Homicide MCQs
Homicide MCQs
Try to answer these 80+ Homicide MCQs and check your understanding of the Homicide subject.
Scroll down and let's begin!
1: A homicide committed in a heinous or atrocious fashion qualifies as ______
A. Manslaughter and arson
B. An aggravated homicide and capital murder
C. Misdemeanor and petty theft
D. Capital murder and manslaughter
2: All of the following are considered typical aggravation circumstances of murder EXCEPT ______.
A. The defendant is an escaped convict
B. The victim was an ethnic minority
C. The victim was a juvenile
D. The act was a murder for hire
3: Nolo contendre is the act of homicide with reckless indifference.
A. True
B. False
4: A woman is robbed at gunpoint; when she screamed for help her assailant shot and killed her. It turns out that she was five months pregnant, although she was only just beginning to show. According to the laws in most states, can the robber be charged with both the murder of the woman and her unborn child?
A. Yes, at five months the fetus is viable and thus is legally considered “a person.”
B. Yes, in such a situation a fetus is always considered “a person” regardless of the stage of pregnancy.
C. No, he reasonably did not know she was pregnant.
D. No, in such a situation a fetus is never considered “a person” regardless of the stage of pregnancy.
5: The grading of homicide is based upon ______.
A. The reason for the homicide
B. Intent
C. Weapon use
D. Criminal type
6: The brain death test has been adopted by a majority of states to determine when death occurs.
A. True
B. False
7: Not every state has some form of a vehicular manslaughter law.
A. True
B. False
8: A woman walks into a bank and stands in line for a teller. When she walks up to the teller she pulls out a gun and informs the teller that this is a robbery. An elderly man standing in line next to her looks over and upon seeing the gun he has a heart attack and drops over, dead. Can the woman be held responsible for the elderly man's death?
A. Yes, she should have anticipated the man and his heart condition
B. Yes, it is reasonable to assume the shock of seeing the gun caused his heart attack
C. No, she could not have anticipated that scenario
D. No, she had absolutely nothing to do with the man’s death
9: All of the following are justifiable uses of homicide except ______.
A. Defense of home
B. Defense of property
C. Defense of others
D. Defense of self
10: A widowed mother has been dating a man for a few months. Her son tearfully tells her that the boyfriend has been “hurting” him. When she asks for details, her son essentially tells her that he has been secretly, but rather severely beating her son. The mother confronts her boyfriend about these allegations and his response is basically “yeah, I did it; so what?” The mother cannot believe her ears and in a fit of rage pulls a firearm from her vehicle next to her and kills him. Which classification of homicide most closely fits the mother's crime?
A. First-degree murder
B. Second-degree murder
C. Voluntary manslaughter
D. Involuntary manslaughter
11: If a corporation is found guilty of corporate murder the most likely punishment is imprisonment for the entire board of directors and managers who performed or approved of the conduct in question.
A. True
B. False
12: Two men get into a bar fight which spills out into the street. Both men are drunk. One man insults the otherʼs sister. The second man, taking the insult to his sister's honor rather personally, pulls a .45 revolver out of his coat pocket, shoots the man, and kills him. Which classifications of homicide most closely fits the second man's crime?
A. First-degree murder
B. Second-degree murder
C. Voluntary manslaughter
D. Involuntary manslaughter
13: A young college student attends a local renaissance fair where he purchases a sharpened, replica claymore (large, two-handed sword). While waiting for the subway to take home, he decides to practice his swordsmanship. The other waiting passengers step back and watch his clumsy swordplay with amusement. However, one passenger is not paying attention and when the student brings the sword back behind him for a large swing he accidentally decapitates the passenger. Which classification of homicide most closely fits the student’s crime?
A. First-degree murder
B. Second-degree murder
C. Voluntary manslaughter
D. Involuntary manslaughter
14: The law holds that a provocatory act is sufficient to downgrade a homicide to manslaughter if it would provoke ______.
A. Any person
B. A reasonable person
C. The defendant
D. The authorities
15: A man comes home to find his wife cheating on him. In a rage he takes his aggression out suddenly on the other man. The husband beats the man until he is dead. A jury may find the husband guilty of ______
A. Involuntary manslaughter
B. Voluntary manslaughter
C. Crime of passion
D. Misdemeanor manslaughter
16: State capital murder or aggravated murder statutes typically reserve death for premeditated killings with the presence of various aggravated factors or special circumstances.
A. True
B. False
17: ______ is also known as murder in the heat of passion.
A. Voluntary manslaughter
B. Second-degree murder
C. First-degree murder
D. Involuntary manslaughter
18: An example of negligence is when a defendant pours gasoline through the mail slot of the victim’s house and sets the gasoline on fire, killing two of the victim’s children.
A. True
B. False
19: Which of the following is not a requirement for mens rea of first-degree murder?
A. Deliberation
B. Premeditation
C. Malice
D. Randomness
20: The defense of sudden heat of passion is still available if a reasonable person’s passion would have cooled off between the time of the provocation and the time of the killing.
A. True
B. False
21: ______ means that a defendant must have been personally aware that his or her conduct created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm.
A. Recklessness
B. Negligence
C. Involuntariness
D. Voluntariness
22: ______ is the killing of another during the commission of a crime that does not amount to a felony.
A. Felony manslaughter
B. Felony murder
C. Misdemeanor murder
D. Misdemeanor manslaughter
23: Some courts do not clearly state whether they require negligence or recklessness.
A. True
B. False
24: An unintentional killing that results from an unlawful act not amounting to a felony is termed misdemeanor manslaughter.
A. True
B. False
25: According to the common law, the fetus has to be viable for the defendant to be liable for murder.
A. True
B. False
26: _____ is defined as a felon is liable for a murder committed by a co-felon.
A. Warn on drugs
B. None of these
C. Agency theory of felony murder
D. Warn on cars
27: _____ is known as factors that permit the application of the death penalty under a capital murder statute, including an offender’s prior record, nature of the offense, and identity of the victim.
A. Aggravating factors
B. Binding authority
C. All of these
D. Voluntary
28: Is brain death test the irreversible function of all brain functions is the point at which an individual is legally dead?
A. True
B. False
29: Is capital murder heinous, atrocious, and cruel killing of another. This is punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment and in non–capital punishment states by life imprisonment. Also referred to in some states as aggravated murder?
A. False
B. True
30: _____ is the point at which an individual who has been provoked no longer is acting in response to an act of provocation.
A. None of these
B. Cooling of blood
C. Property
D. Public threats
31: _____ is defined as a “body of crime” or “substance of the crime.”
A. Corpus delicti
B. Money laundering
C. Retreat to the wall
D. None of these
32: _____ is known as all homicides that are neither justified nor excused.
A. Criminal homicide
B. Environmental crimes
C. All of these
D. Health fraud
33: Is depraved heart murder killing as a result of extreme recklessness and wanton unconcern and indifference to human life with malice aforethought?
A. False
B. True
34: _____ is individuals are relieved of criminal liability based on lack of criminal intent. This includes insanity, infancy, and intoxication.
A. None of these
B. Stoning
C. Excusable homicide
D. Hanging
35: _____ is defined as allows the jury to determine whether an ordinary person in the actor’s situation would have killed in a heat of passion.
A. Custody
B. None of these
C. Extreme emotional disturbance (EED)
D. Asportation
36: _____ is known as a killing committed during the commission of a felony.
A. Fourth Amendment
B. Model Penal Code
C. None of these
D. Felony murder
37: Is first-degree murder intentional and premeditated murder with malice aforethought?
A. False
B. True
38: _____ is the categorization of homicide in accordance with the “moral blameworthiness” of the perpetrator.
A. Knowing
B. Grading
C. None of these
D. Mere
39: _____ is defined as acting in response to adequate provocation.
A. State v. Dlugash (1977)
B. All of these
C. Commonwealth v. McCloskey (1975)
D. Heat of passion
40: _____ is known as a killing committed with the purpose of causing serious physical injury.
A. Assault.
B. Theft.
C. Intent-to-do-serious-bodily-harm murder
D. All of these
41: Is involuntary manslaughter killing of another as a result of gross negligence or recklessness or during the commission of an unlawful act?
A. True
B. False
42: _____ is murder is justified under the circumstances. This includes self-defense, police use of deadly force, and the death penalty.
A. None of these
B. Justifiable homicide
C. Promotion of the enemy
D. Levy of war against
43: _____ is defined as an intent to kill with ill will and hatred. This may be express or implied.
A. All of these
B. Malice aforethought
C. Knowingly
D. Crime where there will be no charge.
44: _____ is known as killing of another without malice aforethought and without excuse or justification.
A. We should address the small concerns before they develop into large-scale problems.
B. Dilapidated houses bring crime to the property.
C. Manslaughter
D. All of these
45: Is misdemeanor manslaughter killing during the course of a misdemeanor punished as involuntary manslaughter?
A. False
B. True
46: _____ is factors that may reduce or moderate the sentence of a defendant convicted at trial.
A. All of these
B. Mitigating circumstances
C. Infamous crimes
D. Custody
47: _____ is defined as killing of another with malice aforethought and without excuse or justification.
A. Murder
B. All of these
C. Felony
D. Defiant
48: _____ is known as negligent manslaughter arises when an individual commits an act that he or she is unaware creates a high degree of risk of human injury or death under circumstances in which a reasonable person would have been aware of the threat.
A. Pump and dump
B. Negligent manslaughter
C. All of these
D. Mail
49: Is premeditation and deliberation the standard for first-degree murder involving planning and reflecting on a killing. Premeditation may occur instantaneously?
A. True
B. False
50: _____ is a felon is liable for all foreseeable results of the felony.
A. Capital punishment
B. Proximate cause theory of felony murder
C. All of these
D. Racial desegregation
List of Homicide MCQs Multiple...
Available in:
Homicide MCQs
