Also known as: unlawful acts · illegal act
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct that is not authorized by law or that violates a civil or criminal prohibition.
Una Unger, a city bus driver, became irritated with a passenger who refused to move. She deliberately slammed the brakes and jerked the bus forward, violating a minor traffic ordinance. The standing passenger fell, struck his head, and died from the resulting injuries. The death occurred during commission of the unlawful act.
Usman Uddin agreed with an insurance adjuster to stage a warehouse fire and split the fraudulent payout. Uddin then purchased extra flammable materials and moved old stock into one corner to prepare for the staged fire. These steps constituted an unlawful act in furtherance of the agreement even though the fire never occurred.
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Uma Underwood and Uriel Urban agreed to burn down a building that had already been demolished the previous week. They purchased accelerants and scouted the site anyway. The agreement and intent to commit the unlawful act established conspiracy liability despite factual impossibility.
Uma Upadhyay conducted unauthorized securities sales sessions that violated felony securities laws. When confronted by a colleague, she slapped his phone away and shoved him in violation of a minor assault statute. The colleague fell into a glass partition and died from lacerations caused by the unlawful act.
Una Ueda confronted a graduate student over suspected plagiarism and locked the lab door. She seized an extension cord, wrapped it around the student's neck, and pulled forcefully. The student died from asphyxiation during commission of the unlawful battery.
Ulysses Maritime's producer approved a live forklift stunt without required licenses or permits. The operator lacked a special license and no barriers separated runners from the machinery. A contestant died when a forklift struck him during the unlawful activity.
Yes. At common law an unintentional killing during commission of an unlawful act that does not amount to a felony constitutes involuntary manslaughter under the unlawful-act theory. A deliberate violation of a traffic-safety ordinance that proximately causes death satisfies the requirement.
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Yes. When a death results from a felony outside the felony-murder rule, the killing constitutes at least involuntary manslaughter if the death is a foreseeable consequence of the felony.
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Most courts require either that the misdemeanor be malum in se or, if malum prohibitum, that the death be a foreseeable or natural consequence of the unlawful conduct.
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No. At common law a defendant may not invoke factual impossibility as a defense to conspiracy because the agreement and intent to commit the unlawful act remain sufficient for guilt.
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…that such funds be used, or with the knowledge that such funds are to be used, in full or in part, in order to carry out” other unlawful acts). Congress enacted §2339A in 1994 and §2339C in 2002. See §120005(a), 108 Stat. 2022 (§2339A); §202(a), 116 Stat. 724 (§2339C). Yet Congress did not import the intent language of those…