Reference no: EM133308047

Case: You must answer all questions per the instructions provided. Follow the Discussion Rubric at bottom for achieving top points for each question. Ask questions anytime you are confused. Feel free to use Google or any outside source when answering; your answers, of course, must be yours alone. Remember to keep it collegial.

Discussion

Brenda is 18 years old and facing charges of joyriding. Two weeks ago, Brenda was coming home from her last day of high school classes, when she saw a new Maserati parked in front of her apartment. The doors were unlocked and the keys were in the car. Never having driven a Maserati, Brenda impulsively got behind the wheel, and then drove around for about 15 minutes before leaving the car across the street from where she found it. At the time she got in the car, Brenda thought that it might belong to her cousin. Turns out, the car belonged to a neighbor who would like to bring criminal charges. As for Brenda, she was once stopped by the police for using cannabis in public and does not have any plans for after high school.

Under California Vehicular Code sec. 10851 (Links to an external site.), for the crime of joyriding, the prosecution must show beyond a reasonable doubt that either

The defendant drove someone else's vehicle without the owner's consent; AND When the defendant drove the vehicle, (he/she) intended to deprive the owner of possession or ownership of the vehicle for any period of time; The defendant took someone else's vehicle without the owner's consent;
When the defendant took the vehicle, (he/she) intended to permanently deprive the owner of possession or ownership of the vehicle; AND

The vehicle was worth more than $950.
For this crime, a taking requires that the vehicle be moved for any distance, no matter how small. Even if the owner had allowed the defendant or someone else to take or drive the vehicle before, the jury may not conclude that the owner consented to the driving or taking based on that previous consent alone.

Question 1: Compare the mens rea between the first AND second elements of joyriding listed above.

Question 2: Compare the actus reus between the first AND second elements of joyriding listed above.

Question 3: You are the prosecutor, would you charge Brenda with a misdemeanor or felony. Show that you recognize the difference between the two mens rea listed above; the difference between felony and misdemeanor; address the harms that can come from joyriding; and, the rationales of punishment for someone like Brenda.

Question 4: No need to respond to a classmate.