1. Defendant walked into a store and shot the store clerk several times. Defendant knew that he was killing his victim and knew that killing his victim was against the law but thought that the killing was morally required because “God told him to do so.”
a. Can defendant be charged with a crime? Does he have any valid defenses? Explain.
2. Peter intended to kill his landlord but when he fired his gun, the gun misfired and wound up injuring Peter.
a. Can Peter be charged with a crime? Did he actually commit a bad act?
3. Thinking it will be funny to scare the drivers below, Smita drove her friends Samantha and James to a highway overpass, where they threw a frozen turkey onto the highway. A driver was seriously injured and almost died. All three claim that they never intended to hurt anyone and were not thinking through the consequences of their actions.
a. Can Samantha and James be criminally charged for an injury they did not intend? In other words, do they have the appropriate
mens rea
to be charged with a crime? Explain in detail.
b. Can Smita be charged with any crime for driving her friends to the highway overpass? Explain.
4. Jovian, a six-year old boy, was frustrated that his teacher criticized the picture he drew in front of the entire class. He came to school the following day and stabbed the teacher with a sharp instrument, causing significant injury to the teacher’s hand.
a. Did Jovian commit an assault?
5. Defendant is paid $1,000 to bring a deliver a small package to a liquor store each week. Defendant attempts to avoid looking in the package to see its contents each week. During his fourth delivery, police follow defendant, seize the package, open it, and find heroin inside. Defendant is charged with knowingly possessing an unlawful substance.
a. Can Defendant be charged with knowingly possessing an unlawful substance if he did not know what the package contained?
6. Jennifer was involved in an extremely violent and abusive relationship with Mark. Jennifer was never strong enough to defend herself against Mark and often wound up in the hospital as a result of his attacks. One night, when Mark was sleeping, Jennifer took a knife and killed him in order to prevent any further attacks.
a. Jennifer claims self-defense. Can she be charged with a crime? Does she have a valid defense? Explain.
7. Daphne decides to drive to her friend’s house for the weekend. On the way there, she has an epileptic seizure, loses control of the car, and hits a bystander walking in the sidewalk.
a. Does Daphne’s action constitute an
actus reus?