Glannon Guide: Felony Murder and Misdemeanor Manslaughter Flashcards
What are the rationales for felony murder?
1) it gives added incentive to felons not to participate in felonies or at least to be extra careful in their commission
2) it vindicates society’s additional calls for retribution when a death occurs.
3) it eases the prosecutions burden of proving malice in cases in which the defendant probably did act in callous disregard of human life, but it may be difficult to prove.
Criticism of Felony murder?
1) a person cannot be deterred from committing an accidental act. 2) the rule reflects a “bad luck” principle that punishes defendants who just have the bad luck of having someone unexpectedly die during their commission of a felony 3) culpability of murder should be tied to a defendant’s mens rea 4) prosecutors do not need assistance in homicide prosecutions, especially given the statistical evidence shows that homicides occur in felonies at a much lower rate than expected and when death occurs there is usually evidence of the defendants reckless intent.
CL felony murder based on big six felonies?
Burglary, Rape, Kidnapping, Robbery, Arson, Mayhem.
HYPO: Katie is desperate for money. Her son, whom she adores, wants to go to camp with his friends. However, Katie does not have the money to send him. She decides to get the money she needs by buying insurance on an old boat her family has and surreptiously burning it to collect the insurance proceeds. Believing her son is at school, Katie foes down to the empty lot where the boat is kept. She looks around to make sure no one is nearby and then lights the boat on fire. After the boat is destroyed, she is horrified to discover her son skipped school that day and was hiding out in the boat with his friends. The friends survived her child died.
Under the felony-murder rule, Katie is
A. guilty of murder b/c she acted with callous disregard for human life.
B. guilty of murder b/c she should have realized her son could have been hiding in the boat.
C. guilty of murder b/c her son died during her commission of a felony.
D. guilty of involuntary manslaughter b/c a reasonable person would have realized that there is always a risk of harm when one sets a fire.
E. not guilty b/c she never intends to harm another person.
C is correct b/c a death occurred during the commission of a felony.
Inherently dangerous felonies: Barbara is an ex felon. She has been convicted of mail fraud for trying to sell fake gems to unwitting buyers. The police get worried that Barbara is back to her old tricks. Therefore, they get a search warrant for her home to see if she has set up another mailing operation to solicit buyers for the fake gems. While executing the warrant, an officer trips over something sticking out of the couch. As it turns out, Barbara has placed a loaded shotgun under her couch to protect her from intruders. The gun goes off and kills the officer. Barbara is charged with murder.
Under the felony murder doctrine, Barbara
A. cannot be guilty b/c mail fraud is not an inherently dangerous felony
B. cannot be guilty b/c she never intended to harm the officer
C. is guilty b/c the felony of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm is inherently dangerous in the abstract
D. is guilty b/c the felony of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm was inherently dangerous as committed.
D is the correct answer.
independent limitation felony
the underlying felony is an integral part of homicide itself, the felony murder doctrine is not applied. To use the felony-murder doctrine, there must be a separate purpose for punishing the underlying felony.
ex. prosecutors cannot charge a defendant with assault with intent to kill a felony murder b/c prosecutors could not use the assault with intent to kill as the underlying felony for their felony murder charge
- prosecutors have to prove intent to kill anyway, so it doesn’t make sense to excuse them from proving intent to kill for the murder
- assaulting someone with intent to kill is just a step toward killing them.
merger doctrine hypo: Jeanette is charged with felony murder for the death of her husband. The underlying felony for the felony-murder charge is the charge is poisoning. It seems that Jeanette was caught lacing her husband’s dinner with arsenic. Poisoning is defined as “willfully ad ministering a toxic substance to another person with the purpose of causing grave illness or death.” In those jurisdictions that require that the felony supporting a felony murder doctrine be an independent felony, Jeannette is likely to be
A. not charged with felony murder b/c poisoning is an independent felony.
B. not charged with felony murder b/c only burglary, robbery, rape, kidnapping, and mayhem may serve as the basis for a felony murder.
C. not charged with felony murder b/c poisoning is not an independent felony.
D. charged with felony murder.
C. is the correct answer b/c felony of poisoning is not independent. Rather it merges into the crime of murder.
application of felony murder doctrine during a commission of the felony hypo: Myra and Margo have plans to kidnap a wealthy businessman, Douglas, and told him for ransom. After his business closes, Myra and Margo force Douglas into the trunk of their car. They drive him to a remote location and call his wife. Myra and Margo tell his wife, Lori, to leave $100,000 for them at a designated storage locker, and not to call the police. Lori complies. Douglas is then released and returns home. About a week later, Douglas is so stressed about his ordeal that he has a heart attack and dies. Myra and Margo are apprehended a week thereafter.
If Myra and Margo are charged with felony murder, they will most likely.
A. be convicted b/c they kidnapped Douglas and caused his stress.
B. be convicted b/c they acted with gross recklessness when they kidnapped Douglas
C. be acquitted b/c Douglas was never in danger
D. be acquitted b/c Douglas’s death did not occur during the commission of a felony.
D is the correct answer b/c the death did not occur during the commission of the felony.
felony murder causation hypo: Manny, Mo, and Jack decide to burn down Jack’s dilapidated warehouse to collect the insurance proceeds. At the time they plan to burn it down, they don’t realize that two homeless persons (Lou & Larry) have taken shelter in the warehouse. Manny, Mo, and Jack set the warehouse on fire and the structure starts to burn. Firefighters and police respond to an emergency call about the fire. Lou perishes in the fire. However Larry and Jack are killed when the police accidentally shoot them during their gun battle to apprehend Manny and Mo at the scene.
in this jurisdiction, felony murder applies for the death of innocent persons. If Manny, and Mo are charged with the death of Lou, Larry, and Jack, which of the following is true?
A. in n agency jurisdiction, they are automatically guilty of felony murder for the deaths of all three victims.
B. In an agency jurisdiction, they are automatically guilty of the felony murder of Lou and Larry.
C. In a proximate cause jurisdictions, they are automatically guilty of felony murder of all three victims
D.in a proximate cause jurisdiction, they are automatically guilty of felony murder of Lou only.
E. None of the above.
E.
provocative act doctrine hypo:Mike and Ben, are members of the Clips gang, steal a car while an innocent passenger is in the backseat of the car. During the carjacking, Ben and Mike are spotted by the police. Mike starts shooting at the police as Ben tries to speed away. The police shoot back. During the chase, the police accidentally shoot the passenger in the back of the car. Mike and Ben are charged with murder.
Assume that the case is charged in a jurisdiction that uses the agency theory of felony murder. Are Mike and Ben guilty of murder?
A. yes, b/c of the felony-murder doctrine
B. Yes, b/c of the provocative act doctrine
C. No, b/c the police shot the victim
D. No, b/c only Mike acted with malice
E. none of the above
B is correct when Mike started shooting at the police, he created an atmosphere of malice that led to the victim’s death. This is the scenario anticipated by the proactive act doctrine.
MPC approach to felony murder: Walter breaks into Felipe’s home late at night to steal his priceless painting. He does not bring a weapon b/c he does not want to hurt anyone. He just wants the painting. Hearing his window break, Felipe gets up to investigate. Although it is clear that Walter is not carrying a weapon, Felipe is so startled when he sees Walter that he has a heart attack and dies.
Walter is charged with murder. He is most likely
A. guilty under the common law and Model Penal Code approaches to felony murder.
B. not guilty under the common law approach to felony murder, but guilty under the MPC approach
C. not guilty under the MPC approach to felony murder, but guilty under the CL approach
D. not guilty under the MPC and CL approaches to felony murder.
C is the best answer.
