Denver Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca Tweets ‘solidarity’ for spreading coronavirus at Trump rallies

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

It's a free country, eh?

 

https://noqreport.com/2020/03/03/denver-councilwoman-candi-cdebaca-tweets-solidarity-for-spreading-coronavirus-at-trump-rallies/

[Dashinka 24,597]

Kind of sick.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

Used her government account? Can we thus assume this is the position of the Denver City Council? I would think that might hurt tourism, hope she is true to her conviction, at that point I would think she could be charged with attempted murder for wanton disregard

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

And I thought all the edgelords were on 4chan.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

59 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

hope she is true to her conviction, at that point I would think she could be charged with attempted murder for wanton disregard

That's not how it works. That's not how any of it works.

 

An "attempt" has a specific definition. A criminal attempt is an act that, although done with the intention of committing a crime, falls short of completing the crime. An attempt therefore consists of two elements: (i) a specific intent to commit the crime, and (ii) an overt act in furtherance of that intent. 

 

So! She would need to have the specific intent to commit murder. Here's where things get a bit granular -- while the mens rea for murder doesn't require the specific intent to kill another human being, the mens rea for attempted murder does. So, CdeBaca would need to specifically intend that she (? unclear, she's just retweeting, but for the sake of this hypothetical, let's assume it's her) attend Trump rallies with the intent to kill attendees. 

 

Now we have another problem -- it is logically impossible to commit a crime that requires recklessness or negligence. There is a strong argument to be made that since the coronavirus has a mortality rate of, what, 1-2% (who knows!), and that the majority of people who get the virus just get sick, that the possibility that someone might die as a result of contracting the virus is a reckless act at best. There is no indication that CdeBaca intends that death result from her (hypothetical) attendance at a rally. So, attempted murder isn't an appropriate charge.

 

Beyond that, there needs to be an overt act in furtherance of the attempted crime. Modernly, this means a substantial step taken to end in the commission of the target crime. A tweet expressing solidarity with the idea of getting the coronavirus in order to attend a Trump rally is not a substantial step, nor is a tweet expressing the desire to do so oneself. There needs to be some act taken that goes beyond mere words. Again, this cannot be shown here.

 

Then we get onto the issue of wanton disregard. As stated above, one cannot be charged with attempted murder for wanton disregard of human life. While wanton disregard -- so-called "depraved heart recklessness" -- is one of the forms of mens rea that can support a charge of murder, it is insufficient to support a charge of attempted murder. There must be a specific intent to kill another human being.

 

Now, we may charge her in the court of public opinion for being crass. I'm cool with that.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Involuntary manslaughter then.  Court adjourned.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

55 minutes ago, elmcitymaven said:

That's not how it works. That's not how any of it works.

 

An "attempt" has a specific definition. A criminal attempt is an act that, although done with the intention of committing a crime, falls short of completing the crime. An attempt therefore consists of two elements: (i) a specific intent to commit the crime, and (ii) an overt act in furtherance of that intent. 

 

So! She would need to have the specific intent to commit murder. Here's where things get a bit granular -- while the mens rea for murder doesn't require the specific intent to kill another human being, the mens rea for attempted murder does. So, CdeBaca would need to specifically intend that she (? unclear, she's just retweeting, but for the sake of this hypothetical, let's assume it's her) attend Trump rallies with the intent to kill attendees. 

 

Now we have another problem -- it is logically impossible to commit a crime that requires recklessness or negligence. There is a strong argument to be made that since the coronavirus has a mortality rate of, what, 1-2% (who knows!), and that the majority of people who get the virus just get sick, that the possibility that someone might die as a result of contracting the virus is a reckless act at best. There is no indication that CdeBaca intends that death result from her (hypothetical) attendance at a rally. So, attempted murder isn't an appropriate charge.

 

Beyond that, there needs to be an overt act in furtherance of the attempted crime. Modernly, this means a substantial step taken to end in the commission of the target crime. A tweet expressing solidarity with the idea of getting the coronavirus in order to attend a Trump rally is not a substantial step, nor is a tweet expressing the desire to do so oneself. There needs to be some act taken that goes beyond mere words. Again, this cannot be shown here.

 

Then we get onto the issue of wanton disregard. As stated above, one cannot be charged with attempted murder for wanton disregard of human life. While wanton disregard -- so-called "depraved heart recklessness" -- is one of the forms of mens rea that can support a charge of murder, it is insufficient to support a charge of attempted murder. There must be a specific intent to kill another human being.

 

Now, we may charge her in the court of public opinion for being crass. I'm cool with that.

Thanks for the clarification, although my premise was if she did contract the virus and went with intent to expose others.

 

Good thing I am in IT and not law, I would be the lawyer constantly in contempt

[TBoneTX 45,536]

Wanna know when and how the tortfeasin' figgers in, and how heterodox...