Professor Aliza Hochman Bloom Co-Authors Amicus in Felony-Murder Doctrine Case

12.13.2024 — Today, Professor Aliza Hochman Bloom, along with Caitlin Glass, director of Boston University School of Law’s Antiracism and Community Lawyering Practicum, and Robert Chang, director of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at the UC Irvine School of Law, filed an amicus brief on behalf of Dalen Joseph before New York’s intermediate court of appeals. In it, they focus on the injustices that flow from the felony-murder doctrine, explaining how these injustices are particularly evidenced in the case of Joseph, who never anticipated the tragic events that resulted in him, at age 17, killing a man who came at him with a knife — an act that the jury found constituted self-defense. Felony murder is a legal doctrine that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) during the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime, the offender, and the offender’s accomplices or co-conspirators, may be found guilty of murder.

Hochman Bloom authored the section detailing the constitutional right to present a justification defense to the charge of felony-murder, and a heightened concern about the unavailability of such a defense considering data showing the racialized application of the doctrine. “The felony-murder doctrine disproportionately leads to extremely harsh punishments without taking into consideration intent,” said Hochman Bloom, who served as an assistant federal public defender prior to joining academia. “It’s particularly concerning that those who are charged under this doctrine typically come from marginalized communities. We hope the court will listen to precedent, data and common sense in Dalen Joseph’s case and rule in his favor.”

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