LAW 702SEM - Causation, Mens Rea, Assisting Suicide

Courts and legislatures have struggled mightily with whether and to what extent to criminalize assistance to suicide. The issue has become particularly pressing in an age when cyberbullying increasingly leads to teenage suicide. This course will explore perplexing questions that arise in this context, including: (1) whether inciting suicide should ever be punished as homicide, (2) whether the victim’s voluntary decision to commit suicide should preclude liability for the resulting harm, (3) whether there is a morally and legally relevant distinction between verbally inciting and physically assisting suicide, and (4) whether the principles for criminalizing assistance to suicide should mirror the rules that make accomplices liable for assisting the wrongful acts of others.

Credits: 1