Act Causing Death Not Distinct from Underlying Felony
July 6th, 2015

 

On April 23, 2010, CC 540A, as well as CC 540B and CC 540C, were revised. As explained by the CC Committee, it was pointed out to them that the first degree felony murder instructions refer to the “act causing death” as though it were distinct from the underlying felony and this could be misleading when the act causing death and the underlying felony are the same, as in arson cases. The Committee hence “made the necessary revisions throughout these instructions to eliminate potential references to a separate ‘act.’”


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