The Hypos

Who would have thunk Criminal Law would be so. . so. . . so. . .

A child chased down the road by a dog. She runs towards the open door of a stranger’s house. The homeowner, aware of her plight, slams the door in the child’s face. In determining legal responsibility, should it matter whether the homeowner, aware of the child’s situation, closes an open door or simply fails to open a closed one?

X stabs Y, a woman he does not realize is pregnant. X has the intent to kill Y. Y does not die, but later gives birth to the child who dies several months later of complications from the stab wound. Does X have the necessary legal intent to be convicted of killing the baby?

The bad aim case: H intends to kill G, but with his bad aim, he actually kills the innocent bystander J. While it is clear that H can be convicted of murdering J, can he also be charged with attempted murder of G? What if the bullet killed both of them? Could G be prosecuted for two counts of INTENT to kill for the actions of one bullet?

My brain hurts.