Murder, Incorporated on Gotham

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November 25, 2014

Let’s start with Alfred is awesome. The ultimate butler who can fight off three assassins and put one in the ground. The world needs more marksmen butlers.

The Gotham mid-season finale focused on three assassins hired to kill Selnia Kyle (AKA Cat) at Wayne Manor. This small “league of assassins” killed a groundskeeper at Wayne Manor, shot Alfred (just a flesh wound), murdered Dick Lovecraft, and had a gunfight with the police.

“Murder-for-hire” assassins would violate both Federal and New York. Federal law specifically states:

(a) Whoever travels in or causes another (including the intended victim) to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses or causes another (including the intended victim) to use the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, with intent that a murder be committed in violation of the laws of any State or the United States as consideration for the receipt of, or as consideration for a promise or agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary value, or who conspires to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both; and if personal injury results, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than twenty years, or both; and if death results, shall be punished by death or life imprisonment, or shall be fined not more than $ 250,000, or both.

(b) As used in this section and section 1959 [18 USCS § 1959]–

(1) “anything of pecuniary value” means anything of value in the form of money, a negotiable instrument, a commercial interest, or anything else the primary significance of which is economic advantage;

(2) “facility of interstate or foreign commerce” includes means of transportation and communication; and

(3) “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

18 USCS § 1958.

The murder of Dick Lovercraft was a completed murder-for-fire and could be prosecuted under Federal and New York law.

New York law specifically prohibits conspiracy to commit murder under NY CLS Penal § 105.15. Murdering a witness to a crime with the intent to prevent the witness from testifying in a trial is first-degree murder. NY CLS Penal § 125.27(1)(a)v).

The three assassins could be prosecuted under both Federal and State law for their conspiracy to kill Selina Kyle (thus attempted murder), because there was 1) a contract to kill the minor; 2) the intent to kill Kyle was to prevent her from testifying in the Wayne murder; and 3) interstate commerce was used in someway to give Federal jurisdiction, whether it was by communication or travel.

The death of the groundskeeper would qualify as a “death” under both statutes, as the groundskeeper was murder in the furtherance of the conspiracy. His death would carry a life sentence for all of the conspirators. Alternatively, if somehow the groundskeeper’s death and body mutilation was only second degree murder viewed separate from the conspiracy, the fact an assassin shot Alfred in the arm would qualify as an injury, thus carry a 20-year sentence.

No Going Back for Grant Ward Now

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Josh Gilliland

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November 19, 2014

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Grant Ward did not just kill his brother; Ward killed a [fictional] United States Senator.

Grant Ward already has a huge list of victims that would be a series of long murder and treason trials. Kidnapping and murdering a United States Senator has its own enhanced punishments in Federal Court. Federal law states that anyone who kidnaps and kills a United States Senator (or member of Congress or the Executive Branch) shall be punished by death or imprisonment up to life. 18 USCS § 351(b)(2).

Grant Ward beat Senator Ward, killed at least two guards, and tortured the Senator with the forced digging up of a buried well, followed by threats to throw the Senator down the well.

Federal Prosecutors could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Grant Ward killed his brother with malice aforethought that included kidnapping and torture. 18 USCS § 1111.

There is very little a defense attorney could do for Grant Ward, other than try plea-bargaining for life in prison over the death penalty. Given the number of people Ward killed (at least five SHIELD Agents, four soldiers, two guards, and a Senator) plus the charges for treason by working with HYDRA, it is hard to imagine a Prosecutor even entertaining the idea of a plea; the literal bodies of evidence should end a trial with the death penalty for Grant Ward.

A Judge Who Said "Succubus" in a Court Opinion

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Josh Gilliland

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November 12, 2014

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The Sleepy Hollow episode “Heartless” was a fun monster of the week story where our heroes battled a Succubus. The episode could have been called, “When Trying to Score Goes Horribly Wrong.” For those unfamiliar with Succubi, they are demons who appear as a beautiful woman to seduce men, often resulting in death.

In Sleepy Hollow, the Succubus sucked out the soul of a man, followed by a woman, leaving their bodies burned out shells. It is an excellent warning on avoiding nightclubs and dating apps. Or if you do date, bring Holy Water with you, just in case.

Ironically, there is case law referencing Succubi, and you guessed it, both are from Texas.

The first case was in a dissenting opinion from 1988 in a murder case over the statutory construction imposing punishment in a law that was passed to apply to murder-for-hire cases. The Defendant had murdered her husband and buried his body on the property, which was not discovered for two years. The murder apparently was for life insurance money. The dissenting Judge expressed his thoughts on the Defendant as follows:

I don’t mean to be maudlin about this. Ms. Beets is evidently a greedy and insensitive killer, the kind of succubus who has managed to capture the romantic imagination of Americans in such modern cinematic classics as “Body Heat” and “Black Widow.” I have little sympathy for her, nor would it alarm me overly much if the Legislature had decided that all such criminals should be put to death. What I have difficulty believing is that the Legislature has already decided this in fact.

Beets v. State, 767 S.W.2d 711, 755 (Tex. Crim. App.1988)

The second case is from October 2014 and dealt with the admissibility of Internet search terms in a criminal case. The search terms included, “succubus demon,” plus others that would disturb most people. The Court admitted these Internet search terms over the objection of the Defendant on relevance and the prejudice of the evidence outweighed its prohibitive value. Chandler v. State, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 10869(Tex. App. Austin Oct. 1, 2014).

There are plenty of dangerous people to date, whether you think an ex-girlfriend was a succubus or ex-boyfriend an incubus, but no Court will take judicial notice of the existence of such creatures. However, some well-read judges in mythology might use the term “succubus” to express their feelings about a case.

Attack of the Balloons on Gotham

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Josh Gilliland

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October 7, 2014

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Criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot…which is why weather balloons strike terror into their hearts.

Well, not really, but Gotham again poses interesting legal questions in The Balloonman. The city is extremely corrupt, with police taking bribes and treating the Bill of Rights like it is an inconvenient obstacle to beating suspects. Throw in politicians on the take from the mob, a Cold War developing between crime bosses, plus the mayor illegally arresting children to be interned “upstate,” and it is no surprise a civil servant lost his mind. His weapon of choice to extract justice: weather balloons.

The Red Balloon

This might surprise you, but my legal research search for “weather balloon” w/p murder OR homicide OR manslaughter did not yield any search results. Apparently, no one has tried “balloonicide” in a capital case yet besides on the Prisoner.

That being said, killing the corrupt police officer would have been first degree murder in New York (assuming New York State since Gotham looks like Manhattan), because the suspect intended to cause the death of a police officer engaged in his official duties (which included beating another suspect, but that illegal act does not negate the fact the victim was a cop on the clock). NY CLS Penal § 125.27(1)(a)(i).

It’s Raining Men

What about the poor lady walking her dog that is killed after the balloon pops and the victim falls to Earth? Her death would be at least second degree murder, because the suspect intended to kill the police officer, causing his body to fall back to Earth, evidencing a “depraved indifference to human life” and recklessly engaging in conduct that caused a grave risk of death to the dog-walking victim. NY CLS Penal § 125.25(2).

There is no way the Balloonman could NOT have excepted weather balloons to fall back to Earth. Gravity is a law of physics that cannot be ignored. The fact the Balloonman was launching human beings somewhere between 60,000 to 105,000 feet into the air would mean the bodies would fall that distance in return (also the velocity of a 180 pound person in free fall from 60,000 traveling at 9.81 meters a second would likely leave a crater). This conduct showed a “depraved indifference to human life” and would be enough for a jury to convict the Balloonman for second degree murder of the woman walking her dog.

Can You Prosecute Someone for Murdering a Dead Person Who Comes Back to Life Again?

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Josh Gilliland

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April 28, 2014

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The penultimate episode of Resurrection presented a fact pattern that would give most attorneys a migraine.

How do you prosecute someone who kidnaps and kills a victim who returned from the dead from 12 years earlier AND returns from the dead after being killed a second time?

And just to make things more interesting, the victim is two months pregnant.

Kidnapping is very straightforward to prove. Pursuant to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 35-42-3-2, a person who knowingly removes another person by force or threat of force, commits a Level 6 felony. It is a level 5 felony if an automobile was used and a Level 3 felony if committed with a deadly weapon.

Rachael was taken by a sheriff deputy and two men in a car to a cabin in the woods. One of the future Defendants had both a gun and a knife. After the deputy and another presumptive defendant left, the final Defendant (Gary) threatened the victim with a knife and cut her cheek.

These facts show not just kidnapping, but also torture. If someone if murdered where torture has taken place, the state could seek life imprisonment or the death penalty. Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 35-50-2-9. There is also a big 1983 action against the deputy for his actions in the crime.

The murder charge is where things get funky. Gary the Defendant shot and killed Rachael in a fight while she was being held against her will. These facts should meet the requirements of Murder under Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 35-42-1-1(2), because she was shot and killed during a kidnapping.

There is no question she was killed and her body taken away by the coroner.

What legal effect does it have for her to be found alive walking along the road? You need a dead body in order for there to be a murder.

Let’s refer to the original Rachael as Rachel Prime, the first Rachael returned from the dead as Rachael Alpha and the third Rachael as Rachael Beta. However, they are all the same person.

Rachael Prime committed suicide while pregnant by driving off a bridge in 2001 or 2002. Rachael Alpha was a living woman who was pregnant. She was kidnapped and physically died. Provided that there is still a corpse of Rachael Alpha, it should not legally matter that Rachael Beta is alive. A DA could argue that a human being was killed while trying to escape a kidnapping, which resulted in her death. There would not be a sentence enhancement for killing a pregnant woman, because the fetus was not yet viable, a requirement under the code. However, kidnapping could be a sentence enhancement.

A defense attorney would argue no murder has taken place, because Rachael Beta is alive, absent a lot of emotional damage. DNA would match, memories and the fact the murdered victim would be alive in court by subpoena. However, the DA could produce the autopsy report of Rachael Alpha, complete with photos, and testimony from the medical examiner. At this point Rachael Alpha’s dead body would be legally relevant, but a judge would likely prohibit it being offered into evidence because of its prejudicial effect on a jury. However, it would be advisable to keep it available to counter possible defenses.

So for all of the lawyers out there, just be glad the dead do not keep coming back to life with new bodies after being killed a second time.

The Trial of Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars with Special Guest Judge Matthew Sciarrino

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Josh Gilliland

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March 4, 2013

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Judge Matthew Sciarrino joined Jessica and Josh for a special video and podcast on The Clone Wars and the trial of Ahsoka Tano.

Quantum Leap & A History of The Right to Counsel

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Josh Gilliland

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October 17, 2012

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Jessica Mederson & Josh Gilliland discuss the classic show Quantum Leap & the episode “So Help Me God.” The Legal Geeks review case law from the 1930s to 1960s on the 6th Amendment Right to Counsel and 5th Amendment Right Against Self-Incrimination.

No part of this recording should be considered legal advice.