Felony Murder Rule
When it comes to murder cases, there are a number of different ways and theories that prosecutors can use in order to file a murder charge against somebody. It's not just necessarily what you might customarily think a murder is – where somebody plans on killing another person, they execute that plan, and then a death results.
There are other ways that the prosecutors can charge an individual with murder. This is where the felony murder rule comes in.
Another way that a murder can be charged and that I've seen and defended over the last twenty-five years of practicing criminal defense in Los Angeles is if somebody in the course of a felony ends up killing
another person, or even somebody else, kills another person in the course of that felony.
Suppose you or anybody else decides that they're going to commit a serious felony – for example. In that case, they're going to try to commit a robbery and try to steal somebody's watch, and during that, somebody dies in some way.
It was foreseeable that that could happen when you try to steal somebody's valuable watch and use force and fear to do so.
Under the felony murder doctrine, even though you didn't intend to kill anybody, you were trying to steal somebody's watch and use force and violence to do it; they can get you for murder if they can prove all the elements of the robbery. They can show that death resulted and that your actions were the probable cause and the probable consequence of that particular death.
This gets very scary because obviously, murder is the highest crime known to man, so once you start using different theories to get people for such a serious crime where, you could be facing fifteen to life, twenty-five to life, or even more depending on exactly what all the offenses are that you end up getting convicted of.
Robbery Case Example of Felony Murder Rule
Then you realize how serious the felony murder doctrine is. Another example that I've seen illustrated is when somebody goes to commit a robbery – for instance, in a store and guns are pulled out, maybe the clerk in the store pulls out a gun and fires, and then an innocent bystander like a customer, for example, gets hit.
Even though you didn't intend to kill anybody, you just had the gun so you could effectuate the robbery – it's foreseeable when you go and use deadly force, and you have a weapon, and people could also have a gun.
It's foreseeable that somebody would be killed. If they do, you're likely going to be charged with murder pursuant to the felony/murder doctrine, especially in Los Angeles, where the prosecutors and judges hate people who use guns to commit crimes because it gives them such a serious advantage over other people. It's much more likely that a death or serious bodily injury is going to result because the person has used a weapon.
Drive-By Shooting Case Example
It's not just robberies that can trigger the felony murder rule in Los Angeles. Drive-by shootings are another thing we see all the time. You know, if you're shooting, someone's likely going to get hit. Even though you may be aiming at another gang member, you end up hitting an innocent bystander.
They are going to get you if you kill somebody under the felony/murder doctrine because it's likely if you're firing guns on the city streets, somebody's going to get hit – someone's going to die.
So, really, what is needed if you're charged with murder based on the felony/murder rule is an expert who has done these types of cases before because not every case triggers the felony/murder doctrine.
There are defenses to the felony murder doctrine being triggered, and arguments can be made. Sometimes, you can argue, no, it wasn't foreseeable that this was going to happen. No, this murder should have never happened, and I shouldn't be responsible for it because I didn't plan it, and I really didn't foresee that this was going to happen based on the circumstances of the case.
So, there are all sorts of arguments that can be made, but obviously, to have the most success, you're going to want to have an attorney who has been down this road before, who's had success, who knows how to defend a murder charge, because there's a very small list of attorneys that have the skills, the knowledge and are battled-tested in Los Angeles county to be able to go against the best prosecutors, the best robbery homicide division of the LAPD, the sheriff's department.
They're going to pull out all the stops. They're going to use all the resources and money that they had in order to convict somebody if death occurred, so you better have an attorney that's got the skills, the ability, the know-how, and the experience to challenge them – and if they have a weak case and they shouldn't be able to prove a murder charge against you – that attorney is going to have to have the ability to get that case dismissed.
