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3I've accepted this answer, since it applies to the real-world case it's based on. I hope that doesn't stop people from answering with other jurisdictions.Excellor– Excellor2026-04-29 11:52:17 +00:00Commented yesterday
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2I expect that the answer would be the same in any common-law jurisdiction. A prank call cannot reasonably be expected to lead to the murder of unrelated third parties, so you'd probably have mens rea and proximate-causation problems preventing any liability from running to P, especially in the United States, where P would probably also have First Amendment protection.bdb484– bdb4842026-04-29 14:16:41 +00:00Commented yesterday
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4@bdb484 But if they didn't communicate this to P, the relative might bear some liability, but P wouldn't. Although the more steps you have in this Rube Goldberg murder, the less likely the expectation of a particular result is.Barmar– Barmar2026-04-29 15:23:28 +00:00Commented yesterday
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3@bdb484 That highlights that the culpability of F, while asked about in the question, is not (explicitly) treated in the answer. If F knew that R was prone to violence when provoked, could F be guilty even though the intermediary P is not? (Can the responsibility "skip over" P?) - The answer would be improved by explicitly addressing F's situation.R.M.– R.M.2026-04-29 20:47:34 +00:00Commented yesterday
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2@infinitezero Swatting is a very different scenario. If you'd like an analysis on that one, you're probably better off posting a separate question.bdb484– bdb4842026-04-30 07:21:37 +00:00Commented yesterday
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