Assignment:
Part A: Answer each of the following questions in a composition of 10 to 20 sentences.
1. Discuss the different kinds of trial court errors that may be found on appeal. What happens when these errors are discovered?
2. Discuss the voluntary act element of a crime. How does the Model Penal Code handle involuntary acts and criminal liability?
3. Compare the requirements needed for a search warrant versus those needed for an investigatory detention.
Part B: Answer each of the following questions in 2 to 4 sentences.
1. Describe the essential elements of the crime of perjury.
2. Briefly describe mens rea.
3. If you had an abandoned house that people kept breaking into, would it be permissible for you to set up a trip gun designed to shoot an intruder? Why or why not?
4. On what grounds might a magistrate refuse to issue a search warrant?
5. Defendant Jones was convicted of double homicide. However, his attorney assures him that it isn't over yet, and that he should continue to fight for his innocence. What options does Defendant Jones have, now that the trial has ended?
6. You're a hunting guide who takes two other hunters out into the woods. After two days in the woods, you really like Hunter 1 but really hate Hunter 2. You shoot at Hunter 2 but hit Hunter 1 and kilt her. Of what crime are you guilty and why?
7. You're a clerk in the public defender's office. Your first task is to write a memo on the common-law crime of burglary. In reviewing the case documents, you discover that the crime in question most likely occurred in the daylight. Explain the significance of your discovery.
8. Joe is by nature a law-abiding citizen, but his buddy persuades him to rob a bank. He decides to fortify his courage to commit the crime by drinking a bottle of rum beforehand. He is so drunk he can barely stagger into the bank. Explain Joe's chances of acquittal based on his use of intoxication as a defense.
9. When may a third party consent to a search of a defendant's home or property?
10. What is the purpose and process of voir dire?