...Criminal Defense Case Analysis Paper Nikisha Rayford CJA/354 February 10, 2014 Gary Weil Criminal Defense Case Analysis Criminal Defenses One of the greatest rights afforded to the America people is the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. It is the job of the prosecutor to prove to the people, to the jury, and to the court that the accused is guilty of a crime. If the prosecutor has a valid case, the accused, either on his or her own or accompanied by a skilled attorney, can present various defenses to argue why they acted in the manner they did. According to Criminal Law Today, “A defense consists of evidence and arguments offered by a defendant and his or her attorneys to show why that person should not be held liable for a criminal charge” (Schmalleger 2010, pg. 114). This paper will discuss various forms of criminal defenses and how they are used in court. Justification Defense The courts usually require that the prosecutor prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of a crime, the defense can take an offensive role in their trial by taking an affirmative defense. Instead of sitting back and waiting for the prosecuting attorney to attempt to prove the defendant’s guilt, the defendant can fight back with defenses. The following are types of affirmative defenses: Necessity The defense of necessity claims that the defendant believes it was necessary to commit...
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...Question 12 Page 170 On July 5, 1884, four sailors were cast away from their ship in a storm 1,600 miles from the Cape of Good Hope. Their lifeboat contained neither water nor much food. On the 20th day of their ordeal, Dudley and Stevens, without the assistance or agreement of Brooks, cut the throat of the fourth sailor, a 17- or 18-year-old boy. They had not eaten since day 12. Water had been available only occasionally. At the time of the death, the men were probably about 1,000 miles from land. Prior to his death, the boy was lying helplessly in the bottom of the boat. The three surviving sailors ate the boy’s remains for four days, at which point they were rescued by a passing boat. They were in a seriously weakened condition. a. Were Dudley and Stevens guilty of murder? Explain. b. Should Brooks have been charged with a crime for eating the boy’s flesh? Explain. See The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens, 14 Queen’s Bench Division 273 (1884). a. “The facts found on the special verdict shew that the prisoners were not guilty of murder, at the time when they killed Parker but killed him under the pressure of necessity. Necessity will excuse an act which would otherwise be a crime.”(justiceharvard) After reading this I believe that they did what they had to do in order to survive. They said the boy was weak and wouldn’t have made it anyway. They will have to live with the decision they made but they got to live because of it. b. No, he used it as a means to survive...
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...retention (Morton, 2001). Social media gives marketers a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers and potential consumers. It personalizes the “band” and helps to spread the message in a relaxed and conversational way (Lake, 2011). It has provided great benefits to small businesses to access potential customers without investing great amount of money on paid advertising. Now days, businesses can take advantage of being part of social media marketing to promote their products and services. To have an effective social media marketing a company needs to analyze and determine what market they will be targeting and what kind of data is available to identify the factors that are important to the company to achieve the goals desired (Stephens, 2011). The best way a company can effectively start taking advantage of social media is by setting goals, outline a strategy and learn how to best reach the target audience. Then, it needs to pick the right tools and metrics aligned with those goals. Companies need to define their objectives according to the business goals. They need to listen and learn from their customers to meet customer needs. Learning to understand the people they want to...
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...In Re F , the doctor performing the operation would be held guilty in the criminal law. However, the House Of Lords (Lord Goff, with whom Lord Bridge and Jauncey agreed), explained that it was ‘the principle of necessity ‘which, among other things, allowed people to assist others without their consent. One can submit that Lord Goff did mention necessity expressly as he stated that common law principle of necessity could justify action which would otherwise be unlawful in three groups of cases- (1) cases of public necessity, where defendant interferes with another’s property in the public interest. (2) cases of private necessity where defendant interferes with another’s property from imminent peril and (3) ‘action taken as a matter of necessity to assist another person without his...
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...NECESSITY LAW THE GENERAL RULE Necessity arises where a defendant is forced by circumstances to transgress the criminal law. The generally accepted position is that necessity cannot be a defence to a criminal charge. The leading case is: * R v Dudley and Stephens (1884) 14 QBD 273. The defendants and a cabin boy were cast adrift in a boat following a shipwreck. The defendants agreed that as the cabin boy was already weak, and looked likely to die soon, they would kill him and eat him for as long as they could, in the hope that they would be rescued before they themselves died of starvation. A few days after the killing they were rescued and then charged with murder. The judges of the Queen's Bench Division held that the defendants were guilty of murder in killing the cabin boy and stated that their obvious necessity was no defence. The defendants were sentenced to death, but this was commuted to six months' imprisonment. * Lord Coleridge CJ, having referred to Sir Matthew Hale's assertion (The History of the Pleas of the Crown, 1736) that a man was not to be acquitted of theft of food on account of his extreme hunger, doubted that the defence of necessity could ever be extended to a defendant who killed another to save his own life. After referring to the Christian aspect of actually giving up one's own life to save others, rather than taking another's life to save one's own, he referred to the impossibility of choosing between the value of one person's life and another's: ...
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...presented in this video. Consequentialist moral reasoning is based on the idea that one’s actions can be decided as right or moral if the consequences of those actions are lighter in weight than the action itself (Justice). The examples presented included the trolley car cases where, in one case, one, being the operator of a trolley with no brakes, must decide whether or not to change the course of the trolley car in order to only sacrifice one life or let the trolley car continue on its course and end five lives. In such a situation, one has to truly examine one’s outlook on life and the differences between right and wrong to come up with an answer. In this example, the idea of inevitability comes to mind. The...
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...determine to what extent they provide a defence. In the case of Valderrama-Vega (1985) the D smuggled cocaine due to threats on his life and threats to disclose his homosexuality. The Court of Appeal quashed his conviction because the Jury did not look at the cumulative effects of all the threats that were made to him. A two stage test was introduced in the case of Graham (1982) when the D helped kill his wife because he was threatened by his homosexual lover. Was the D compelled to act as he did because he reasonably believed he had a good cause to fear serious injury or death? If so, would a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing the characteristics of the accused have responded in the same way? As we can see by these two cases, the Courts are prepared to accept the defence when the D life is being threatened. In the case of Matrin (DP) (2000) the D suffered from a schizoid-affective state which would make him see things as threatening and believe the threats would be carried out, therefore the Court held that the correct test should have been whether, in view of the D condition, he may have reasonably feared for his own or mothers safety. So now we can see that the Court includes danger to oneself and others as well as taking into account any medical conditions. In Bowen (1996) the court held that low IQ cannot be taken into account but age, pregnancy, gender and recognised mental illness can. In the case of Gill (1963) Duress cannot be used if there is a safe avenue...
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...Appendix 2 Rights or Wrongs? Public attitudes towards moral values. Stephen Rule Are South Africans apathetic about their beliefs or highly tolerant of diverse opinions and behaviour? South Africa is renowned for having one of the most liberal constitutions in the world, but an HSRC representative national survey of 4 980 adults (aged 16 and older) during September and October 2003, indicates that Government policy on “moral” issues is more “progressive” than the attitudes of the electorate. Since the 1994 change of Government, the Termination of Pregnancy Act has been passed to permit abortion. Similarly, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and capital punishment for persons found guilty of murder, have been made unconstitutional. But according to the survey, most South Africans oppose abortion, same-sex adult sexual relationships and support capital punishment. All three issues are, however, hotly contested in civil society. Pro-life activists are objecting strongly to the termination of 300 000 pregnancies since 1996. Divisions exist within the Christian community with respect to consensual sex between adults of the same gender. The re-introduction of the death penalty is policy for several political parties. Public opinion gauged by the HSRC’s 2003 South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) reflects this contestation. More than half (56%) of South African adults think that abortion is “always wrong” in the event of it being discovered that there is a strong...
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...our society. - A comprehensive and changing set of rules. Jurisprudence - The general principles underlying the law: the foundation for the making of the law. Natural Law - The principles of reason and justice which flow from the law of nature (or the law of God) and which form the foundation of our legal system. Religious Law - What is right and wrong? Rationalist Law - What is reason? 1.2 Foundation for Democratic Law Natural law is based on the notions of the laws of God and reason/common sense – ie, a combination of Religious and Rationalist law. We see direct examples of Christian teachings in our law. A notable example is the case of Donoghue v Stevenson which is a major case in the law of tort. John Locke explained that natural law involved a fundamental belief that all men are equal and will, therefore, equally respect and not harm each other. His view inspired the core principle of the American Declaration of Independence and, as a result, two of the most impacting speeches: American Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self evident – that all men are created equal, that they are endeavoured by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Gettysburg Address: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent...
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...1884 the British ship Mignonette foundered in the South Atlantic. The four crewmen, including the captain, escaped in a lifeboat, with only two cans of turnips for sustenance. One of the survivors was the cabin boy, 17, an orphan, who soon took sick after drinking seawater. On the 19th day at sea, utterly desperate, the captain, Thomas Dudley, suggested drawing lots to determine who would be killed so that the others might survive by eating him. One man objected, and the plan was put off. The next day, however, the captain told the others to look away, offered a prayer, and slit the cabin boy's throat. Four days later, the crew spotted a ship "as we were having our breakfast," the captain later wrote. Back in England, two of the three survivors were charged with murder. By utilitarian logic—the greatest good for the greatest number—it's hard to object to the act. Yet many in the hall do object, and Sandel, stalking the stage, scanning the room, wants to know why. When one student suggests that the act would have been justified had the boy, Richard Parker, consented, Sandel replies, in an amused tone: "What would that scenario look like? Dudley is there, penknife in hand, but instead of the prayer, or before the prayer, he says, 'Parker, would you mind?'" Students seem to think the proposed lottery would have justified the killing. Sandel probes: Can a fair process sanction something so abhorrent? And what if the loser changes his mind after the fact? What's more, doesn't the...
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...Julian Baggini AUGUSTINE HenryChadwick BARTHES Jonathan Culler THE B I B L E John Riches BRITISH POLITICS Anthony Wright BUDDHA Michael Carrithers BUDDHISM DamienKeown CAPITALISM James Fulcher THE CELTS Barry Cunliffe CHOICETHEORY Michael Allingham CHRISTIAN ART Beth Williamson CLASSICS Mary Beard and John Henderson CLAUSEWITZ Michael Howard THE COLD WAR Robert McMahon CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY Simon Critchley COSMOLOGY Peter Coles CRYPTOGRAPHY Fred Piper and Sean Murphy DADAAND SURREALISM David Hopkins DARWIN Jonathan Howard DEMOCRACY Bernard Crick DESCARTES TomSorell DRUGS Leslie Iversen TH E EARTH Martin Redfern EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY Geraldine Pinch EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITAIN PaulLangford THE ELEMENTS Philip Ball EMOTION Dylan Evans EMPIRE Stephen Howe ENGELS Terrell Carver ETH ICS Simon Blackburn THE EUROPEAN UNION John Pinder EVOLUTION Brian and Deborah Charlesworth FASCISM Kevin Pass mo re THE FRENCH REVOLUTION William Doyle FREUD AnthonyStorr GALILEO Stillman Drake GANDHI BhikhuParekh GLOBALIZATION...
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...Abolishing the Death Penalty George L Turner III PHI 103 Mr. Russ Tompkins August 31, 2009 Abolishing the Death Penalty The Death Penalty in America today is a highly debated issue and has been for many years. Could you imagine not having a life threatening consequence at all, such as the death penalty when it comes to criminals that commit very severe crimes? There are many people in the United States today with many different opinions on why the Death Penalty should or shouldn’t be abolished in our Country. I’m one who feels that we should not abolish the Death Penalty; however our Capital Punishment system can be much improved. One advantage to keeping the Death Penalty is that it’s suppose to act as a deterrent against those people who might think about committing a serious crime. I believe that it does help as a deterrent for some people, but not to the extent that it should. If we started sentencing more murderers and serious offenders to death, then I believe that more people will fear the consequences in which they may face. Now, if we start convicting the serious criminals to death, then that doesn’t mean continue to let them appeal their sentence and take years before they’re actually put to death. One other thing that I believe that keeps the Death Penalty from being as effective as it should be is T.V. I know it’s only T.V. but that’s what people see and a lot of people believe that is the way it is. Whether or not T.V. is how...
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...Asharin 1 Asharin, Justin 4/12/10 Gardner Philosophy Why Capital Punishment Works: Concepts of An Ideal Model Throughout the history of capital punishment, there have always been many criticisms of the penalty questioning everything from racial motivations to give the penalty, to why or why not juveniles should be exempt from the penalty, to the economic efficiency of it. Economically, many believe that the death penalty is a too long and drawn out process, and that giving life in prison is a more efficient process, and saves tax-payer money. In terms of discrimination, there has always been a subliminal sense against certain groups; with those being minorities and juveniles. The death penalty is supposed to only be given as a punishment based on the nature of a crime. However, certain statutes such as the minimum age law for the death penalty attempt to prevent true justice. If a juvenile is deemed competent, and their crime is heinous enough to incur the death penalty, then there is no reason as to why they should not be given it. As for minorities, there have always been questions as to why the majority of inmates on death row are African American. Although racism seems to be the easy answer, it is clear that the true reason is because many African Americans live in higher poverty areas were crime is rampant, thus making them more susceptible to committing heinous crimes. The death penalty should defend certain peoples, and should be used more often against...
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...Working Paper The BP Oil Spill as a Cultural Anomaly? Institutional Context, Conflict and Change Andrew J. Hoffman Stephen M. Ross School of Business University of Michigan P. Devereaux Jennings University of Alberta Ross School of Business Working Paper Working Paper No. 1151 October 2010 This work cannot be used without the author's permission. This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Sciences Research Network Electronic Paper Collection: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1706096 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN The BP Oil Spill as a Cultural Anomaly? Institutional Context, Conflict and Change Andrew J. Hoffman University of Michigan 701 Tappan Street, R4472 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 ajhoff@umich.edu 734.763.9455 and P. Devereaux Jennings University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R6 CANADA dj1@ualberta.ca 780.492.3998 Forthcoming in the Journal of Management Inquiry October 2010 The authors would like thank Marvin Washington and one anonymous reviewer from the Journal of Management Inquiry for helpful feedback and encouragement in the writing of this article. 1 ABSTRACT This paper argues that the BP Oil Spill is, potentially, a “cultural anomaly” for institutional changes in environmental management and fossil fuel production. The problem as defined by the spill’s context, the potential solutions provided by the competing logics in that context, and the selection of problem-solution...
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...Cambridge University Press 0521804167 - Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy: An Argument Against Legalisation John Keown Frontmatter More information EUTHANASIA, ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY An Argument against Legalisation Whether the law should permit voluntary euthanasia or physicianassisted suicide is one of the most vital questions facing all modern societies. Internationally, the main obstacle to legalisation has proved to be the objection that, even if they were morally acceptable in certain hard cases, voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide could not be effectively controlled; society would slide down a slippery slope to the killing of patients who did not make a free and informed request, or for whom palliative care would have offered an alternative. How cogent is this objection? This book provides the general reader (who need have no expertise in philosophy, law or medicine) with a lucid introduction to this central question in the debate, not least by reviewing the Dutch euthanasia experience. It will interest readers in any country, whether for or against legalisation, who wish to ensure that their opinions are better informed. john keown is Senior Lecturer in the Law and Ethics of Medicine, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. His previous publications include Abortion, Doctors and the Law (1988) and Euthanasia Examined (1995). © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521804167 - Euthanasia, Ethics and...
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