Assignment:
Part 1
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The text states that insanity is not the same as mental disease or defect, yet mental disease or defect is part of the definition of insanity.
a. What is insanity?
b. Why is it important to recognize the difference between the medical term (mental disease or defect) and the legal term(insanity)?
2. What are the four different tests of insanity?
a. Does your state have an insanity defense?
b. What is the test in your state?
c. Which is the "best" test of insanity? Why?
3. What are the different processes that states use to waive juveniles to adult courts?
a. The U.S. Supreme Court has recently stated that it is a violation of the Eighth Amendment to put a person to death who committed their crime when they were under the age of 18. If that is true, do you believe that waiving someone under the age of 18 to adult court is "cruel or unusual" punishment?
4. The defense of duress provides that it is sometimes okay to excuse people who cause harm to others to save themselves. Duress is not an excuse for murder.
a. Should it be?
b. Can you think of any other crimes for which duress should not be an excuse?
c. For what crimes should a person under duress be excused?
5. Syndrome excuses are rarely taken seriously. Why is that the case?
a. Are different syndromes treated differently (i.e. PTSD versus PMS)?
b. What reasons can you think of for the law treating such issues differently?
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Read the information on Frontline in the link below. Write about the article discussing the insanity defense in this case.
a. How do they believe the courts should have handled the case? You should provide support for their argument.
2. Compare and contrast the four different tests of insanity.
3. Discuss the differences between diminished capacity and diminished responsibility and their relationship to homicide cases.You are encourage the students to find a case where one of these defenses was used as an example.
4. How does your state handle juveniles? Outline the various processes for handling juveniles and describing the waiver process in your state.
**Hint**Understand the different processes regarding how the law handles age and how juvenile court judges can use their discretion to transfer a juvenile to adult criminal court.
5. Search for a recent case where PTSD was used as a defense.
a. What was the outcome?
b. Describe the outcome for the offender and victim and argue in favor or against the court's ruling, provide a logical argument for their discussion.
Note to help you
Despite criticism of them, understand why syndrome excuses should be taken seriously.
Part 2
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The doctrine of respondeat superior makes it possible for an employer to be liable for the wrong of an employee.
a. For what crimes should an employer be liable?
b. Are there any crimes to which corporate liability should not apply?
c. What crimes?
2. Accomplice actus reus requires "some positive act in aid of the commission of the offense." The necessary amount of aid is a difficult question to answer. The book cites a few acts that, according to ALI, definitely qualify (providing guns, supplies, or other instruments of crime; serving as a lookout; driving a getaway car; sending the victim to the principal; preventing warnings from getting to the victim). What other actions do you think would qualify?
3. Traditional parent responsibility statutes aren't the same as vicarious liability. Parent responsibility statutes are based on parents' acts and omissions; vicarious liability statutes are based on the parent-child relationship. Vicarious liability statutes grew out of public fear, frustration, and anger over juvenile violence and parents' failure to control their kids.
a. Should parents' be held liable for the actions of their children?
b. Rhetorical question: Have you ever done anything that could have gotten your parents in trouble had you been caught?
c. What actions could children take that might result in serious trouble for parents?
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Look up your states statutes on accessory and accomplice crimes.
a. identify the similarities and differences between the statutes.
b. have there been any recent changes to the statutes?
c. If so, how have they changed?
2. Research a case on vicarious liability. Briefing and outline the case and discussing the opinion of the case.
3. Research one of the federal laws on white-collar crime.
a. What are the potential punishments for that crime?
b. What is the mens rea and the actus reus of that crime?
Part 3
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Each inchoate offense has some distinct elements of its own, but they all share two elements: the mens rea of purpose or specific intent and the actus reus of taking some steps toward accomplishing the criminal purpose-but not enough steps to complete the intended crime. Explain how these are different from the actusreusand mens reaof most other crimes. What are some examples of inchoate offenses?
2. Incomplete criminal conduct poses a dilemma: whether to punish someone who's done no harm or to set free someone who's determined to commit a crime. Which is more important to you? Why?
Learning Objective 2
3. Liability for criminal attempt offenses is based on two old and firmly entrenched rationales: the dangerous acts rationale and the dangerous personrationale.
a. What are arguments in favor of the dangerous acts rationale and the danger person rationale? What are the arguments against each?
b. Is there any other means by which attempt offenses might be addressed?
4. Why is legal impossibility a defense to crime but factual impossibility is not? Discuss the philosophies underlying the fact that offenders can claim one as a defense but not the other.
a. Should legal impossibility be a defense? Why?
b. Can you think of a behavior that should be criminal but has not been outlawed?
c. In what ways do you think that technology has impacted legal impossibility?
5. Solicitation is the crime of trying to get someone else to commit a crime. How far does someone need to go in soliciting another person to commit a crime to be guilty of solicitation?
a. Has anyone seen a "sting" operation of a solicitation crime on television?
b. What did that look like? Did the person "soliciting" the offense deserve to be punished for a crime?
c. Why/why not?
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Find a copy of RICO Act online. Explain the potential for decreasing crime as a result of RICO and the potential for prosecutorial abuse.
**Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act **
2. Look up solicitation statutes in your state.
a. How does your state statute define solicitation?
b. What are the potential punishments for solicitation?
3. Discuss the issues of inchoate offenses, tie the issue to the War on Terrorism and the difficulties with preventing terrorist attacks. How might the law of inchoate offenses assist authorities in preventing such attacks?
Part 4
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Killing another "person" is central to criminal homicide liability because it defines who's a victim. The definition of "person" for purposes of criminal homicide presents problems at both ends of the life cycle-when life begins and when it ends. States with feticide statutes vary as to the required stage of development for a fetus. Discuss the different requirements and make a rational argument for which is the most appropriate based on information learned thus far in the text.
2. Killing another "person" is central to criminal homicide liability because it defines who's a victim. The definition of "person" for purposes of criminal homicide presents problems at both ends of the life cycle-when life begins and when it ends. Euthanasia (doctor-assisted suicide) has posed a dilemma for cultures throughout history. Discuss the legal and moral issues related to euthanasia. Be sure to present both sides of the argument.
3. Felony deaths are unintentional deaths that occur during the commission of some felonies.
a. What are the arguments for and against felony death statutes?
b. Should felony murders be first-degree? Why/why not?
4. Corporate homicide is a rare offense. Why do prosecutor's rarely charge corporations or their executives with homicide?
a. What are the issues involved in these types of prosecutions?
b. Should corporations and their executives be held criminally liable for deaths resulting from actions related to crimes committed for the corporation's benefit?
5. There is a "partial excuse" in many sexual advance cases. Discuss the differences between the emotion-act distinction, act reasonableness, and emotion reasonableness. Based on the information provided thus far regarding criminal liability, should provocation by non violent homosexual advance be a defense to criminal liability in cases where a person is killed?
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Research euthanasia online and determine what states do and do not permit euthanasia.
a. Do the majority permit euthanasia?
b. How do the statutes in those states that permit euthanasia differ?
2. Research the Ford-Firestone Rollover case. Make an argument for or against charging the corporations with murder based on the information they are able to find regarding the case.
3. Comparing and contrast first degree murder, second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter.
4. Find your states' criminal negligence homicide statutes.
a. What kinds of unintentional deaths are listed (if any)?
b. Have there been any cases of criminal negligence homicide in your state in the last five years?
c. What kind of cases were they able to find?
Part 5
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The majority of rape victims are raped by someone they know. Police have not traditionally dealt well with the "acquaintance rapes." What are some ways that police might do a better job dealing with this majority of rape victims?
2 Modern day rape statutes are completely different than those that existed prior to the 1950s. Discuss these changes.
a. What impacts have such changes likely had on rape reporting and recovery for the victims?
b. Are there any changes that still need to happen?
3. At one time kidnapping required asportation as part of its actus reus. That is no longer true today.
a. Why do you think that change has occurred?
b. Should courts require that offenders move victims a substantial distance to be guilty of kidnapping?
c. Why/why not? If so, how far?
4. If there is no asportation requirement for kidnapping then what is the difference between kidnapping and false imprisonment?
a. Do you think that there are any other reasons why kidnapping is a more serious offense than false imprisonment?
b. What might those reasons be?
c. In what kinds of crimes do you think prosecutors would charge false imprisonment as opposed to kidnapping?
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Read the information on the link below about the Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping. write a paper about how the kidnapping impacted kidnapping laws in the United States.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lindbergh/sfeature/crime.html
2. Research the Lorena Bobbitt case. Compare and contrast the Bobbitt case with another case they find (not another famous case).
3. Research the cyberstalking laws in your state.
a. Does your state have a cyberstalking statute?
b. Find a case of cyberstalking and brief the case.
Part 6
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The mens rea for receiving stolen property varies from state to state. In some states, receivers have to know the goods are stolen. In others, believing the goods are stolen is enough. In all jurisdictions, knowledge may be inferred from surrounding circumstances, such as receivinggoods from a known thief or buying goods at a fraction of their real value.
a. What are the positive outcomes of each level of mens rea?
b. What are the potential unexpected negative outcomes of each level of mens rea?
2. Criminal trespass used to be limited to unauthorized invasions of physical property, but now it includes unauthorized access to electronic information systems. The most common of these crimes is identity theft but there are many others.
a. What are some of the other crimes and what harms have they caused?
b. Do you know anyone who has been a victim of any "electronic information system" crime?
c. What harms did he/she experience?
3. Identity theft is the most prevalent crime in the United States. Why do you think that this is the case?
a. What can citizens of the United States do to protect themselves from identity theft?
b. What harms are caused by identity theft?**Hint recent Target case**
4. Intellectual property theft causes billions of dollars of losses each year. Many people are guilty of pirating software. It is easy to think that there is no harm in downloading a song that only costs about a dollar on the internet. Discuss the pros and cons of illegal downloading of different types of products available on the internet.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Read the article at the link below. Explain the Ponzi scheme.
https://www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm
2. Research the theft laws in your state. Determine if your state has a consolidated theft statute.
a. Identify the sections of the statute for each element of the crime.
3. Go to the federal mail fraud statute at the link below. Explain how the federal mail fraud statute defines false pretense much more broadly than common law and how this impacts the prosecution of the crime.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-63
4. Examine the criminal trespass statutes in your state. How have the statutes addressed the issues of criminal trespass as regards electronic information systems?
a. What is your state doing to combat this problem?
5. Go online to the link below and report on the frequency of identity theft in the United States. Reflect on how much identity theft is occurring in this country and what they can do to reduce this crime.
https://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=42