Reference no: EM133364332

Robert could see Jamal talking to Cindy from his desk job at Kulman and Sons. Cindy, his girlfriend of three years, had already complained about Jamal to her. A week ago, she told him she felt uncomfortable around him, that he was always walking by her desk to chit chat about random things. He tried to make it sound work related even though their jobs were unrelated. Jamal worked alongside Robert, both part of the finance department, Cindy, in HR.
Robert's eyebrows creased as his eyes focused on Jamal across the hall. There's something about him that's off, he thought, he should report him for being a creep. Jamal turned to face him now and could see the glare in Robert's eyes. This seemed to do the trick because he left her then and made his way to the bathroom.
Robert walked over to Cindy's desk. "You ok babe?" he asked.
She rubbed the back of her neck "yea, I just don't get why he's always around here."
"He obviously has a thing for you. Grab your bag, let's go out to lunch"
She smiled at him, and they made their way to their favorite sushi spot down the road. They sat at a table by the window, looking out onto others walking on the sidewalk, dressed in suits with lanyards hanging across their necks. Robert placed a hand on Cindy's cheek "You know I spoke to him last week. I told him to back off and that he made you uncomfortable."
Cindy's eyes creased "Really? What did he say?"
Robert shrugged his shoulders "nothing, he just said alright and that he wouldn't talk to you anymore. It's weird, like did he think I was joking?"

A waiter walks over and pours them both a cup of green tea. They order their food, and the waiter makes her way to the kitchen. Robert leans over to her and says in a lowered tone "I swear to God, if he keeps doing it, I'm going to beat him up. I'm going to kill him."
Cindy fidgeted with her cup and looked down. "No, don't worry about it babe, it's all good, it's not worth it" "Of course it's worth it. You should be able to feel safe and comfortable at work damnit" His face was turning red, the way it always did when he got angry, and he could feel the heat rush to his hands.
They ate their meal and headed back to the office.
A few hours later, Jamal was back at Cindy's desk. His arm leaning across her cubicle wall, and his body blocking her entrance. Robert returned from a meeting when he saw him, crouched like that over HIS woman. His head began to pound, and he slammed a pen on the table. He took a few breaths to try and calm down his nerves and slow the pace of his heartbeat. He kept his eye on him and when he finally felt like he could walk at a normal pace, he went over to Jamal.
"Hey man, I was about to go grab an afternoon coffee. Want to come?"
Cindy looked at him confused, but also grateful to be able to return to her work. Jamal straightens his posture "Uh yea, sure. Let me just grab my wallet"
"Nah, it's on me, don't worry, you can get it next time."
When they made it out of the building, Robert felt the beat of his heart quicken again. He could hear his pulse vibrate through his fingers. They walked behind the building and into an alley.
"Where are you going?" Jamal asked.
"Don't worry, it's a shortcut" Robert continued to walk down the alley, until it hit a dead end and he turned around to face Jamal.
Jamal's eyes were filled with confusion and fear. "What's going on man?" his voice was shaky.

Robert's eyes grew big "I told you to stay away from her man. Why can't you stay away from her" and then he put his hand in a fist, the way he'd been taught by his dad growing up and aimed straight for his jawbone.
"The hell man?" Jamal hunched over and placed his hand on where he'd been hit.
Robert didn't answer. Instead, he continued to punch him until he was on the ground, and then began to kick him in the stomach. He was filled with so much rage that he might have killed him, he thought. In fact, he wanted to but then Jamal stopped groaning and pleading. When that happened, panic filled Robert's chest and he grabbed his phone and dialed 911. "Hello, there's a man who's been beaten up real bad. He's lying unconscious behind a building on 173 ave and 113 street." He then hung up the phone and ran back to the office.
Robert is charged with assault and during the trial the following took place.
Robert argues that this was a crime of passion and he immediately regretted how quickly this escalated. He says that he is not a violent person, he's normally a very patient person and his concern for his girlfriend made his aggression worse in the moment than it was.
The prosecution calls Robert's girlfriend to the stand and she says that it was her fault for complaining about Jamal. The prosecution asks Cindy about what Robert said during their lunch before the attack. Cindy argues that that was a private conversation, and she will not divulge. The judge instructs Cindy that she is compelled to share and that it is against the law to lie on the stand. Cindy reluctantly shares that Robert said "I swear to God, if he keeps doing it, I'm going to beat him up. I'm going to kill him."
The defense calls Robert's mother to the stand and she testifies to that fact that Robert is not a violent person. That he has a strong sense of justice and is sure to confront people when they are wrong, but that he never hurt a fly growing up.
The prosecution calls in Robert's former college roommate who testifies to the fact that Robert was constantly getting into fights in college in defense of his friends and girlfriends. His roommate says that Robert is a very nice person but when he witnesses someone hurting another person or bullying another person, he struggles controlling his temper.
The prosecution calls a co-worker, Ahmed, to the stand to say that he heard another co-worker, Justin, tell Robert that the only way to teach someone like

Jamal a lesson is to beat him up. Ahmed also tells the courtroom the Robert did not need much convincing to agree with Justin.
Jamal testifies and recounts his side of the story; he explains that he has sustained brain injuries as a result of this assault and that his vision has worsened.
Robert is found guilty of assault.
Robert and the defense counsel appeal this decision.
Instructions
You are the court of appeal.

explain the questions after reading the scenario 
1. State whether the appeal from the defense counsel is accepted or dismissed.
2. Use the Wigmore Criteria to determine if the girlfriend's testimony was privileged information or not.
3. Describe the use of character evidence in this trial and whether or not it is admissible.
4. Is Ahmed's testimony admissible evidence? Why or why not?
5. Give an example of what would be considered circumstantial evidence (does not need to stem from the case study itself, you can make it up) and why this would be considered circumstantial evidence. When you use a term or concept, be sure to define it