{"id":660,"date":"2012-04-17T15:59:28","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T19:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.miblaw.com\/lawschool\/?p=660"},"modified":"2012-04-19T14:29:01","modified_gmt":"2012-04-19T18:29:01","slug":"keeler-v-superior-court-2-cal-3d-619","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.miblaw.com\/lawschool\/keeler-v-superior-court-2-cal-3d-619\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeler v. Superior Court, 2 Cal. 3d 619 (1970)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Case Name: <\/strong>Keeler v. Superior Court
\nCitation: <\/strong>2 Cal. 3d 619 (1970)<\/p>\n

Facts: <\/strong>Keeler kneed his wife in the stomach to purposefully kill her fetus.<\/p>\n

Issue: <\/strong>Whether the fetus, which would have been viable outside the womb, can be considered a \u201chuman being\u201d for purposes of the California Penal Code.<\/p>\n

Defendant\u2019s argument: <\/strong>A fetus does not fall within the meaning of a \u201chuman being\u201d when looking at legislative history. Furthermore:
\n1) The power to define a crime is a legislative function (the court exercised judicial enlargement which is a violation of the separation of powers), and
\n2) Due Process requires a fair warning and the government cannot enact an ex post facto law
\n– It is \u201cunforeseeable\u201d to consider a fetus a human being<\/p>\n

State\u2019s argument: <\/strong>The fetus was viable outside of the womb and should be considered a \u201chuman being\u201d and it is within the judicial interpretation power to state this.<\/p>\n

Holding: <\/strong> <\/strong>The judicial enlargement of the criminal statute was not foreseeable by the defendant and \u201cits adoption at this time would deny him due process of law.\u201d We require more specificity when you are at risk of losing your personal liberty.<\/p>\n

Dissent: <\/strong>We should interpret the term \u201chuman being\u201d with today\u2019s medical science. The legislature used a broad term, \u201chuman being,\u201d (as opposed to \u201cone who has been born alive\u201d). Also, the fact that California courts have not had this same question does not render the judgment \u201cunforeseeable.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Case Name: Keeler v. Superior Court Citation: 2 Cal. 3d 619 (1970) Facts: Keeler kneed his wife in the stomach to purposefully kill her fetus. Issue: Whether the fetus, which would have been viable outside the womb, can be considered a \u201chuman being\u201d for purposes of the California Penal Code. Defendant\u2019s argument: A fetus does … <\/p>\n

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