1. Defendant (D) is the father of an 8-year old boy. One afternoon, D travels to his son's school to pick him up following soccer practice. When D enters the school and walks into the locker room where his son is changing clothes, D sees the coach sexually molesting his son. D immediately runs into the locker room, picks up a baseball bat and strikes the coach over his head, killing him instantly. D is charged and convicted of second degree murder.

• At the sentencing hearing, what are the chances of having the second degree murder conviction mitigated down to manslaughter in a common law jurisdiction?
• What are the chances if it is a Model Penal Code jurisdiction?

Very specifically, explain each of your answers to the two parts based upon the discussion in the lecture.

D and V are prison inmates. After D's cell is searched, D is convinced that V informed on him and immediately stabs V in the chest and he dies. D is then charged with first-degreemurder. D argues he can't be convicted of first-degree murder because that crime requires some time of premeditation and deliberation and his instantly stabbing V shows no pre-planning or contemplation of murder. Can the prosecutor be successful in proving first-degree murder even though D stabbed V immediately or is D correct in his argument? Explain your answer based upon the discussion in the lecture and the case(s) discussed.