A man is pushed off a building. On the way down, he's shot. Who's charged with murder?

It was originally an example invented by Don Harper Mills, then the past president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, which he presented at a banquet in 1987.

It's been used on Law&Order, CSI, Magnolia...

In discussions of it, I've seen it posited that since no one knew for sure that he would die from the fall--perhaps there was a safety net below--if the shooter meant to shoot him specifically, the shooter would be charged.

If the bullet struck/pierced the victim first, then person shooting should be charged

If the man fell first & then the bullet struck him (very very highly likely situation), then person who pushed should be charged !

However, if it cannot be determined as to who did what first, (i.e., cause of death is uncertain) AND if it's a clear cut fact that the man was pushed from a very high building (high enough to cause death) & the other man's bullet pierced through the victim, THEN BOTH SHOULD BE EQUALLY CHARGED WITH CONVICTION OF MURDER AND ATTEMPT TO MURDER !

Not sure. Haven't seen Magnolia in a while.

However, the person who shot is at least charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Depending on the other factors surrounding the case, manslaughter to attempted murder charges might apply.

the person who pushed him off the building

the guy who pushed him from the ledge because he would have died without being shot. Unless the building is less than 3 stories up.

Shooter - murder

pusher - attempted murder.

If another guy who is sworn enemy of the dead guy sees him lying on the street, and not knowing that he is dead, decides to shoot him, that is attempted murder as well.

the man who pushed him, becuse he would have died from the fall depending on how high it was. if it wasen't that high then it would be the person who shot

both should be charged with attempted murder...(what if there are fireman with a net under the building?)

The person who pushed him