313: Spotlight on Criminal Law (Part 3)

Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! This is the final installment of the summary of Criminal Law topics we've covered in our "Listen and Learn" series. Today, we're reviewing crimes against the person, the felony murder rule, and accomplice liability. We also address the complex scenarios that are likely to show up on the bar exam and offer a strategy for analyzing criminal law questions.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Assault and battery: key distinctions
• False imprisonment and kidnapping
• The felony murder rule
• Accomplice liability
• Strategy for approaching criminal law questions on the bar exam

Resources:

• Private Bar Exam Tutoring (https://barexamtoolbox.com/private-bar-exam-tutoring/)
• Podcast Episode 307: Listen and Learn – Crimes Against the Person (Part 1) (https://barexamtoolbox.com/podcast-episode-307-listen-and-learn-crimes-against-the-person-part-1/)
• Podcast Episode 308: Listen and Learn – Crimes Against the Person (Part 2) (https://barexamtoolbox.com/podcast-episode-308-listen-and-learn-crimes-against-the-person-part-2/)
• Podcast Episode 309: Listen and Learn – Felony Murder and Causation (Criminal Law) (https://barexamtoolbox.com/podcast-episode-309-listen-and-learn-felony-murder-and-causation-criminal-law/)
• Podcast Episode 310: Listen and Learn – Accomplice Liability (Criminal Law) (https://barexamtoolbox.com/podcast-episode-310-listen-and-learn-accomplice-liability-criminal-law/)

Download the Transcript
(https://barexamtoolbox.com/episode-313-spotlight-on-criminal-law-part-3/)

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Thanks for listening!

Alison & Lee

Episode Transcript

Lee Burgess (00:01):
Welcome to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast.
Today, we have the third partof our substantive spotlight
series on criminal law.
Your Bar Exam Toolbox hosts are AlisonMonahan and Lee Burgess, that's me.
We're here to demystify the barexam experience, so you can study
effectively, stay sane, and hopefullypass and move on with your life.
We're the co-creators of the Law SchoolToolbox, the Bar Exam Toolbox, and the

(00:24):
career-related website CareerDicta.
Alison also runs TheGirl's Guide to Law School.
If you enjoy the show, please leavea review on your favorite listening
app, and check out our sister podcast,the Law School Toolbox podcast.
If you have any questions, don'thesitate to reach out to us.
You can reach us via the contactform on BarExamToolbox.com,
and we'd love to hear from you.
And with that, let's get started.

(00:52):
Welcome back.
I'm Lee Burgess and this is thefinal installment of our substantive
spotlight on criminal law.
We've covered the elements ofcrimes - homicide, property
crimes, and inchoate offenses.
Today we are tackling crimes againstthe person and diving into those
complex scenarios that bar examinerslove to throw at you - the ones with

(01:12):
multiple defendants, messy causationissues, and overlapping crimes that
make you question your life choices.
So let's start with crimes againstthe person, beyond homicide.
These are the bread and butter ofcriminal law practice, and they appear
repeatedly on exams because they test theboundaries between different offenses.
First up is assault and battery- the dynamic duo that's often

(01:35):
confused, but quite distinct.
As we explored in our "Listen andLearn" series episodes on crimes against
the person, an assault is an act thatcreates reasonable apprehension of
immediate harmful or offensive contact.
A battery, on the other hand, is theactual harmful or offensive touching.
Think of assault as making someonethink they're about to be hit, while

(01:58):
battery is actually hitting them.

For assault, we need three elements: [1] an intentional act; [2] that (02:00):
undefined
causes the victim to be placed inreasonable apprehension; [3] of
imminent harmful or offensive contact.
It's all about creating fear,like winding up to throw a
punch even if you never swing.

The key here is reasonable apprehension: The victim must actually fear the (02:19):
undefined
contact and the fear must be reasonable.
Battery requires, [1] the unlawfulapplication of force; [2] directly or
indirectly upon another person; [3]resulting in injury or offensive contact.

(02:41):
The contact doesn't have to be direct.
Throwing something that hitssomeone counts just as much
as punching them directly.
An offensive contactdoesn't require injury.
Even a light touch can be batteryif it's unwelcome and offensive.

Here's a quick example (02:56):
If I raise my fist to make you think I'm
about to punch you, that's assault.
If I actually connect,now it's battery too.
If I swing and miss, it's only assault.
And if I sneak up and poke youwithout you seeing me coming,
it's battery without assault.
These distinctions matter,especially on exams.

(03:20):
Moving on to false imprisonmentand kidnapping - another
commonly confused pair.
False imprisonment requires, [1] theunlawful; [2] confinement of a person;
[3] against their will; [4] with knowledgethat the confinement is unlawful.
It's about restricting someone'sfreedom of movement without

(03:40):
justification, like blocking adoorway so someone can't leave a room.
Kidnapping adds a criticalelement to false imprisonment
- movement or asportation ofthe victim against their will.
In most jurisdictions, kidnappingrequires, [1] intentional and unlawful
confinement; and [2] movement ofa person; [3] against their will.

(04:06):
Some jurisdictions also requirethe movement be accomplished
by force, threat, or fraud.
The movement doesn't have to befar, but it should be more than
incidental to another crime.

Think about it like this (04:16):
If you lock someone in a closet,
that's false imprisonment.
If you force them into your carand drive away, that's kidnapping.
Our "Listen and Learn" episodeson crimes against the person,
Parts 1 and 2, walk through thesedistinctions with practical examples.
Now let's tackle some of thecomplex issues that make criminal

(04:37):
law fascinating and challenging,starting with the felony murder rule.
This doctrine states that adeath occurring during certain
felonies is murder, even withoutthe specific intent to kill.
It's the law's way of saying "Playwith fire and get burnt!" The classic
enumerated felonies that triggerthis rule are burglary, arson,

(05:00):
robbery, rape, and kidnapping.
Remember them as BARRK, with two Rs.
But jurisdictions differ in their approach- some use an inherently dangerous
felony test instead of a specific list.
There's also the thornyissue of death of a co-felon.
If a security guard shoots and killsone of the robbers during a bank

(05:21):
heist, are the surviving robberson the hook for felony murder?
Under the traditional agencytheory - no; the death must be
caused by one of the perpetrators.
Under the proximate cause theory - yes;as long as the death was foreseeable.
Causation gets particularly complexin criminal law when there are
intervening acts between the defendant'sconduct and the harmful result.

(05:45):
For example, if I shoot someonewho later dies from a hospital
infection, am I the cause of death?
Generally, yes; medicalcomplications during treatment
don't break the chain of causation.
But if the victim refusesmedical treatment or a doctor
commits gross malpractice, thatmight be a different story.
So, let's complicate things evenfurther with accomplice liability

(06:08):
- holding someone responsible fora crime they didn't personally
commit but helped facilitate.
Our "Listen and Learn" episode onaccomplice liability lays this out

in detail, but here's the gist (06:17):
You can be an accomplice if you, [1]
assist or encourage the principal incommitting the crime; and [2] have the
dual intent to assist the principaland for the crime to be committed.
What makes accomplice liabilitytricky is the natural and
probable consequences doctrine.

(06:37):
Accomplices are liable not only for thecrime they helped with, but also for any
reasonably foreseeable crimes that result.
If you drive the getaway car for whatyou think is a simple burglary, but your
partner shoots someone inside, you mightbe on the hook for that shooting too.
Let's put all this together with apractical example: Imagine Dan and Pete

(06:59):
planned to rob a convenience store.
Dan brings a gun just to scare people.
During the robbery, Pete panicsand tells Dan to shoot the clerk.
Dan fires what he thinksis a warning shot, but it
ricochets and kills a customer.
Meanwhile, another customerhas a heart attack from the
stress and dies a week later.
What a mess!

(07:20):
But let's break it down systematically.
Both Dan and Pete planned the robbery,so they're both principals in that crime.
Dan actually shot the gun,so he's the principal in any
shooting-related offenses.
Pete encouraged the shooting, makinghim an accomplice to those offenses.
For the ricocheting bullet death,felony murder likely applies to both.

(07:43):
For the heart attack victim,causation becomes the issue.
Was this foreseeable?
This scenario touches on robbery, felonymurder, causation, accomplice liability.
Right?
Wild.
Now, when approaching complexcriminal law scenarios on exams,
remember these strategies:
1. Identify each defendant separately.

(08:06):
2. Analyze each potentialcrime for each defendant.
3. Consider accomplice liability forcrimes the defendant didn't personally
commit, especially if there are co-felons.
4. Check for causation issues, especiallywith unusual or delayed results.
5. Apply special rules like thefelony murder rule when appropriate.

(08:28):
6. Ask yourself about inchoate liability,attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation.
And to finish up, alwaysask yourself about defenses.

One final tip (08:39):
Criminal law exam questions often have multiple correct answers,
depending on how the facts are argued.
The key is showing your work,demonstrating that you can spot
the issues, apply the rulescorrectly, and reach reasoned
conclusions, and argue both sides.
It's less about the bottom lineand more about the analysis.

(09:02):
For comprehensive preparation,don't miss our "Listen and Learn"
episodes on causation in criminal law,accomplice liability, and our two-part
series on crimes against the person.
These will give you the tools totackle even the most convoluted
criminal law scenarios.
All of these episodes arelinked to in the show notes.
You now have a solid foundationfor tackling these issues

(09:23):
on your exams and beyond.
If you enjoyed this episode of theBar Exam Toolbox podcast, please
take a second to leave a review andrating on your favorite listening app.
We'd really appreciate it.
And be sure to subscribeso you don't miss anything.
If you have any questions or comments,please don't hesitate to reach out to
myself or Alison at [e-mail] [e-mail].

(09:46):
Or you can always contactus via our website contact
form at BarExamToolbox.com.
Thanks for listening, and we'll talk soon!