For each question, follow the four steps discussed in the text and provide each of the following information:

STEP 1: Identify each type of cause of action and area of law possibly involved.

STEP 2: Determine the elements of each cause of action identified in Step 1.

STEP 3: Determine which of the facts of the client's case apply to establish or satisfy the

elements of each cause of actionthe key facts

STEP 4: Assemble the issue from the law and key facts identified in Steps 2 and 3

Question 1

Statute: Colorado Revised Statute 15-11-502 provides:

"(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section . . . a will shall be:

(a) In writing;

(b) Signed by the testator, or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and

(c) Signed by at least two individuals either prior to or after the testator's death, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after he or she witnessed, in the conscious presence of the testator, either the signing of the will as described in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) or the testator's acknowledgement of that signature or acknowledgment of the will.

(2) A will that does not comply with subsection (1) of this section is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting."

Facts: Lisa decided to change her will. Her attorney drafted a new will and brought it to her home. Lisa was extremely ill and confined to her bed. She was too ill to sign the will but she directed her neighbor, Beth, to sign for her. Before Beth could sign, Lisa lost consciousness. Beth signed the will for Lisa. Two witnesses were present and saw Beth sign the will. After Lisa regained consciousness, the witnesses witnessed the will.

Problem: Identify the issue regarding the validity of the will.

Question 2

Facts: The client is charged in state court with theft in violation of Criminal Code Section 18-16-401, Theft. The client manages a store for his employer. His duties include running a cash register, ordering and signing for inventory, stocking shelves, and making the daily cash and check deposit with the bank. One day, an order of legal pads arrived. The invoice listed 100 pads. In the shipping box were 110 pads. The client opened the container, took the extra 10 pads, put them in his backpack, and took them home. He stocked the rest of the pads. Another employee saw the client take the pads and reported him to the employer. The employer called the police.

Rule of Law: Criminal Code Section 18-16-401, Theft. "A person commits theft when he or she knowingly obtains or exercises control over anything of value of another without authorization, or by threat or deception."

Problem: Identify the theft issue.

Question 3

Facts: The client, Jason, is charged with murder in the first degree. Jason hated Kim for ruining Jason's business. Jason decided to kill Kim. Jason followed Kim for several weeks and discovered that Kim jogged once a week next to a country road. Jason hid on a hill near where Kim jogged and planned to shoot him. As Kim ran by, Jason fired and missed. When Kim heard the report from the rifle, he felt the bullet whiz by him and jumped onto the road, where he was hit and killed by a passing car. A witness saw Jason. He was caught and charged with first degree murder.

Rule of Law: Criminal Code Section 18-8-101, Murder in the first degree. "A person commits murder in the first degree if:

a. After deliberation and with the intent to cause the death of a person other than himself or herself he or she causes the death of that person or another person; or

b. Acting either alone or with one or more persons, he or she commits or attempts to commit arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault, and in the course of the crime the death of a person is caused by anyone."

Problem: Identify the murder issue.

Question 4

Read Baumgardner v. Stuckey. Identify the issue in the case.