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Criminal Law Keyed to Kaplan
Commonwealth v. Rhoades
Facts
Defendant set fire to a building. The fire department responded and searched the building for trapped victims. One of the firefighters, Captain Trainor, collapsed on the roof of the building and died. The medical examiner found that he died of a coronary thrombosis, caused by the combination of cold weather, stress, and smoke inhalation. At Defendant’s trial for second-degree murder, the judge instructed the jury that Defendant was guilty if Captain Trainor died “as a result” of Defendant’s actions, or if Defendant’s actions “in any way contributed to hasten, or was part of the proximate cause of the death.” Defendant was convicted and appealed, citing error in the instructions.
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