The Volokh Conspiracy - Rube Goldberg Indicted for Murder:

Lovers of law school exams might enjoy my Fall criminal law exam, which I am just about to start grading:

Oleander O’Leary owns a restaurant, called Oleander’s. The restaurant is losing money, and O’Leary doesn’t know how she can keep it running. So, with deep regret, she decides to burn it down for the insurance money. She pours gasoline all over the property, but just as she is about to light the match to ignite it, she has second thoughts: Maybe she can turn the restaurant around in the next month, she thinks. She puts the matches back in her pocket.

Meantime, Vera Variola, a brilliant but sometimes forgetful biology researcher at the local university, is walking home past Oleander’s. Morgan Dexter and Bar Sinister are standing in a nearby alley, talking. Dexter sees Variola approach, and tells Sinister, “Let’s rob her.” Sinister says “No, it’s too risky.” Dexter says, “You coward, if you don’t help me, I’ll beat you up.” Sinister says, “OK, OK.”

(Read the rest.)

Dexter walks out and pushes Variola, trying to make her fall so he can better grab her purse. Sinister stands nearby, ready to alert Dexter if the police arrive.

At that point Variola realizes that the purse contains a vial of smallpox virus that she had been working on at the university; she had placed the vial in the purse to take it from one lab to another, but then forgot it in the purse when she realized it was time to go home. Smallpox is a highly lethal and contagious disease: It would likely kill 30% of the people it infects, and given that most people aren’t currently vaccinated against smallpox, the death total could number in the millions worldwide, even if an emergency vaccination campaign is instituted.

Variola realizes that if Dexter and Sinister get the purse, they could either sell the smallpox to terrorists, or inadvertently break the vial. She therefore realizes she must do whatever it takes to keep them from having the purse. “Get the fuck away from here, you motherfucker!,” she shouts at Dexter, hoping that the anger in her words will scare him away. “Give me the fucking purse, you bitch, or else!,” Dexter replies, pushing her again. Variola then takes out her handgun, which she was lawfully carrying in her jacket pocket, and shoots at Dexter.

Variola misses Dexter, and Dexter runs away. But the bullet enters the restaurant, where it hits some metal, causes a spark, and (in an unlikely but not impossible twist) ignites the gasoline.

The restaurant quickly burns up. Unfortunately, Glen Ganymede, a waiter at the restaurant — and, as it happens, Variola’s son — was sleeping in a back room (he had been too drunk to drive home the night before). By the time Ganymede wakes up and runs out, he’s already horribly burned, so burned that Variola can’t even recognize him. Frightened, Variola and Sinister flee. Ganymede dies of his injuries.

Assume that the jurisdiction has adopted Model Penal Code § 220.1(1), but not including the affirmative defense in § 220.1(1). Do not discuss any separate crime of insurance fraud, beyond what is discussed in § 220.1(1). Assume also that the jurisdiction has adopted this statute, modeled on the California robbery statute:

Robbery, a felony of the third degree, is the taking of another’s property, from the victim’s person or immediate presence, and against the victim’s will, accomplished by means of force or fear.

(Hide most of the above.)

Analyze, both under the common law and the Model Penal Code.

UPDATE: Commenter CDU adds:

Law student Lester Leighton, trying to comprehend the above question, suffers a brain aneurysm. Lyssa Lang, another law student sitting nearby, notices his distress. However, she places a higher priority on getting a good mark on the exam and says nothing. After the exam is over, a janitor, John Jones notices Lester lying on the floor of the classroom and calls 911. Paramedics arrive and find Lester is still alive. On the way to the hospital, a car driven by Dilbert Dinkins, who a breathalizer test later indicates had a blood alcohol level of .24, collides with the ambulance fracturing Lester's skull. At the hospital a medical mistake results in the doctor operating on the wrong side of Lester's head, causing his death. The autopsy reveals that Lester could have survived the aneurysm without significant disability had 911 been called immediately, would have survived with a disability had the accident not occurred, and would have even survived the injuries from the accident had the doctor operated on the correct side of the head.

Discuss Professor Volokh's liability for Lester's death.

My quick thought: It's poor form to have one character's name start with the same letter as another character's.

	[Eugene Volokh, December 12, 2007 at 6:53pm] Trackbacks Rube Goldberg Indicted for Murder: Lovers of law school exams might enjoy my Fall criminal law exam, which I am just about to start grading: Oleander O’Leary owns a restaurant, called Oleander’s. The restaurant is losing money, and O’Leary doesn’t know how she can keep it running. So, with deep regret, she decides to burn it down for the insurance money. She pours gasoline all over the property, but just as she is about to light the match to ignite it, she has second thoughts: Maybe she can turn the restaurant around in the next month, she thinks. She puts the matches back in her pocket. Meantime, Vera Variola, a brilliant but sometimes forgetful biology researcher at the local university, is walking home past Oleander’s. Morgan Dexter and Bar Sinister are standing in a nearby alley, talking. Dexter sees Variola approach, and tells Sinister, “Let’s rob her.” Sinister says “No, it’s too risky.” Dexter says, “You coward, if you don’t help me, I’ll beat you up.” Sinister says, “OK, OK.” (Read the rest.) Dexter walks out and pushes Variola, trying to make her fall so he can better grab her purse. Sinister stands nearby, ready to alert Dexter if the police arrive. At that point Variola realizes that the purse contains a vial of smallpox virus that she had been working on at the university; she had placed the vial in the purse to take it from one lab to another, but then forgot it in the purse when she realized it was time to go home. Smallpox is a highly lethal and contagious disease: It would likely kill 30% of the people it infects, and given that most people aren’t currently vaccinated against smallpox, the death total could number in the millions worldwide, even if an emergency vaccination campaign is instituted. Variola realizes that if Dexter and Sinister get the purse, they could either sell the smallpox to terrorists, or inadvertently break the vial. She therefore realizes she must do whatever it takes to keep them from having the purse. “Get the fuck away from here, you motherfucker!,” she shouts at Dexter, hoping that the anger in her words will scare him away. “Give me the fucking purse, you bitch, or else!,” Dexter replies, pushing her again. Variola then takes out her handgun, which she was lawfully carrying in her jacket pocket, and shoots at Dexter. Variola misses Dexter, and Dexter runs away. But the bullet enters the restaurant, where it hits some metal, causes a spark, and (in an unlikely but not impossible twist) ignites the gasoline. The restaurant quickly burns up. Unfortunately, Glen Ganymede, a waiter at the restaurant — and, as it happens, Variola’s son — was sleeping in a back room (he had been too drunk to drive home the night before). By the time Ganymede wakes up and runs out, he’s already horribly burned, so burned that Variola can’t even recognize him. Frightened, Variola and Sinister flee. Ganymede dies of his injuries. Assume that the jurisdiction has adopted Model Penal Code § 220.1(1), but not including the affirmative defense in § 220.1(1). Do not discuss any separate crime of insurance fraud, beyond what is discussed in § 220.1(1). Assume also that the jurisdiction has adopted this statute, modeled on the California robbery statute: Robbery, a felony of the third degree, is the taking of another’s property, from the victim’s person or immediate presence, and against the victim’s will, accomplished by means of force or fear. (Hide most of the above.) Analyze, both under the common law and the Model Penal Code. UPDATE: Commenter CDU adds: Law student Lester Leighton, trying to comprehend the above question, suffers a brain aneurysm. Lyssa Lang, another law student sitting nearby, notices his distress. However, she places a higher priority on getting a good mark on the exam and says nothing. After the exam is over, a janitor, John Jones notices Lester lying on the floor of the classroom and calls 911. Paramedics arrive and find Lester is still alive. On the way to the hospital, a car driven by Dilbert Dinkins, who a breathalizer test later indicates had a blood alcohol level of .24, collides with the ambulance fracturing Lester's skull. At the hospital a medical mistake results in the doctor operating on the wrong side of Lester's head, causing his death. The autopsy reveals that Lester could have survived the aneurysm without significant disability had 911 been called immediately, would have survived with a disability had the accident not occurred, and would have even survived the injuries from the accident had the doctor operated on the correct side of the head. Discuss Professor Volokh's liability for Lester's death. My quick thought: It's poor form to have one character's name start with the same letter as another character's.