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TCScrutinizer

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Actual Crim Law Practice Question

Post by TCScrutinizer » Thu Dec 16, 2010 12:42 pm

ISSUE 1 [60 points]

RELEVANT STATUTES

565.050. Assault, first degree, penalty
1. A person commits the crime of assault in the first degree if he attempts to kill or knowingly causes or attempts to cause serious physical injury to another person.

2. Assault in the first degree is a class B felony unless in the course thereof the actor inflicts serious physical injury on the victim in which case it is a class A felony.


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565.060. Assault, second degree, penalty
1. A person commits the crime of assault in the second degree if he:

(1) Attempts to kill or knowingly causes or attempts to cause serious physical injury to another person under the influence of sudden passion arising out of adequate cause; or

(2) Attempts to cause or knowingly causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or

(3) Recklessly causes serious physical injury to another person; or

(4) While in an intoxicated condition or under the influence of controlled substances or drugs, operates a motor vehicle in this state and, when so operating, acts with criminal negligence to cause physical injury to any other person than himself; or

(5) Recklessly causes physical injury to another person by means of discharge of a firearm



2. The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause under subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section.

3. Assault in the second degree is a class C felony.


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566.040. Sexual assault
1. A person commits the crime of sexual assault if he has sexual intercourse with another person knowing that he does so without that person's consent.

2. Sexual assault is a class C felony.


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569.160. Burglary in the first degree
1. A person commits the crime of burglary in the first degree if he knowingly enters unlawfully or knowingly remains unlawfully in a building or inhabitable structure for the purpose of committing a crime therein, and when in effecting entry or while in the building or inhabitable structure or in immediate flight therefrom, he or another participant in the crime:

(1) Is armed with explosives or a deadly weapon or;

(2) Causes or threatens immediate physical injury to any person who is not a participant in the crime; or

(3) There is present in the structure another person who is not a participant in the crime.

2. Burglary in the first degree is a class B felony


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569.170. Burglary in the second degree

1. A person commits the crime of burglary in the second degree when he knowingly enters unlawfully or knowingly remains unlawfully in a building or inhabitable structure for the purpose of committing a crime therein.

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FACTS
Antoine, a 24-year-old student, is asleep after a tiring day at school in the apartment in Lincoln Park that he shares with his sister, Kelly, and her family. Late that night, Antoine suddenly wakes to hear a loud crash and a scream from upstairs, where his sister’s bedroom is located. Rushing frantically up the stairs, Antoine bursts into his sister’s room, where he finds Caesar pinning Kelly against a wall, with both of his hands wrapped around her neck. There are bits of broken glass all over the floor, and the nightstand next to the bed has been turned over, its contents scattered across the room.

Upon entering the room, the first thing Antoine does is grab Caesar by the shoulders and pull Caesar him off of his sister, saying, “What the hell, man? Get off of her!” Caesar then panics and flees through the broken second-story window. Badly shaken, Antoine and Kelly then call the police.

Afterward, Antoine goes over to comfort his sister and asks her what happened. Kelly claims that she woke up from a deep sleep to find Caesar, whom she had not met before, lying in bed with her in a state of partial undress. She sat up and screamed, and he pushed her back down onto the bed. She then kicked him hard in the chest with both feet, knocking him to the floor and cracking several ribs. She stood up and tried to run to the door, but Caesar grabbed her from behind, threw her against the wall, and wrapped his hands around her neck. It was at that time that Antoine intervened.

Fortunately for Antoine and Kelly, Caesar had left behind his t-shirt and several items from which investigators were able to obtain fingerprints. The prints ended up matching those of a shirtless man that police had apprehended a few hours later that night with a blood alcohol content of .14. When questioned by the police regarding the incident, Caesar confesses to being in the apartment, but claims that he thought that he was in his own apartment at the time and was in bed with his girlfriend. He denies assaulting Kelly, but does have several cracked ribs.

If you were the prosecutor, what charges would you bring against the parties involved? What defenses could they raise? What do you estimate are their chances of success?

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