State v. Moore
580 S.W.2d 747, 1979 Mo. LEXIS 326 (1979)
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Rule of Law:
A defendant who participates in a dangerous felony may be held liable for first-degree murder under the felony-murder rule when a death occurs as a natural and proximate result of the felony, even if the fatal act is committed by a third party, such as a victim or bystander, resisting the crime.
Facts:
- Brian Keith Moore and two accomplices entered the 'Emergency Room Lounge' armed with a shotgun and a pistol to commit a robbery.
- Moore announced a 'holdup' while carrying the shotgun.
- A customer, Albert 'Rip' Williams, drew his own pistol to resist the robbery.
- An accomplice of Moore fired at Williams, who returned fire.
- During the ensuing gunfight, another customer, Lawrence Meadows, was struck by two bullets and killed.
- A police ballistics expert determined that the fatal bullets that killed Meadows were fired from Williams' gun, not from a weapon belonging to the robbers.
Procedural Posture:
- Brian Keith Moore was tried in a Missouri circuit court (trial court of first instance) for first degree murder and attempted robbery.
- A jury found Moore guilty on both counts.
- Moore, as the appellant, appealed the conviction to the Missouri Court of Appeals (intermediate appellate court).
- The Court of Appeals affirmed the robbery conviction but transferred the case to the Supreme Court of Missouri, the state's highest court, to resolve the felony-murder issue.
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Issue:
Does the felony-murder rule apply to hold a defendant criminally liable for murder when the fatal shot that killed a bystander was fired by another bystander resisting the felony, rather than by the defendant or his accomplice?
Opinions:
Majority - Rendlen, J.
Yes. A defendant can be convicted of felony-murder when a death is the natural and proximate result of the felony, regardless of who fired the fatal shot. The court adopted a proximate cause theory, rejecting the older rule that required the fatal act to be committed by one of the felons. The court reasoned that when a defendant initiates an inherently dangerous felony like armed robbery, it is reasonably foreseeable that resistance will occur and that someone may be killed in the resulting violence. The act of the bystander, Williams, was not an independent intervening cause but a direct and foreseeable reaction provoked by the robbers' actions. Therefore, Moore's conduct set in motion the chain of events that proximately caused the death of Lawrence Meadows, making him liable for murder.
Analysis:
This decision significantly broadened the scope of the felony-murder rule in Missouri by shifting the legal standard from an agency theory to a proximate cause theory. Under the previous agency theory, a defendant was only liable if the killing was committed by one of the felons. By adopting a proximate cause approach, the court held that felons are responsible for any foreseeable deaths that result from their crime, regardless of who pulls the trigger. This precedent makes it easier for prosecutors to secure murder convictions against all participants in a felony that results in death, as they no longer need to prove which party fired the fatal shot.
