MBE Rules · Criminal Law
Year-and-a-Day Rule
Year-and-a-day rule
The rule
The common law barred homicide liability when death occurred more than a year and a day after the act; most jurisdictions have abolished or extended the rule, and retroactive abolition does not violate due process (Rogers).
In plain English
The Year-and-a-Day Rule states that a person cannot be held criminally liable for homicide if the victim dies more than a year and a day after the act that caused the death. This rule has been largely abolished or modified in many jurisdictions, allowing for more flexibility in prosecuting homicide cases.
Worked example
A defendant shoots a victim in the leg, causing severe complications. The victim survives for two years before dying from unrelated causes. Under the Year-and-a-Day Rule, the defendant cannot be charged with homicide because the death occurred more than a year and a day after the shooting.
Memory hook
If a year and a day pass, the killer gets away!
The trap
Exams may present scenarios where the timing of death is close to the one-year mark, leading students to miscalculate the applicability of the rule. Students might also confuse jurisdictions that have abolished the rule with those that still adhere to it.
How examiners test it
Questions often involve fact patterns where the timing of death is crucial, testing students on their understanding of the rule's application and any relevant jurisdictional differences.
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