Later Death Always Allows Murder Trial
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
14625_private_retreat_felony_murder · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice Bcorrect, because he was convicted of the assault charge.
Why it's attractive
Student sees prior conviction and thinks prior punishment triggers double jeopardy.
Why it's wrong
Assault conviction is not the dispositive predicate-acquittal fact.
Spot it next time
Ask which prior count the felony-murder theory must prove.
14625_private_retreat_felony_murder · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice Cincorrect, because Lydia had not died at the time of the first trial and he was not placed in jeopardy for murder.
Why it's attractive
Student knows the victim had not died at the first trial and stops at the later-death homicide rule.
Why it's wrong
Later-death homicide rule is the adjacent trap; it does not allow relitigation of the acquitted predicate.
Spot it next time
Apply the Gold Key: later death does not allow relitigating an acquitted predicate.
14625_private_retreat_felony_murder · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice Dincorrect, because he was convicted of the assault charge.
Why it's attractive
Student treats the assault conviction as permission to proceed and ignores the acquitted predicate.
Why it's wrong
Assault conviction is the wrong count and does not answer the attempted-rape predicate problem.
Spot it next time
Separate assault conviction from attempted rape acquittal.
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