Legal Cases Criminal Codes and Liability Essay

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State v. Burrell

1. In the State of New Hampshire, Marc Burrell was convicted in a jury trial on the count of manslaughter. State v. Burrell refers to Burrell’s appeal of the original conviction. The grounds of Burrell’s appeal were that the jury was improperly instructed on the parameters of criminal liability. In the original case, Burrell accidentally shot someone.

2. Crucial to the Burrell case is the definition of a “voluntary act.” Under New Hampshire criminal codes, "[a] person is not guilty of an offense unless his criminal liability is based on conduct that includes a voluntary act or the voluntary omission to perform an act of which he is physically capable." RSA 626:1, I. Because Burrell’s act can be considered involuntary, Burrell appealed on the grounds that criminal liability was not properly proven. Burrell is claiming that the jury did not sufficiently distinguish between a voluntary and an involuntary act.

3. The courts ruled against Burrell, claiming that the trial judge wasn’t required to give the jury as much specific instruction as Burrell had hoped.

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“As long as the trial court adequately instructs the jury on the applicable law, the court is under no obligation to include the specific language requested by a party,” (State v. Burrell).

4. In my opinion, contextual evidence does matter when determining whether an act was voluntary or not. Burrell claimed that only his last act—the act that ultimately led to the death of the victim—had to be shown to be voluntary in order for him to be criminally liable for the death. However, there were a series of events precipitating the fatal shooting including playing Russian roulette, drinking alcohol, and other risk factors that were voluntary.
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