Merger and Felony Murder
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
8-1-2005
Abstract
This chapter argues that the greatest source of inconsistency in the application of the felony murder rule lies in the tests used to identify which felonies can serve as predicate felonies. It discusses two requirements that are commonly imposed in American jurisdictions. The first is that the felony must be ‘inherently dangerous’, a requirement that has mostly been articulate in jurisdictions where the basis for the felony murder rule is common law, rather than statutory. The second requirement is the requirement that the predicate felony does not merge with the homicide. It notes that in the merger doctrine, the felony murder rule encounters its greatest source of confusion, with results that sometimes border on incoherence. It argues that courts fail to perceive the only possible rationale for the merger rule that makes any sense of the doctrine.
Keywords
felony murder, predicate felony, American jurisdictions, common law, statutory, homicide, merger doctrine
Publication Title
Defining Crimes: Essays on The Special Part of the Criminal Law
Repository Citation
Finkelstein, Claire, "Merger and Felony Murder" (2005). Book Chapters. 26.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_chapters/26
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269228.003.0010
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269228.003.0010