Assignment

Analyze the following six questions. To properly address all of the points, each answer should be almost 1 page (a total of 5 pages including the conclusion). It should thoroughly cover the relevant material. You should also explain any alternative theories and what arguments would likely be used to counter your position.

1.          Did Lennie cause the first officer’s death? Distinguish between proximate cause and cause in fact. Are there any intervening causes? If so, are they superseding? Explain in detail every argument that could help Lennie and every argument that the prosecution is likely to use against him using only the concepts you learned in class.

2.          Did the girl cause the first officer’s death? Use the same analysis for the girl as you did for Lennie.

3.          Did the girl have a defense to killing the second officer? Explain the rules regarding defenses in thoroughly answering the question.

4.          Who can be charged for killing Ernie? Does the second cop have a defense (assuming he were alive to be charged)? Does the girl have a defense?

5.          Does Jeffrey have any defense to jumping on top of the bystander? Which defense? What are the elements of that defense?

6.          Assume that having sex with someone under the age of 18 is a strict liability offense. What defenses does Lennie have and why?

 

(While writing the paper….include criminal law terms & concepts such as: Actus reus, intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, having criminal knowledge, direct cause, intervening cause, proximate cause, direct cause, indirect cause,  foreseeability, self-defense, necessity, excuse defenses such as claiming insanity, duress, diminished capacity, intoxication,  mistake of fact, mistake of law, common law, actual cause).

 

This is the Hypothetical you’ll be using to write the paper on the questions provided above:

You are a new lawyer on your first day at work. A sad-looking man named Lennie walks into your office and asks, “Are you really a lawyer? Because I need a lawyer real bad.” You assure him you are in fact a practicing attorney, and he tells you his story.

Lennie was drinking a Budweiser and riding his bicycle to work as a Carnie at the local carnival. A Carnie is a carnival caller who runs a game booth and yells at people as they pass by, trying to persuade them to play the game. Lennie ran the Dart booth, where patrons threw darts and attempted to pop balloons to win prizes.

While riding to work, Lennie noticed blue and red lights flashing behind him. He couldn’t believe that the police would come after a bicycle, so he kept riding. He rode all the way through three people’s backyards, with the police cruiser following, crashing through swing sets and sending children scrambling. Finally, Lennie arrived at work and lost the cop car in the sea of carnival employees and arriving customers.

“Whew,” he gasped, as he parked his bike behind a nearby tent. “I think I’m going to dress up as a clown today!” Lennie put on his clown outfit and manned his booth. “Three darts for a dollar,” he called out. “Hit a balloon and win a Cadillac. Three darts for a dollar.” Lennie’s booth was popular, since most people didn’t realize that the Cadillac was, in fact, only a $1 toy car rather than an actual Cadillac. A line began to form. “Yes, a brand new, red Cadillac,” Lennie called to the crowd while pointing to a photo of a $75,000 car. “Pop the right balloon and win a Cadillac. Three tries for a dollar!”

The crowds began to line up. A very drunk 16-year-old girl stammered to the front of the line. “I want a Cadillac,” she declared as she plopped down a crumpled one dollar bill. “Hey lady, are you sure you’re old enough to drive, much less drink?” Lennie asked.

The girl became angry and tossed a driver’s license at Lennie. “I’m 21, you silly clown,” she declared. Lennie looked at the license, and sure enough, it proved that she was 21.

“Alright. Here are your darts. Good luck.” Lennie handed over three darts. The girl began to throw the first dart, and as she did, Lennie honked a clown horn. He often did that to distract his customers as they played the game. The horn scared the girl, and her hand slipped. The dart went through the back of the tent and punctured the eye of the cop who had pursued Lennie to the circus and was still looking for him. He died instantly.

The crowd of spectators gasped. Another cop came from behind the tent and raised his gun to the girl, who was holding her second dart. “Put down that dart,” he declared. But the girl could hardly hear him because of the voices in her head telling her that the cop was a demon who needed to be killed. She threw the second dart at the cop with the gun and hit him in the forehead. As he fell, his gun discharged, and he struck a person in the crowd named Ernie. Ernie also died.

By this time, the entire carnival was beginning to notice the commotion, and Jeffrey the flame thrower decided to help his friend Lennie and the girl escape. He distracted the swarms of police who were arriving by setting fire to a nearby tent, and, accidentally, to a member of the crowd. When Jeffrey realized that he had accidentally set fire to the bystander, he jumped on top of the bystander to put out the flames.

Lennie and the girl escaped and fell in love. They did the sort of things that couples normally do when they’re in love (hint—they had sex).

Lennie now sits in front of you looking very sad. “I think I need a lawyer,” he said.

IMPORTANT:

(Please only use journal & news articles, government & law websites along with websites that have all the information needed such as the author, publishing date or publication year, article title and periodical title with the volume/issue and page numbers for accurate citation and credibility purposes; APA Style;3-4 sources; all paraphrased)  Also cite where all of the information came from at the end of every paragraph while using in text citations. The information should be well written, organized, and able to understand clearly as this is a graduate level case brief. THANK YOU J