Questions and Answers of Criminal Law

How might a prosecutor persuade a defendant to plead guilty to a criminal charge without running afoul of due process? What prosecutorial tactics are likely to be viewed as fundamentally unfair?
Compare the advantages and disadvantages to the defendant of insisting on the right to a speedy trial.
Why do you think the U.S. Supreme Court has never held that the Fifth Amendment requirement of indictment by a grand jury applies to the states as well as to the federal government?
Does the grand jury still play a viable role in the criminal justice system? Are the criticisms of the grand jury valid? Why or why not?
Should plea bargaining be abolished? If not, what modifications might be necessary to protect (a) the defendant and (b) the public?
Samuel Penurio was president of a community bank in a small town. He was well thought of in the community, but he was known to drink to excess occasionally.One June evening his bank hosted a cocktail
Willy Doolittle, age thirty-eight, is an unemployed male construction worker. He is married with two children in middle school. He has been unable to support his family for the past few weeks because
Go to the Court TV website at http://www.courtv.com. Follow Court TV’s coverage of a current trial. Write a memorandum to your instructor summarizing the major factual and legal issues before the
Jurors are generally selected from among those citizens who have registered to vote or who have registered motor vehicles. Do these methods produce juries drawn from a “representative cross-section
In England, the voir dire process is conducted by the trial judge and is extremely limited. Do you think the American system of criminal justice would have more credibility if the voir dire were
What factors do you think a defense attorney considers in deciding whether to advise a client to testify in his or her own behalf at trial?
In 1965 Justice Tom Clark, writing for the Supreme Court in Estes v. Texas, observed that “[t]rial by television is…foreign to our system.” Evaluate Justice Clark’s statement in view of
Many rules of evidence applied in jury trials are derived from the early common law, when jurors were largely uneducated. These rules were designed to prevent jurors from hearing evidence that might
What testimonial privileges are available to witnesses in your state? What is the rationale for each?
Do you think a trial judge should be allowed to summarize the evidence for the jury’s benefit before the jurors retire to deliberate? What advantages and disadvantages can you see in such a
In some jurisdictions, a judge instructs the jury regarding its general duties and responsibilities at the beginning of the trial rather than waiting until the evidence has been presented. Do you
Do you think that the trial judge should inform a jury that it has the power to issue a jury pardon despite the evidence of the defendant’s guilt when the jury feels that in “good conscience”
The Supreme Court has said that state criminal trial juries need not observe the unanimity principle that prevails in the federal courts. Could it not be argued that the reasonable doubt standard
A defendant is tried before a jury on a DWI charge. At the conclusion of the trial the judge instructs the jury: “If you find from the evidence that the defendant had a blood-alcohol content of
A defendant is being tried for first-degree murder. The prosecutor presents an eyewitness to the victim’s being shot. After asking the witness some preliminary questions, the prosecutor begins a
In response to the prosecutor’s questions, a lay witness who is a high school graduate testifies as follows: “I measured the defendant’s skid marks, and I believe he was driving at a speed of
Luke Lumberjack is being tried for raping a woman he has known for a year.The state’s evidence disclosed that Lumberjack, age twenty-three, had spent an evening with the female complainant, age
Go to the Web. Locate your state’s statutes pertaining to criminal procedure.Does your state impose a mandatory minimum sentence for a defendant who is convicted of carrying a firearm during the
Why have the courts generally viewed corporal punishment as “cruel and unusual”yet been unwilling to take the same view of capital punishment?
How could a prisoner on death row establish that his or her death sentence was the result of racial discrimination?
Does your state impose the death penalty? If so, what does the state law provide with respect to juries considering aggravating and mitigating factors? Do you think your state’s law governing the
What alternatives to imprisonment exist to deal with violent criminals who are repeat offenders? What alternatives, if any, would you propose? What legal problems are implicit in these alternatives
Discuss the pros and cons of mandatory sentences. Do mandatory sentences remove discretion from the sentencing judge and vest discretion in the prosecutor who may elect to charge a defendant with a
Suppose you were a probation officer and a judge asked you to recommend probation conditions for a first-time offender convicted of the sale and possession of cocaine. What specific conditions would
Should a defendant always be permitted to view the contents of a presentence report? What are the arguments for and against this?
In August of 2003, Justice Kennedy made a speech in which he strongly criticized mandatory sentencing laws. Do you agree or disagree with Justice Kennedy? Why?
What implications do the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000), Blakely v. Washington (2004), and United States v. Booker (2005) have for future use of sentencing
What is the rationale for granting only minimal due process rights to parolees and probationers and to prisoners in disciplinary proceedings?
To what extent have the legal rights of prisoners been expanded since the 1960s? Have the courts been unduly solicitous in entertaining lawsuits brought by prison inmates?
Do you think that the introduction of a victim impact statement during the sentencing phase of a capital trial is appropriate, or do you think it might inject too much emotionalism into the process?
Inmate Jay Leburd has brought suit in federal court challenging the conditions of his confinement in the Intensive Management Unit (IMU) of a maximum security state prison. Specifically, Leburd
In 1987 Douglas Deville was convicted in a state court for felonious possession of cocaine. He received probation for that offense. Three years later, Deville was found guilty of another drug-related
Locate your state’s online resources on the Web. Find the opinions of the appellate court or courts that review routine criminal appeals. Determine whether that court’s opinions are posted
What court or courts in your state have jurisdiction to hear appeals from felony convictions? What changes, if any, would you propose for your state’s system of appellate courts?
Is the right to appeal a necessary concomitant of due process of law? In the absence of statutory rights to appeal, would the current Supreme Court find a constitutional right to appeal implicit in
What new or revised procedures would expedite the resolution of criminal appeals? Would such procedures detract from the fair and deliberative review essential to determine whether the decision of
In addition to determining whether a sentence imposed on a convicted defendant is within the statutory bounds, do you think an appellate court is an appropriate forum to reconsider the reasonableness
How has the “nationalization” of the criminal law that occurred through decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court during the 1960s and 1970s affected the appellate process?
The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized a constitutional right to represent oneself in a criminal trial. Could a person who insisted on self-representation at trial later challenge his or her
Where a defendant has had an opportunity for a full and fair review of his or her trial through an appeal, what justifies the availability of additional avenues of review through collateral attack?
After studying briefs submitted by counsel and hearing oral arguments in a proceeding open to the public, appellate judges retire to privately discuss and decide the merits of criminal appeals.
In a substantial number of criminal appeals, some state appellate courts routinely issue decisions merely stating “Judgment Affirmed.” When an appellate court rejects a defendant’s issues on
Do you think the ability of a convicted defendant to secure DNA testing rises to an issue of due process of law? Does Congress have a role to play in providing a standardized process throughout the
John Dunnit was convicted of aggravated sexual battery and was sentenced to state prison. After exhausting his appellate remedies in the state courts, Dunnit filed a federal habeas corpus
Culp Able was convicted of murder in state court. Central to the state’s case was a confession that Able uttered before being given his Miranda warnings. The trial judge received the confession in
How does a crime compare to a civil wrong?
In what ways is the criminal law different from the law of criminal procedure?
Explain the goals of the criminal law.
Which goal of the criminal law do you prefer, and why?
Identify five sources of the criminal law.
What effect did early legal codes have on the modern criminal law?
What is the common law, and why is it important?
At what levels of government are modern statutes found?
What are the constitutional sources of the criminal law?
Which source of the criminal law is the most influential? Why?
Distinguish between adversarial and inquisitorial justice.
What is the burden of proof in a criminal trial? How does it compare to the burden of proof in a civil trial?
What are presumptions, and why are they important?
Distinguish between the roles of the prosecutor and defense attorney.
What is the role of the judge?
How does jury selection play out?
What does it mean to say that the United States has a dual court system?
Distinguish between dual and cooperative federalism.
Explain the concept of court hierarchy.
Summarize the typical state court structure (i.e., what are the courts at each level, and what do they do?). Do the same for the courts at the federal level.
Explain the relationship (real and ideal) between higher and lower courts.
Virginia’s public institutions of higher learning include an incomparable military college, Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The United States maintains that the Constitution’s equal protection
After publicly burning an American flag as a means of political protest, Gregory Lee Johnson was convicted of desecrating a flag in violation of Texas law. This case presents the question whether his
Prisoners sentenced to death in the State of Oklahoma filed an action in federal court . . . contending that the method of execution now used by the State violates the Eighth Amendment because it
How do the separation of powers and federalism place limitations on government’s law-making authority? Be specific.
Explain the principle of legality.
What is lenity? How does it place limitations on the criminal law?
Explain how the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause places limits on the criminal law.
What is an ex post facto law? Provide a specific example.
Provide an example of a law that could be considered “void for vagueness.”
List several types of speech that are not protected under the First Amendment.
Provide an example of a law that could be considered“void for overbreadth.”
What types of punishment are considered cruel and unusual?
Explain how the Eighth Amendment applies to sentence length.
Summarize the Blockburger rule as it pertains to double jeopardy.
Explain the circumstances in which double jeopardy does not apply.
Decina was charged with criminal negligence in operating an automobile with knowledge that he was subject to epileptic seizures. He drove erratically at high speeds and his car struck a group of
Defendant and a friend, Jude Mari (Mari), were at a mutual friend’s home. Upon preparing to leave the residence, Mari noticed that Defendant was intoxicated and offered to drive for him. They got
A jury found defendant, Brent Kerrigan Lawson, guilty of petty theft for stealing a $20 hoodie from a Walmart store . . . On this appeal, defendant claims his conviction for petty theft must be
What is the general part of the criminal law? Provide an example.
What is the special part of the criminal law? Provide an example.
Offer an example of a conduct crime and a result crime. Explain your answer.
When can an omission qualify as the actus reus of a crime?
What types of voluntary acts satisfy actus reus?
Distinguish traditional from statutory mens rea.
Provide an example of both a general and a specific intent crime. Explain your answer.
Explain strict liability, and offer an example of two strict liability crimes.
Compare and contrast factual and legal causation.
Provide one example each for ignorance and mistake.
Can ignorance serve as a criminal law defense? If so, when?

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