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State v. Sophophone
Before reading Sophopone, consider the following questions:
1. Hypo: D and A rob a bank together; during the robbery, A’s gun goes off accidentally, killing a bystander. Is D guilty of felony murder under the common law? (Consider NYPL § 20.00, which restates a common law rule for vicarious liability).
2. Would D be guilty of felony murder in New York? What additional information would you need to determine whether D is guilty of felony murder in New York? (Examine NYPL 125.25(3) carefully.
As you read Sophophone, consider the following questions:
3. What homicide charge was brought against Sophophone? What did Sophophone do? Who was killed? Who did the killing? What is the court’s holding?
4. What is the difference between the “agency approach” and the “proximate causation” approach? What are the policy reasons for adopting one approach or the other?
5. New York follows the “proximate causation” approach. Would Sophophone be guilty of felony murder in New York? Why not? What are the policy reasons behind New York's limitation felony murder to the death of someone "other than one of the participants"?
6. What if Sysoumphone (Sophophone’s accomplice) had killed the police officer (rather than the other way around)? Would Sophophone be guilty of felony murder in that scenario under Kansas law? Would Sophophone been guilty of felony murder in that scenario under New York law?
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