Transcript Defenses

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Bentley had sexual intercourse with a 13-yearold girl in a state where the age of consent is 16
years of age. At his trial for statutory rape,
Bentley’s best defense will probably be
A)
entrapment.
B)
infancy.
C)
duress.
D)
none of the above
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An example of noncriminal homicide is
A)
felony murder.
B)
voluntary manslaughter.
C)
involuntary manslaughter.
D)
none of the above
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Today, suicide is
A)
a crime.
B)
not a serious cause of death among
teens.
C)
often treated as a plea for help.
D)
attempted by most people at some time
in their lives.
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The difference between criminal assault and
criminal battery is that
A)
in assault, the person acts recklessly.
B)
in battery, the person acts
intentionally.
C)
in assault, there is a threat of physical
attack.
D)
in battery, there is a threat of physical
attack.
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Sexual assault includes
A)
stalking.
B)
rape.
C)
battery.
D)
manslaughter.
 Which of the following are ALL crimes against
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property?
A) assault, arson, embezzlement, robbery
B) receiving stolen property, burglary, forgery,
homicide
C) extortion, robbery, battery, larceny
D) larceny, vandalism, burglary, unauthorized use of
a motor vehicle
 Which of the following is an example of larceny?
 A)
Konrad shoplifts a jacket.
 B) Karen holds up a jewelry store.
 C) Karol threatens to beat Grace up if she does not
give her $1,000.
 D) Karl breaks into his neighbor’s house.
 Marty set his own home on fire and destroyed it
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because he wanted to build a new house on the
property. He did not try to get insurance proceeds for
the loss. Marty has committed
A) arson.
B) malicious burning.
C) vandalism.
D) no crime.
 Conor works in the canteen selling snacks to students
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during lunch hour. Every day he takes $20 from the
cash register. He has committed
A) robbery.
B) extortion.
C) burglary.
D) embezzlement.
 Maurice used his credit card to order a digital camera.
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A week later, someone began charging items to
Maurice’s credit card with the number they took from
the Internet. Maurice is the victim of
A) burglary.
B) identify theft.
C) embezzlement.
D) extortion.
Reminders in Criminal Law
For a conviction to occur in a criminal case,
the prosecutor must establish beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant
committed the act in question with the
required intent
 The government must prove its case
 The defendant is not required to defend
himself
 However, there are numerous defenses that
can be used…
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No Crime Has Been Committed
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Evidence that no crime was committed
 E.g., carried gun but had permit, wasn’t rape
but consensual
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No criminal intent was involved
 E.g., might have mistakenly taken someone
else’s coat=honest and reasonable mistake
Defendant Did Not Commit the Crime
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Alibi
 Evidence that the defendant was
somewhere else at the time of the crime
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DNA evidence
Defendant Committed a Criminal Act, but
the Act was Excusable or Justifiable
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Self-defense
 the right of a person who is unlawfully attacked
 cannot use more force than appears reasonably necessary
 deadly force can only be used if the person believes there is
eminent danger of death or serious bodily harm
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Defense of property
 reasonably non-deadly force
 however, some states have “Make My Day laws” which allow
for deadly force against unwarranted intrusion
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Defense of others
 use of reasonable force
 you can use it if the person attacked can claim self-defense
Review
Ms. George kept a pistol in her home as protection
against intruders. One evening, she heard a noise
in the den and went to investigate. Upon entering
the room, she saw a man stealing her television.
The burglar, seeing the gun, ran for the window,
but Ms. George fired and killed him before he
could escape.
 In a trial for manslaughter, Ms. George pleaded
self-defense. Would you find her guilty?
 Would your answer be any different if we had a
Make My Day Law in GA?
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Review
Coach Hutto has a legal handgun to protect his home
against intruders and against increasing crime in his
neighborhood. One night, Takeshi, a 16-year old
Japanese exchange student, walks up to Mr. Peter’s
driveway looking for a party. Takeshi thinks Hutto is
hosting the party and begins yelling and waving his
arms. Coach Hutto gets scared, retrieves his
handgun, and points it at Takeshi while yelling
“Freeze!” Takeshi does not understand English and
keeps walking toward Hutto. Thinking he is an
intruder, Hutto shoots and kills Takeshi at the front
steps of his house.
 Coach Hutto is charged with first degree murder.
Does he have a defense?
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Review
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The owner of a jewelry store spots a
shoplifter stealing an expensive
necklace. Can the owner use force to
prevent the crime? Is so, how much?
Defendant Committed a Criminal Act but is Not
Criminally Responsible for his or her Actions
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Infancy
 under 7, legally incapable of committing a crime
 ages 7-14 also considered in that category, but has
exceptions
○ e.g., 12-yr. old boy was charged with murder of 6 yr. old
girl when attempting a wrestling move in “tough on crime”
law
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Intoxication
 so drunk or high they didn’t know what they were doing
 voluntary intoxication is generally NOT a defense
○ exception=if crime requires proof of specific mental state
 e.g., sometimes can claim that because of drunkenness, a person
could not have formed the intention to kill; if the mental state existed
before getting drunk, it would not be a defense
Defendant Committed a Criminal Act but is Not
Criminally Responsible for his or her Actions
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Insanity
 people with a mental disorder shouldn’t get convicted if
they didn’t know what they were doing or can tell the
difference b/n right and wrong
 only applies if the person was insane at the time of the
crime
○ some states have abolished the defense
 Person must be acquitted if they lack the substantial
capacity to appreciate the nature of the act
Defendant Committed a Criminal Act but is Not
Criminally Responsible for his or her Actions
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Entrapment
 admits to criminal act, but claims he/she was induced or
persuaded to commit the crime by a law enforcement
officer
 entrapment is NOT just providing the opportunity to
commit a crime, but that the defendant would not have
committed the crime except for the officer
 difficult to prove and cannot be claimed in serious
crimes involving serious injury
Can entrapment be claimed as a valid
defense in any of the following cases?
Mary, an undercover police officer
masquerading as a prostitute,
approaches Edward and tells him that
she’ll have sex with him in exchange for
$50. Edward hands over the money and
is arrested.
 Answer:
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 Maybe, maybe not; was he roaming the
streets looking for a prostitute or was he
lured into committing a crime
Can entrapment be claimed as a valid
defense in any of the following cases?
Jan, a drug dealer, offers to sell drugs to
Emilio, an undercover police officer
disguised as a drug addict. Emilio buys
the drugs and Jan is arrested.
 Answer:
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 Not entrapment; the police simply provided
the opportunity for the sale
Can entrapment be claimed as a valid
defense in any of the following cases?
Rashid, an undercover FBI agent,
repeatedly offers Sammy a chance to get
in on an illegal gambling ring, with the
promise that he will win big. After refusing
several offers, Sammy, who has no history
of gambling but lost his job, finally gives
Rashid $200 as a bet. Rashid immediately
arrests Sammy.
 Answer:
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 Entrapment; Sammy has no previous history of
gambling and would likely not have entered the
gambling ring if not prodded by Rashid
Defendant Committed a Criminal Act but is Not
Criminally Responsible for his or her Actions
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Duress
 result of coercion or threat of immediate danger to life or
personal safety
 lacks the ability to exercise free will
 is not a defense to homicide
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Necessity
 compelled to react to a situation that is unavoidable to
protect life
 not a defense in homicide
REVIEW
If the jury determines that this defense
exists, the defendant can still be
convicted of some crime.
A. alibi
B. intoxication
C. infancy
D. self-defense
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REVIEW
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A.
B.
C.
D.
Leo has been hospitalized during acute
psychotic episodes seven times. While out in
the community, he orders food in a restaurant.
He feels he is being slighted and even though
he knows it is wrong, he pulls out a gun and
shoots the cook dead. He is charged with
criminal homicide and will be found
not guilty because he is criminally insane.
guilty but mentally ill.
guilty and will not have the defense of
criminal insanity.
not guilty because he lacked criminal intent.
REVIEW
When returning from Africa, Mary brings
what she believes is ivory into the United
States, even though it is illegal to bring ivory
into the country. However, the item is really
made of plastic. Mary has
 A) committed no crime.
 B) committed a crime because she has
criminal intent.
 C) the defense of diminished capacity.
 D) the defense of an honest and reasonable
mistake.
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REVIEW
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Nicholas is awakened at night by someone
stealing his car. He takes his gun and chases the
thief in his wife’s car. He shoots at the car and kills
the driver. Nicholas is
A) not guilty of criminal homicide because of selfdefense.
B) not guilty of criminal homicide because of
defense of property.
C) not guilty of criminal homicide because of alibi.
D) guilty of criminal homicide and has no defense.
REVIEW
A gang member points a gun at Tran
and tells him that if he does not kill a
rival gang member, he will kill him. Tran
kills the rival gang member and would
have
 A) no defense.
 B) the defense of duress.
 C) the defense of necessity.
 D) the defense of diminished capacity.
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Review
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
Alibi
Duress
Entrapment
Infancy
Insanity
defense
Intoxication
Necessity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
A Latin word meaning “elsewhere;” an excuse
or plea that a person was somewhere else at
the time a crime was committed A.
The legal defense of a person considered not
yet legally responsible for his or her actions D.
A state of drunkenness or similar condition
created by the use of drugs or alcohol F.
Defense raised by a criminal defendant stating
that because of mental disease or defect, the
defendant should not be held responsible for
the crime committed E.
An act by law enforcement officials to persuade
a person to commit a crime C.
Unlawful pressure on a person to do something
that he or she would not otherwise do B.
A defense to a criminal charge that shows a just
or lawful reason for the defendant’s conduct G.