Reference no: EM133199809

Week 1 Law Talk - Voluntary Acts

Mrs. Cogdon went to sleep. She dreamed that "the war was all around the house," that soldiers were in her daughter's Pat's room, and that one soldier was on the bed attacking Pat. Mrs. Cogdon, still asleep, got up, left her bed, got an ax from the woodpile outside the house, entered Pat's room, and struck her two accurate blows to the head with the blade of the axe, thus killing her.

Assignment

Students with last names beginning with the letters A through K will represent the defendant.

Students with last names beginning with the letters L through Z will work for the prosecution.

(In future Law Talks, be sure to confirm if you are representing the defense or the prosecution. The assignments will change each week.)

Submit Post 1 early in the week so that there is enough time to engage. Sources already cited by a student cannot be used by other students. You may refer to those sources when responding, but you must provide an original source to support your argument(s). 

POST 1:

Prosecutors:

• Draft comments arguing that Mrs. Cogdon's acts qualify as actus reus and is criminally liable.
• Rely on at least one state case supporting your position.
• Discuss the facts from that case, the court's reasoning, and its ruling.
• Embed a properly formatted citation within your post, as per Bluebook Practitioner Rules.
• Apply the relevant Cogdon facts to the case you discussed.
• IMPORTANT: focus on the issue of voluntariness. 

Defense:

• Draft comments arguing that Mrs. Cogdon's acts do not qualify as actus reus.
• Rely on at least one state case supporting your position.
• Discuss the facts from that case, the court's reasoning, and its ruling.
• Embed a properly formatted citation within your post, as per Bluebook Practitioner Rules.
• Apply the relevant Cogdon facts to the case you discussed.
• IMPORTANT: focus on the issue of voluntariness.

POST 2 and 3:

Prosecutors:

• Select at least two defense posts
• Research the case cited by your opponent
• Argue against that post
• Cite to at least one case that supports your opposition, as well as proves the defense is wrong

Defense:

• Select at least two prosecutor's posts
• Research the case cited by your opponent
• Argue against that post
• Cite to at least one case that supports your opposition, as well as proves the defense is wrong