Accomplice Needs To Fire
This trap appears as a wrong-answer choice in 1 active question. Spotting how it is built is the repair: read each example's “why it's attractive” before the “why it's wrong.”
Subject distribution
- Criminal Law1
Example wrong choices
14680_christian_bookstore_ricochet · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice BRuth can be convicted of murder, but Peter cannot be convicted of either murder or manslaughter.
Why it's attractive
It keeps the intuitive shooter result and isolates the non-shooter as if firing the fatal shot were required. The breaker is that accomplice liability can make the armed partner liable for the foreseeable killing.
Why it's wrong
Denies Peter's liability even though the homicide was a foreseeable result of the armed robbery he aided.
Spot it next time
Ask whether the homicide was a foreseeable result of the armed robbery Peter helped carry out.
14680_christian_bookstore_ricochet · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice CNeither Peter nor Ruth can be guilty of murder, but both can be convicted of manslaughter based upon an unintentional homicide.
Why it's attractive
It sounds humane because nobody meant to hit the customer. The breaker is that implied malice can turn an unintentional killing into murder.
Why it's wrong
Treats lack of intent to kill as manslaughter-only, missing implied malice.
Spot it next time
Ask whether firing a loaded gun into a crowded place shows depraved indifference to human life.
14680_christian_bookstore_ricochet · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice DRuth can be convicted only of manslaughter, but Peter cannot be convicted of murder or manslaughter.
Why it's attractive
It treats manslaughter as the default whenever the shooter lacked intent to kill. The breaker is that no intent to kill and no direct shot by the partner do not defeat murder liability here.
Why it's wrong
Requires intent to kill or direct firing where common-law murder and accomplice liability do not require them.
Spot it next time
Use the Silver Key: solve the mental-state issue and the accomplice issue before choosing.
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