Opinion ID: 1975121
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Difference Between the Causal Link and Scope of Shared Purpose Requirements

Text: Although I concur in the court's affirmance, to show why I believe the majority's approach in this case is inappropriate and incomplete, thereby raising warning signals for future accomplice felony-murder cases, I now briefly explain why the government's evidencesufficient to meet the causal link requirement to convict appellant as a principalwas insufficient to meet the scope of shared purpose requirement necessary to convict appellant as an aider and abettor. At the time of the altercation between the decedent and Kevin Marshall, the brief confrontation between Theodore Taylor and Shephardthe goal of the shared purpose had ended. Although appellant accompanied the decedent to the apartment, thereby aiding and abetting Taylor's burglary, [12] there was uncontroverted testimony by two government witnessesthat appellant told Taylor not to use the bat before Taylor took a swing at Shephard. Appellant thus took a significant step to abandon the common purpose of assaulting Shephard with the bat. Appellant only intervened in response to Kevin Marshall's call for help. Most importantly, the government presented no evidence that part of the purpose shared by Theodore Taylor, Kevin Marshall, and appellant was for one of them to carry a gun to use, if necessary, in the confrontation with Shephard, let alone in a confrontation with someone else. There was no evidence that the two who were not carrying a gun knew the other one was carrying a gun. The government, therefore, did not prove that the shooting was within the scope of the shared purpose of appellant, Taylor, and Marshall; nor did it prove that the shooting was a natural or probable consequence of Taylor's entry with a bat with intent to assault Shephard. As indicated in Part II.B., however, I concur in the majority's affirmance because the evidence was sufficient to convict appellant as a principal under the government's felony-murder charge.