Reference no: EM133394735

Questions:

1. What does the Latin maxim nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege mean, and why is it important for our understanding of criminal law?

2. What criteria should be used in determining when something should be considered a crime? For example, what, if any, "victimless crimes" should be decriminalized?

3. In the Cyber Bully case both Billy Jones and Janet Looker were 16. How should this fact affect the way in which the police and the prosecutor would view the case?

4. If children engage in criminal behavior, how old do you think they should be before being treated the same as adults? Do you think that answer should change based on the crime committed?

5. Do you think anyone should ever be found not guilty on the basis of insanity? If so, under what circumstances?

6. Why do you think we have not been able to settle on one definition of legal insanity?

7. Which of the three major insanity defenses do you think is the most appropriate? Do you support the concept of "guilty but insane" verdict? Why or why not?

8. Why is the entrapment defense so controversial? Where do you think the line should be drawn with respect to what constitutes entrapment?

9. As noted in the discussion of stand-your-ground laws, George Zimmerman consciously put himself in danger by following Trayvon Martin even though police had told him not to do so.

a.To what extent do you think this should have made a difference in the outcome of his trial?

b.Do you think the law should be modified so as not to apply in situations where people put themselves in danger?

10. In another incident in Florida, Curtis Reeves, a 71-year-old man, shot and killed Chad Oulson during an argument over Oulson's texting in a movie theatre. Witnesses reported that Mr. Oulson threw a bag of popcorn at Mr. Reeves. Mr. Reeves then pulled out a semiautomatic handgun from his pocket and shot Mr. Oulson. The police report noted that during the argument over the texting no punches were thrown, but that the shooter claimed he was "in fear of being attacked" after being struck in the face "with an unknown object."

a. Do you think Mr. Reeves should be able to assert a valid self-defense claim based on his assertion that he was "in fear of being attacked"? Why or why not?

b. In this case, the shooter was a retired police officer. Do you think this fact helps or hurts his use of the stand-your-ground law? Why?

11. Do you support the "battered spouse's syndrome" defense? Why or why not?

12. According to a 2014 Associated Press article, at least 400 people are killed by police officers every year in the United States. Following the cases in Ferguson and New York discussed above, interest in requiring the police to be equipped with and to use body cameras gained new impetus. Do you think increased use of such cameras would reduce the incidence of such killings? Why or why not?

13. In Mitchell, the Court also rejected an argument that the statute was overbroad. The Court stated that the suggestion that the statute would have a "chilling effect" on free speech was "attenuated and unlikely." Do you agree?

14. While virtually all states have some form of hate crime statute, according to the FBI, the number of hate crimes is on the increase. Do you think this serves as evidence that hate crime statutes do not really work?

15. Some have argued against the adoption of hate crime statutes on several grounds, including the difficulty of proving that the crime was motivated by hate. In addition, they contend that it is the crime itself, not the motive, that should form the basis of punishment, arguing that a person is just as dead if a murder is committed in the course of a robbery gone wrong as during a race riot. How would you answer such critics?

16. What does the term "cruel and unusual" mean to you? Should it have to be cruel and unusual or can it be either cruel or unusual? Can the death penalty ever be carried out in a manner that is not cruel?

17. What arguments both for and against capital punishment do you find to be most convincing? Why?

18. According to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death penalty, nearly 140 death row inmates have been exonerated or had their cases overturned on appeal. What does this imply about the validity of the legal process and the use of capital punishment?

19. How much discretion should the judge have in sentencing? Why?

20. Leandro Andrade stole five videotapes worth $84.70 from a Kmart store. Fourteen days later,