Crucial Exams

Multistate Bar Examination Practice Question

A defendant threw a heavy rock intending to scare a victim who was sitting near the edge of a cliff. The rock missed the victim but startled them, causing the victim to lose their balance and fall off the cliff. Before hitting the ground, the victim's fall was broken by an unexpected landslide triggered by an earlier earthquake, which caused some rocks to crush the victim to death. The defendant is charged with homicide. How should the court analyze causation in this case?

  • The defendant's action is not a proximate cause because the landslide was an unforeseeable intervening event that caused the victim's death.

  • The defendant's action is a proximate cause of the victim's death because the act of throwing the rock created the risk of harm resulting in the victim's death.

  • The defendant is not liable for the victim's death because the rock did not directly harm the victim, and the harm resulted from separate natural causes.

  • The defendant is liable for the victim's death because the act led the victim to fall off the cliff.

Multistate Bar Examination
Criminal Law and Procedure
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