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INFO
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Homicide
Related Articles:
Felony Murder | Vehicular
Homicide | Intentional Homicide
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About Chris Van Wagner
| About Tracey Wood |
What Is A Homicide?
A homicide is the killing of another person. A criminal homicide is the unlawful killing of another person.
Corpus Delicti Doctrine
Under common law principles, the corpus delicti doctrine provides that a body is not required to prove that a crime occurred and that a death resulted. Under that doctrine, circumstantial evidence may prove both the act of killing a person and the resulting death.
Proximate Cause
Throughout the definitions below and throughout this website, the terms "by the defendant", "by the actor", and "by a person having caused" are used frequently, and imply both actual causation and proximate causation.
Murder
At common law, the term "murder" refers to "felony murder", which is a homicide committed during the commission of a felony. Under Wisconsin statutory law, murder also refers to felony murder. Under both common law and Wisconsin law, felony murder is defined by a doctrine called the felony murder rule.
Justifiable Homicide
At common law, a justifiable homicide is a homicide committed under circumstances which the law permits, hence it is not a crime. Under common law principles, a person is justified in killing another person to prevent the commission of a felony, to prevent a felon from fleeing the scene of a felony, or to protect and defend one's self or another. In some situations, a killing can be justified if there was a reasonable mistake of fact (although technically, a "mistake" is an excuse, rather than a justification, unless the mistake is made in regard to a justification). Killing to protect property when the only reason was to protect that property is never justified, without other mitigating circumstances.
Under common law principles, in a majority of jurisdictions, a defendant can use deadly force to stop a felon from fleeing or to stop a felony from being committed provided the felony is imminent. However, Tennessee v. Garner, 471 US 1 (1985) held that the use of force to stop a felon is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America ruling that no state shall pass law that give the privilege of the use of deadly force to stop a fleeing felon who posses no threat. Since Tennessee v. Garner, the majority of jurisdictions provide that deadly force may be used if probable cause exists to believe that the suspect posses a significant threat of serious harm or death. In those situations, the officer should provide a proper warning, if feasible.
Wisconsin law does not recognize the term "justifiable homicide", but rather, the law recognizes that a justifiable homicide is an intentional homicide committed under mitigating circumstances, which either reduce a charge of first degree intentional homicide to a lesser charge of second degree intentional homicide or preclude prosecution.
Mitigating Circumstances
Under common law principles, mitigating circumstances include a good faith mistake, reasonable provocation, coercion, and necessity. Each of these topics are covered in their own section; you can click on any of the words above or to the left for more information.
Excusable Homicide 
At common law, an excusable homicide is the killing of another person under conditions that the law recognizes as negating the necessary culpable state of mind required to commit a criminal homicide. Under common law principles, the excuses include, among others, youth (a person under the age of 5 years), mental illness (a person who has been legally declared mentally insane), and accidental intoxication (not the self-induced state that one arrives at by partying for hours, but rather a state resulting from some other cause, although voluntary intoxication can negate the requisite mental state to commit murder).
Often times, the term "excusable homicide" is used interchangeably with the term "justifiable homicide"; however, a justifiable homicide is a homicide committed with intent but under conditions which justify the killing; whereas, an excusable homicide is a homicide committed without a necessary element of the crime, namely the mental state, that is required to prove intent.
Regardless of the confusion, Wisconsin law does not recognize the term "excusable homicide", rather, youth, mental illness, intoxication and other excuses are covered under mitigating circumstances.
Manslaughter
At common law, manslaughter is a mitigated charge from murder, which means that the common law recognizes that a murder committed under mitigating circumstances deserves a lesser penalty than does a murder committed after premeditation and deliberation, or during a felony, or though some means that the law recognizes as being an evil intent. Under common law principles, manslaughter can be voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary manslaughter is often called first-degree manslaughter, whereas involuntary manslaughter is called second-degree manslaughter in states that recognize manslaughter.
Wisconsin does not recognize common law manslaughter rules.
Voluntary Manslaughter
Under common law principles, voluntary manslaughter is murder committed during a recognized mitigating situation or under mitigating circumstances such as a good faith mistake of fact, coercion, necessity, or provocation (heat of passion crimes).
Wisconsin does not recognize common law manslaughter rules.
Under Wisconsin law, a homicide committed with common law mitigating circumstances is a first degree intentional homicide committed with mitigating circumstances and is therefore reducible to second degree intentional homicide or precluded from prosecution, depending upon the circumstances giving rise to the defense and the proof established at trial.
Involuntary Manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter is a lesser degree of murder. At common law, involuntary manslaughter involves criminal actions, but the actions are not committed with malice. The mental state required for involuntary manslaughter is criminal negligence or malum in se (dangerous acts).
Under common law principles, the level of a crime rests with the actors actual intent. For involuntary manslaughter crimes, the intent may have been to only injure the person, but because of some other unknown factor, the result was death.
Also at common law, the misdemeanor-manslaughter rule provides that a defendant who in the commission of a malum in se (wrong in and of itself) crime, rather than a malum prohibitum (crime prohibited by law) crime, then the misdemeanor-manslaughter rule can apply, and both the charge (misdemeanor-manslaguhter) and the punishment are reduced.
Non-Criminal Homicides
A homicide is the lawful or unlawful killing of another person. If the homicide is lawful, then the person who committed the homicide is not criminally liable - they will not be held to have committed a crime. Lawful homicides include, among others, those committed by a police officer during a lawful arrest under lawful circumstances, those committed by a person who is too young to form the requisite mental state (a culpable mind), those committed to prevent a felony, and those committed in self defense or defense of another.
Related Articles:
Wisconsin Statutory First
Degree Intentional Homicide |
Wisconsin Statutory Second
Degree Intentional Homicide |
Information about the office location of Van Wagner &
Wood, the areas of law in which they most frequently represent people,
and the cities and counties where Attorney Chris Van Wagner & Attorney
Tracey Wood most frequently appear are listed below. If you reside outside
of these areas, you may want to call the attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood
to ask if they can help you through representing you or referring you
to a lawyer they know.
Van Wagner & Wood's office is located at Martin Luther
King, Jr. Blvd. and Doty Street. 10 East Doty is located on the outside
of the first circle surrounding the capitol building. You can park under
the building by entering the parking lot from Doty Street. If you park
under 10 East Doty, the offices of Van Wagner & Wood will validate
your parking ticket so that you do not have to pay to park. If the parking
ramp is full, there are numerous parking places surrounding 10 East Doty,
as well as a public parking ramp on State street.
Appeals & Serious Crimes - Homicide - Murder
Van Wagner & Wood's criminal defense lawyers handle
appeals to both the Appellate Court and the Supreme Court, as well as
both state and Federal court systems for people convicted of a crime who
believe their conviction or sentence were wrong. Most often, the appeals
that they handle are to federal court because very few attorneys handle
these types of appeals; Attorney Chris Van Wagner was a US Attorney in
Wisconsin before entering private practice. Often times, people from across
the United States hire Attorney Van Wagner for a Federal or a state appeal
for serious crimes including homicide, RICO (Racketeering), felony murder,
negligent homicide, vehicular homicide, or sexual assault. Attorney Tracey
Wood handles appeals to Wisconsin State Court of Appeals and Wisconsin
Supreme Court for charges or convictions stemming from a Wisconsin trial.
Federal Crimes
Former Federal prosecutor, Attorney Chris Van Wagner,
handles Federal cases, which includes Federal drug crimes and other Federal
criminal charges.
Drug Crimes
The criminal defense attorneys at Van Wagner & Wood
handle cases involving drug offenses in which the accusation is made by
either a state or a Federal prosecutor, arrests by state officials or
Federal agents, and other drug cases such as those handled by the DEA.
Van Wagner & Wood's criminal defense lawyers represent
people located across the state of Wisconsin in matters involving state
drug charges including the following counties and cities.
Drunk Driving (OWI, DUI, DWI)
Madison (Dane County), Richland Center (Richland County),
La Crosse (La Crosse County), Jefferson (Jefferson County), Wisconsin
Dells (Columbia County and Sauk County), Stevens Point (Portage County),
Dodgeville and Mineral Point (Iowa County), Portage (Columbia County)
and Montello (Marquette County).
Sexual Assault & Sex Crimes
Dane (Madison, Middleton, Monona, Fitchburg), Green (Monroe),
Lafayette (Darlington), Dodge (Beaver Dam, Waupun), Portage (Stevens Point),
Wood (Wisconsin Rapids), Sauk (Wisconsin Dells), Columbia (Columbus),
Richland (Richland Center) and Juneau (Mauston) area.
