Chapter 10: Homicide:This chapter is all about homicides, the killing of another individual. Generally,homicides can be divided into justifiable homicides, excusable homicides and criminal homicides. It is the criminal homicides that we explore in greater detail in this chapter. There are different crimes one can be charged with when they kill another person. There are different degrees of murder and manslaughter and the punishment varies depending on the crime charged. A significant factor is the actor's culpable mental state at the time of the crime. Another very important factor in determining what to charge is causation and proximate cause. These are concepts we learned in the beginning of the semester that we can now apply to a criminal homicide.

1.Answer the "You be the Judge" scenario on page 284 of your textbook. It gives a factual scenario and you are to determine whether the defendant can be charged with felony murder. Explain your reasoning.

2. Answer question #1 in the Case Analysis and Writing Exercises on page 296 regarding the conviction of a woman who while pregnant was in a car accident because she was driving recklessly. Explain your reasoning as towhether you think the conviction should stand.

3. Answer question #4 on page 297 in the Case Analysis and Writing Exercises. Present arguments as the defense attorney and prosecutor and then provide the reasoning you would give as the judge. Then answer the second part of the question as to whether the defendant raised the wrong defense, giving an explanation as to your thoughts.

4.The Battered Womens' Defense (also known as the Battered Person's Defense)is a defense sometimesused in domestic homicide cases and generally called an "imperfect-self defense"defense. This concept was introduced in Chapter 6 when discussing the use of force (see pages 151-152and the Barbara Sheehan case)and revisited here in this chapter (pages 291-292). Why is it considered an "imperfect" self-defense?

Chapter 11:Assault

This chapter primarily addresses the crime of assault. As with all crimes, every state has its own statues regarding criminal behavior.In New York,the Assault statute can be found in Penal Law Section120.I want to note that in NY,there is no crime of "battery".NY separates the different behavior into Assault in the ThirdDegree(A misdemeanor);Assault in the Second Degree(felony)and Assault in the First Degree(felony).Factors such as physical injury verses serious physical injury,whether a weaponwas used etc.determine which degree of assault will be charged.As far as threats,there is a Menacing statute that covers threatening to cause injury.Hate crimes laws are also addressed in this chapter and generally call for enhanced penalties. Crimes against children, family violence and kidnapping are discussed in the later part of the chapter.

1.Give some examples of items that have been found to be considered a dangerous instrument in assault cases. Find a court case where a regular household item was held to be a dangerous instrument and share it with the class.

2.Can there be a crime of assault committed in a body contact sports game? Give an example. Do you agree these individuals should be charged or is it part of the risk in playing the game?

Here are two examples given by prior students:https://www.cbc.ca/sports/bruins-marty-mcsorley-charged-with-assault-1.200872

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2019/01/12/college-athlete-charged-in-assault-of-teammate-at-practice/38887175/

3. Answer question #2 in the Case Analysis and Writing Exercises on page 330 at the end of the chapter about charging the defendant with an assault in a texting and driving accident case.

Chapter 12:Sexual Assault

Sexual assault cases are challenging to discuss because of the sensitive nature of the crime. There are many different sex crimes and varying degrees of such crimes. These crimes are very traumatizing for the victims. Anyone can be a victim of a sexual assault. Note on page 343 how far we have come in our legal framework when prosecuting sexual assault cases. This chapter discusses forcible sexual assaults as well asstatutorysexual assaults. It introduces you to Rape Shield Laws, which have been enacted in most states. Registration laws and Civil confinement laws are also addressed in this chapter.

1.Read the attached article and respond based upon what you have learned regarding rape shieldlaws in our country and case in the article.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46207304

2. The sex offender registry provides information and notification to the community for their safety. It is a public registry that provides information including the type of crime the offender committed, the sentence they received, the offender's address, the type of car the offender drives, photos of the offender, etc.Do you think there should be a registry similar to the Sex Crimes Registry for other types of crimes? Why or Why not? Do any such registries exist?

If you are interested in seeing how the NY Sex Offender Registry works,you can go onto the Division of Criminal Justice Website. There is information about the registry, the qualifying offenses, and you can type in your zip code and see if there are any registered sex offenders living within you zip code and the type of information that the registry provides regarding that offender. http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/nsor/ This public registryis for informational purposes only, for the safety of the community. Please note that it is a crime to use this information to harass or otherwise commit a crime against a registered sex offender.

3. On page 347 of your textbook it discusses a 2015 case State v. Packinghamfrom North Carolina. The US Supreme Court granted certiorari and ruled on this issue. A brief summary can be found at https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/15-1194 Explain why you agree or disagree with the US Supreme Court's ruling.