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Dr. Connelly, a physician, had sexual intercourse with one of his female patients while in his medical office.  At the time, the patient was legally married to another man. If the patient’s husband found out that Dr. Connelly had sexual intercourse with his wife, got his gun, brought it to Dr. Connelly’s office, and fired upon the doctor at point-blank range thereby killing Dr. Connelly, his best chance at a total acquittal on all potential homicide charges would be:

The dock area around Port Nasty is a rough part of town.  The taverns at the docks are considered pretty dangerous places that cater to ruffians.  Accordingly, locals who are not involved in waterfront activities pretty much avoid these bars.  But, one night during a “beer bust,” a local fraternity visited The Anchor Inn, one of the waterfront taverns.  Karl Heinz, a German seaman, was sitting at the bar watching an international soccer game.  He ordered a Heineken.  Billy Thompson, one of the fraternity guys, heard Heinz’s German accent when ordering the German beer.  He then began making insulting comments about foreigners, paying particular attention to making derogatory comments about Germans.  Upon receiving no reaction from Heinz (who was fluent in English), Thompson sat down at the bar right next to Heinz and said, “You have a lot of nerve, coming over here and drinking your foreign beer in an All-American bar.”  At that, Heinz threw a punch at Thompson’s jaw that knocked Thompson clear to the floor.  Heinz then turned around, ordered another Heineken, and resumed watching the soccer game on the television.  Thompson then reached into his pocket, pulled-out and opened a pocket knife, and charged at Heinz.  The bartender, seeing Thompson’s charging at Heinz, yelled, “Look out!”  Heinz tried to dodge, but he was cut on the forearm by Thompson’s knife.  Heinz immediately drew a small caliber gun and shot Thompson, killing him.  If Heinz is tried for murder, which of the following facts would be the least helpful to his defense?

Roscoe, Eric, and Joey all agreed to hold-up a newsstand.  Roscoe waited in the car on the corner while Eric and Joey approached the stand with knives drawn.  Unbeknown to the three, the newsstand they targeted was owned by a police officer who staffed the stand when he was not on duty.  The off-duty officer at the newsstand gave Eric and Joey all the money in his possession, a sum of approximately $23. But as soon as Eric and Joey turned away, though, the officer reached for a gun, aimed at Eric and Joey, and yelled, “I am a cop. Freeze or I’ll shoot.”  Both men kept running.  The officer fired at them several times.  He intended only to wound them, but instead killed Eric.  Meanwhile, Roscoe had long since become frightened and had fled the scene with the car. Roscoe was later apprehended.  He plans to plead insanity.  In a state that uses the M’Naghten test, what would be the most promising way for Roscoe to frame his plea?

Kris married Rochelle.  Shortly after they awoke one morning, Rochelle berated Kris about spending too much of his paycheck on alcohol and gambling.  Kris lost his temper and slapped Rochelle several times.  He then went off to work.  After work, Kris visited a local tavern, had a few drinks, and then took a bus to the local dog racing track.  He owed Frank “the Tank” Dello, a local loan shark, $800 which was overdue.  Kris had hoped to win enough money at the track to pay off the debt to Frank.  After the first four races, however, Kris had lost all the money he had taken with him, except for enough to pay for the bus ride home.  When Kris got off the bus, Anthony, Frank the Tank’s enforcer, was waiting for him.  Kris told Anthony:  “I just lost all my cash at the dog track, but I’ve got $500 in the sugar bowl at my house.  It’s only a block away.”  Anthony replied, “Okay, but this better not be a trick, or else you’ll be a dead man.” Kris walked quickly to his house while Anthony followed in his car.  Kris climbed the porch steps as Anthony waited in the car.  Kris pounded on the door.  Rochelle, however, still angry about having been slapped by Kris that morning, refused to let Kris in the house.  Kris became more and more desperate and told her, “Look, there’s someone in that car who is going to shoot me if I don’t give him the money in the sugar bowl.  If you don’t want to open the door, fine; just slip the money through the mail slot so I can pay this guy.  Or else call the police before I get killed!”  Through the window, Rochelle saw Anthony in the car and, knowing about her husband’s debts, assumed that he was telling the truth.  Nevertheless, she told Kris, “You can go to hell for all I care.”  She then pulled the shade down and closed the curtains.  Kris kept yelling, “Please, please . . . let me in or I’ll be killed!” Rochelle continued to ignore his pleas.  Kris, in desperation, took off and ran down the street.  Anthony, however, pursued Kris in his car and eventually drove the car onto the sidewalk.  He ran over Kris, killing him instantly. Can Rochelle be properly convicted of any homicide charge involving the death of her husband?

Both at common law and today under the modern law of most U.S. jurisdictions, there is a rebuttable presumption that a child under the age of seven is not capable of forming criminal intent, and therefore cannot be convicted of a crime.

NEW FACT PATTERN (Next 3 questions)Fred and his wife, Louise, are dining at the celebrated Italian restaurant, The Italian Scallion. Fred and Louise drink several bottles of wine. A singer, Luigi Clamsauce, comes to the table to serenade them.  Fred, in his drunken state, mistakes Luigi’s expansive arm movements for threats; as a result, Fred slugs Luigi and breaks his jaw.  In his drunken condition, Fred’s belief of imminent harm may have seemed reasonable, but if he had been sober, it would have been patently absurd.  Due to his intoxication, Fred should be acquitted of assault.

A person may be held indefinitely in a psychiatric institution upon a judicial determination that they are incompetent to stand trial.

Jane ran a watch repair shop.  A customer brought her a very unusual and costly watch to repair.  She knew that she could not fix the watch, but out of curiosity she wanted to inspect it.  She therefore told customer that she could do the job and took the watch.Yuri owned the building in which he rented both the ground-floor shop and an apartment above the shop to Jane.   Yuri owned the building in which he rented both the ground-floor shop and an apartment above the shop to Jane. That night, as Yuri happened by, he saw a light on in the shop and, finding the door unlocked, decided to investigate.  While looking around the shop, Yuri a spotted the watch.  Presuming that the watch belonged to Jane, and recalling that she was several months behind in her rent, Yuri decided to take the watch and keep it until Jane paid-up the rent that was past due.  Just as Yuri was leaving the shop, though, Jane entered.  Afraid of a fracas, Yuri tossed Jane the watch and ran out.   If Yuri is accused of larceny, his most promising defense would be      

Dostoevsky urges Raskolnikov to murder his landlady by waiting until she is asleep, and then sticking her nose and mouth shut with Crazy Glue so that she will suffocate. Raskolnikov resists at first, but Dostoevsky’s unrelenting coaxing finally convinces him to do so. When Raskolnikov goes out to buy the glue, Dostoevsky reconsiders, and upon Raskolnikov’s return, Dostoevsky tells him he does not think it is such a good idea after all. Raskolnikov goes ahead and kills the landlady anyway.  The most complete and correct statement regarding the criminal liability of the two actors in a common law jurisdiction is:

Allison was a mentally incompetent patient who was a ward of the state at the State Psychiatric Facility.  While there, Allison fell and sustained injuries that required her be transferred from the state facility to the Carter Convalescent Center (“CCC”), a private rehabilitation center.  Allison received extensive therapy for the back and leg injuries suffered during the fall at the state mental hospital.  When Allison’s rehabilitation was nearly complete, she became entitled to compensation for the injuries she had sustained while in state custody.  The state had been applying these payments to Allison’s bill at CCC.  Around the same time, Dana—a distant relative of Allison’s—was appointed to be Allison’s guardian and conservator.  Dana sought to remove Allison from CCC, even though Allison had never voiced any desire to leave.  Carter, the director of CCC, was aware that if Allison was removed from the facility, the state payments would no longer be able to be directly applied to Allison’s rehabilitation bill at CCC.  Carter consulted CCC’s attorney who erroneously advised Carter that case law had established his right to keep Allison at CCC until the bill was paid.  Therefore, when Dana tried to remove Allison from CCC, Carter refused.  If Carter is arrested and tried for the false imprisonment of Allison, should he be convicted?