the defendant's disease or mental defect prevented him from distinguishing between right and wrong.

Courts have ruled that hearing voices telling one to commit a crime is not a sufficient insanity defense because it suggests the defendant followed the voice event though he knew it was wrong, eliminating him under the second element above.

Involuntary Intoxication Defense

Someone else administered an intoxicant to the defendant without their knowledge and the state of being intoxicated was the direct cause of the crime for which the defendant is being charged.

Does not matter whether it was a specific or general intent crime as long as the defense can show he would not have committed the crime but for being under the influence of an intoxicant ingested without his knowledge.

Voluntary Intoxication Defense

The defendant can raise the defense of voluntary intoxication when they can establish that the intoxication which they did to themself precluded them from forming the specific intent required for the crime of which they are accused.

A defendant is still liable for all general intent crimes such as manslaughter, certain forms of second degree murder, negligent homicide, all rapes, and all robberies, that they perpetrate while under the effects of voluntary intoxication.

Attempts are excluded from this defense because the charge of attempt implies specific intent to commit a crime.

Accessory After the Fact

An accessory after the fact is any person who, after the commission of a felony, harbors, conceals or aids an offender, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the offender has committed a felony and with the intent that he may avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction or punishment.

When determining if someone is an accessory after the fact, look for two elements:

1) That they helped the offender AND

2) That they knew or believed the offender had done something wrong.

Principals to a Crime

All persons concerned in the commission of a crime, whether present or absent and whether they directly commit the act constituting the offense, aid and abet in its commission or directly, or indirectly counsel or procure another to commit the crime, are principals.

Principals can be charged with all planned crimes and any unplanned crimes that foreseeably flow from their planned crimes but not for unplanned crimes that are not foreseeable and committed by other principals in their group.

Criminal Conspiracy

Criminal conspiracy is the agreement or combination of two or more persons for the specific purpose of commiting any crime; provided that an agreement alone does not amount to conspiracy but that one or more of such parties does an act in furtherance of the object of the agreement.

Charge them with conspiracy first, then with the other crimes (i.e., the ones they agreed to do).

One can only be freed from conspiracy when a party withdraws and then takes active measures to alert authorities of the planned crime(s).

Justifiable Homicide

A homicide is justifiable when committed in self-defense by a person who reasonably believed he was imminent danger of losing his life or sustaining great bodily harm and the killing was necessary to save him from that danger.

Homicide is not justifiable in defense of property unless threat to life accompanies threat to property. The defendant need NOT be correct in their assumption of fear.

Louisiana courts use a two-prong test to determine the reasonableness of justifiable homicide claims:

1) A subjective test that asks whether the defendant believed he was in imminent danger of death or bodily harm;

2) An objective test of whether a reasonable person in that situation would have reasonably feared death or great bodily harm.

Use of Force or Violence in Defense

The use of force or violence upon the person is justifiable when committed for the purpose of preventing a forcible offense against the person or a forcible offense or trespass against property in a person's lawful possession, provided that the force used must be reasonable and apparently necessary.

Does NOT apply to force or violence that results in homicide.

There is a presumption that a person inside a dwelling, business or motor vehicle held a reasonable belief that use of force was necessary to prevent unlawful entry. Possibility of retreat is not required.

Defense of Others

It is justifiable to use force or violence or to kill in the defense of another person when it is reaonably apparent that the person attacked could have justifiably used such means himself, and when it reasonably believed that such intervention is necessary to protect the other person.

Aggressor Defense

A person who is the agressor ordinarily cannot claim self-defense unless he withdraws from the conflict in good faith and in such a manner that his advesary knows or should know that he desires to withdraw and discontinue the conflict.

Mistake of Fact Defense

Unless there is a provision to the contrary in the definition of a crime, reasonable ignorance of fact or mistake of fact which precludes the presence of any mental element required in that crime is a defense to any prosecution for that crime.

Justification Defenses

(General Provisions)

The fact that an offender's conduct is justifiable, although otherwise criminal, shall constitute a defense to prosecution for any crime based on that conduct. Justification can be claimed under the following:

1) when for any reason the offender's conduct is authorized by law;

2) when the offender's conduct is reasonable discipline of minors by their parents, tutors or teachers;

3) when the crime consists of a failure to perform a duty AND the failure is caused by physical impossibility;

4) Compulsion (Duress); OR

5) Necessity

Compulsion Defense

(Duress in U.S. v. Bailey)

When any crime, except murder, is committed through the compulsion of threats by another of death or great bodily harm, and the offender reasonably believes the person making the threats is present and would carry out the threats if the crime were not committed.

Cannot be used for murder -- one life is equal to that of another.

Permissible use would include someone holding a gun to someone else and telling them to break into a store to steal something.

Necessity Defense

A necessity defense is predicated on the offender's choice of two evils and is used in the situation where physical forces beyond the actor's control render legal the lesser of the two evils.

Permissible application of a necessity defense includes breaking into a building to seek shelter from a dangerous storm or roaring brush fire.

Provocation

(as a Defense)

Provocation is a defense which will reduce a first or second degree murder to manslaughter if the offense is committed in sudden passion or heat of blood immediately caused by provocation sufficient to deprive an average person on his self-control and cool reflection.

Courts use a two-prong test to determine the reasonableness of provocation claims:

1) that the offender's blood boiled and did not have sufficient time to cool AND

2) that an average person's blood would not have had time to cool when the offense was carried out.

Limits: 1) mere words are NOT sufficient for provocation; 2) LA does not allow for cumulative provocation.

Attempt

Any person who, having specific intent to commit a crime, does or omits an act for the purpose of and tending directly toward the accomplishing of his object is guilty of an attempt to commit the offense intended. It shall be immaterial whether he would have actually accomplished his purpose.

Mere preparation is not sufficient, but lying in wait or searching for the intended victim with a dangerous weapon is.

Attempt is a separate but lesser grade of the intended crime.