Question 7-10 pg 186: In Your Court: Criminal Liability and Sentencing
Gavin, a fifteen-year-old student, was eating lunch on the grounds of a school. He threw a half-eaten apple toward the outside wall of a classroom some distance away. The apple sailed through a slowly closing door and struck a teacher who was in the room. The teacher was knocked to the floor and lost consciousness for a few minutes. Gavin was charged with assault by "any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury." Gavin stated that he did not intend to hit the teacher but only intended to see the apple splatter against the outside wall. Assume that you are one of the judges on the appellate court panel reviewing this case and answer the following questions.
1. What are the two elements of criminal liability? Are both elements present in this case? (See page 160.)
2. The trial court convicted Gavin, among other things, to send a message to his classmates that his actions were wrong. Is this a sufficient reason, in itself, to convict a defendant such as Gavin? Why or why not?