With the information below, how would you write a Motion Memorandum?

Scenario:Lisa (wife) was out to dinner with her friends when Jimmy (husband) started to text Lisa threatening her she needed to come home and was not allowed to be out late. When Lisa got home, Jimmy immediately started an argument which lead to a physical altercation. It is known by the local county authorities that Jimmy has repeatedly shown extreme threats of violence towards his wife, Lisa, after the consumption of alcohol. On this evening, Jimmy had been drinking and knocked Lisa off her chair and onto the floor while continuing to kick her repeatedly. Jimmy then proceeded to pick her up by the hair and began hitting her with his gun. Lisa then got up the strength to overtake the gun and in self-defense, tried to scare and/or minorly injure Jimmy to break free from his abuse. Amid firing the gun to scare away Jimmy, she shot several bullets resulting in one going through their sliding glass door and hitting her neighbor, Charles who was enjoying the nice summer night on the deck. Charles' wife Eleanor found him lying on the deck with a pool of blood surrounding him and frantically called the police. The police raced over immediately to investigate and found the bullet that came from the direction of Lisa and Jimmy's house. They went to the house to question the couple and noticed that Jimmy was belligerent in Lisa's face, and Lisa had a gun in her hand trying to get Jimmy away from her. The officer saw that Jimmy did suffer from a bullet to the foot with no other serious injuries noted. Lisa was taken into custody and questioned about the altercation; she was then charged with manslaughter.

What legal issues are at hand?

• Whether Lisa is criminally liable for accidentally shooting Charles?
• Whether Lisa can invoke the defense of self-defense and accident?

What are Lisa's rights when it comes to self-defense leading to wrongful death?

• Lisa has the right to invoke self-defense as a defense in the manslaughter charge against her
• Lisa had the right to protect and defend herself from harm/injury by virtue of the unlawful aggression exerted on her by her husband, otherwise, her life and safety will be compromised

Will Lisa be able to fight her manslaughter charge? Will Lisa win or lose the case?

Under 3.04(1) of The Model Penal Code, self-defense is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such another person on the present occasion.

To determine whether Lisa can claim self-defense, the following elements of self-defense should be attendant and proven in this case, wit:

• unprovoked attack;
• the threat of injury or death was imminent;
• the degree of force used in self-defense was objectively reasonable under the circumstances; and
• the defendant had an objectively reasonable fear that he or she was going to be injured or killed unless he or she used self-defense.

Apart from self-defense and in relation thereto, accidental killing or involuntary manslaughter may be raised by Lisa as a defense in accidentally killing Charles when she was defending herself. The elements of accidental killing (or involuntary manslaughter) are the following:

• The defendant's actions caused the death of another person;
• The defendant's actions were inherently dangerous or done with reckless disregard; and.
• The defendant knew or should have known that their actions would put the lives of another human being at risk.

From the case, the elements of self-defense and accidental killing are not all attendant.

In the case of self-defense, there was an unprovoked attack from Lisa's husband, and such an attack is accompanied by a threat of injury or death. Lisa had an objectively reasonable feat that she will be injured and killed by her husband, as evidenced by the previous encounters she had with her husband. However, the degree of force she used in self-defense, although reasonable under the circumstances, she failed to exercise that degree of care/diligence towards others considering that they are in a neighborhood.

This goes the same with the elements of accidental killing, the defendant's actions were inherently dangerous and were clearly done with reckless disregard.

What possible lawsuits are there in this situation?

• Murder
• Manslaughter
• Misdemeanor

What cases are closely related to Lisa's? What was the outcome of that case?

• Morris v. Platt: The court ruled for a new trial where the jury was to decide of the verdict of the defendant.
• Cook v. Hunt: The jury reached a verdict and ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Defendant was not able to substantiate his claim of self-defense.
• Shaw v. Lord: The court ruled for a new trial where the jury was to decide of the verdict of the defendant.