Adam has always been good with computers. When he was in 9^th grade, there were rumors that he hacked the school's computer system to change his and some of his friends' grades. Around the same time, he started hacking into his neighbors' Wi-Fi networks. He also hacked the phone company's website to order a tablet for his girlfriend's birthday gift, using a costumer's account. To keep his friend Bob, who knew about this fact, from telling others, especially the police or the girlfriend, Adam used another customer's account to order a $1000 phone for Bob.

In their senior year in high school, Adam, Bob, Charlie, and David agreed to hack the school's computer system to change their grades. They succeeded. David, who wanted to impress some girls, told them he was going to graduate top of his class. The girls didn't believe David because they knew he wasn't a good student. In his zeal to convince the girls, David inadvertently told them that he, Adam, Bob, and Charlie had hacked the school's computer system to change some grades. The girls reported this to the school. Adam, Bob, Charlie and David were expelled.

With no hope of going to college, Bob, Charlie, and David have been doing odd jobs in the neighborhood. There are even some rumors that they have been robbing local businesses. As for Adam, he has been working for NEED IT FIXED?, a computer repair shop located at the corner of Main Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

Two months ago, Bob, Charlie, and David came up with a plan to rob Community Savings Bank. They thought the best way to do it was to hack into the bank's computer system. Last year, they had purchased some expensive items when Adam hacked into a credit card company's network to buy stuff for them. Adam had told them he wouldn't do that again. He said he wasn't a thief, so he felt very uncomfortable using his skills to steal. But they knew Adam loved hacking for fun. Bob reminded the group about what happened to Adam after they got expelled from high school: Adam's parents were so concerned about their son that they sought professional help for him. They hired a therapist to see him on a weekly basis for six months. The therapist said Adam might be addicted to hacking. The therapist explained that when Adam hacks a computer, he experiences the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine resembling the reward of pleasure created when someone indulges in drugs, alcohol, gambling, and food.

Despite the treatment, Adam hasn't been able to completely control the impulse to hack into computers for fun. When Bob and his friends told Adam how much fun he would get by hacking Community Savings Bank's computer system, Adam couldn't help but agree to participate in his friends' plan even though he knew it was a felony to illegally access a computer network without authorization. After a few unsuccessful attempts to hack into the bank's system, Adam realized it was impossible to do so remotely; he had to have access to the bank's servers.

Bob devised a plan to get Adam access to the bank's servers. Bob told his friends that they could go to the bank and use his gun to scare the bank's lone security guard and force him to open the server room for them. Adam thought it was a bad idea to use a gun since armed robbery is an aggravated felony. Bob reassured Adam that the gun would be used only to scare the guard.

On Thursday night, Adam, Bob, Charlie, and David drove to the bank after the bank closed at 6 pm. They arrived at the parking lot at 6:30, and they agreed that Charlie would wait in the car while the others took care of business. Adam, Bob, and David approached the bank, and saw the guard inside through the glass doors. They waived at him and shouted that they were looking for directions to the All4Fun bar. As the guard opened a door and started to give them directions, Bob pointed his gun at the guard and pushed him inside the bank. They told him to take them to the server room or they would shoot him. The guard complied. Adam approached the servers as Bob and David kept an eye on the guard with Bob's gun pointed at him.

As soon as Adam connected his device to one of the servers, an alarm went off. Suddenly, everyone panicked. As the guard tried to snatch the gun from Bob, it went off and the guard was fatally shot. Adam, Bob, and David frantically rushed out of the bank. As they were about to get in the car, two police officers who had seen them run out the bank arrested them.

Can Charlie be liable for murder? If so, under what theory?

People v. Stamp, 2 Cal.App.3d 203 (1969)

People v. Kraft, 133 Ill.App.3d 294 (1985)

1. State the legal issue: Usually, one sentence is enough to state the legal issue. Use no more than three sentences to state the legal issue.
2. State the legal rule(s): lift the rule(s) directly from the reading materials. You must quote directly from cases, statutes, and the Model Penal Code discussed in class.
3. Apply the rule(s) to the relevant facts from the assignment: Most of your writing (at least 80 percent) should be dedicated to this part. A well developed response will compare this case with the relevant cases discussed in class.
4. Answer the question: in one to three sentences, state your answer to the question.