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Criminal Law Keyed to LaFave
Burrage v. United States
Citation:
571 U.S. 204 (2014)Facts
Joshua Banka, a long-time drug user, died on April 15, 2010, following an extended drug binge. The day before his death, Banka smoked marijuana, stole and injected oxycodone pills, and then purchased heroin from Marcus Burrage. Banka injected some of the heroin immediately and more later that night and early morning. When Banka’s wife woke up, she found him dead and called 911. A search of their home and car revealed various drugs including heroin, alprazolam, clonazepam, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. At trial, two medical experts testified regarding Banka’s death. Dr. Schwilke, a forensic toxicologist, determined that multiple drugs were present in Banka’s system, with morphine (a heroin metabolite) being the only one above therapeutic range. He concluded that heroin was a “contributing factor” to Banka’s death but could not say whether Banka would have lived had he not taken the heroin. Similarly, Dr. McLemore, a medical examiner, described the cause of death as “mixed drug intoxication” with heroin playing a “contributing” role, but could not definitively state that Banka would have died without the heroin.
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