Packet Three: Criminal Law and Procedure Chapter 5: Introduction to Criminal Law

Transcription

1 Packet Three: Criminal Law and Procedure Chapter 5: Introduction to Criminal Law Introduction On Saturday afternoon, December 22, 1984, Troy Canty, Darryl Cabey, James Ramseur, and Barry Allen boarded an IRT express subway train in The Bronx and headed south toward lower Manhattan. The four youths rode together in the rear portion of the seventh car of the train. Two of the four, Ramseur and Cabey, had screwdrivers inside their coats, which they said were to be used to break into the coin boxes of video machines. Bernhard Goetz boarded this subway train at 14th Street in Manhattan and sat down on a bench towards the rear section of the same car occupied by the four youths. Goetz was carrying an unlicenced.38 caliber pistol loaded with five rounds of ammunition in a waistband holster. Goetz first purchased a gun in 1981 after he had been injured in a mugging. Twice between 1981 and 1984 Goetz successfully warded off assailants simply by displaying the pistol. The train left the 14th Street station and headed towards Chambers Street. Canty, sitting or lying on the bench across from him, asked how are you, to which he replied fine. Canty approached Goetz, with Allen beside him, and stated give me five dollars. Neither Canty nor any of the other youths displayed a weapon. Goetz knew from the smile on Canty's face that they wanted to play with me. Although he was certain that none of the youths had a gun, he had a fear, based on prior experiences, of being maimed. Goetz responded by standing up, pulling out his handgun, establishing a pattern of fire, firing from left to right, aiming for the center of the body of each of the four. His stated intention at that point was to murder [the four youths], to hurt them, to make them suffer as much as possible. The first shot hit Canty in the chest; the second struck Allen in the back; the third went through Ramseur's arm and into his left side; the fourth was fired at Cabey, who apparently was then standing in the corner of the car, but missed, deflecting instead off of a wall of the conductor's cab. Goetz noticed that the youth who had been standing still was now sitting on a bench and seemed unhurt. Goetz said You seem to be all right, here s another, and he then fired the shot which severed Cabey's spinal cord. Goetz added that if I was a little more under self-control *** I would have put the barrel against his forehead and fired. He also admitted that if I had had more [bullets], I would have shot them again, and again, and again. All but two of the other passengers fled the car when, or immediately after, the shots were fired. The conductor, who had been in the next car, heard the shots and instructed the motorman to radio for emergency assistance. The conductor then went into the car where the shooting occurred and saw Page 41 of 56

2 Goetz sitting on a bench, the injured youths lying on the floor or slumped against a seat, and two women who had apparently taken cover, also lying on the floor. Goetz told the conductor that the four youths had tried to rob him. While the conductor was aiding the youths, Goetz headed towards the front of the car. The train had stopped just before the Chambers Street station and Goetz went between two of the cars, jumped onto the tracks and fled. Police and ambulance crews arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. Ramseur and Canty, initially listed in critical condition, have fully recovered. Cabey remains paralyzed, and has suffered some degree of brain damage. On December 31, 1984, Goetz surrendered to police in Concord, New Hampshire, identifying himself as the gunman being sought for the subway shootings in New York nine days earlier. 1 What criminal offenses can Goetz be charged with? What must the People prove in order to sustain those charges? Does Goetz have a defense? If he is found guilty what is the sentence he faces? The answers to these questions encompass criminal law. Goetz s actions alone do not make it criminal acts not all bad acts are criminal acts. What would make it a criminal act would be if t Goetz s conduct was the type of conduct that the Legislature has determined through statutes to be criminal. If the conduct does not fall under a criminal statute, usually the Penal Law, it will not be criminal. In order to figure out what charges Goetz can face, you have to become more familiar with the Penal Law. Under the Penal Law, it is criminal to possess a gun without being properly licensed. It is also criminal to cause physical injuries to other people. It is also criminal behavior to put others in danger by firing a weapon in an occupied subway car. Criminal Offenses Goetz Could Be Charged with Acts Illegally possessing and using a gun Trying to kill the four people he shot with that gun Causing a physical injury to the four people he shot Risking the safety of others on the train Criminal Offense Criminal Possession of a Weapon Attempted Murder (4 counts) Assault (4 counts) Reckless Endangerment 1 These facts come from People v Goetz, 68 NY2d 96 (1986). Page 42 of 56

3 Facts from the class Problem: On November 30, 2017, at around 1:00 pm, the police received a 911 call: Wendy Witness who lives in apartment 333 on the third floor of 123 Main Place, in Prince County. She told the 911 operator that she heard some screaming in the hallway of the apartment building. She went into the hallway and heard that the screaming was from a stairwell and a flight or two above her. Wendy Witness went up one flight and saw a man wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with a knife in his hand trying to pull off the pants of someone she could not see who it was but assumed it was a woman because of the sound of the screams. Wendy Witness went back into her apartment and made the 911 call and told the 911 operator everything she saw (see above). The 911 operator dispatched Police Officers Anthony Able and Betty Baker to that location. About five minutes later, the police received another 911 call. This time it was from Victoria Victim. In her call, Victoria Victim told the police that Derek Defendant tried to rape her in her apartment (Apartment 666 on the sixth floor). She was able to escape by running out of her apartment. She ran into the stairway, but Derek Defendant caught up to her and tried to pull her pants off to rape her. She was able to scratch his face with her nails and he ran away. She knew Derek Defendant because he lives on the second floor of the building, though she did not know which apartment. The police arrived about five minutes later. They first went to apartment 666 to see Victoria Victim. Police Officers Anthony Able and Betty Baker knocked on the door. Victoria Victim opened the door. The officers noticed that she was bleeding from her mouth. Victoria Victim explained to them that she was in her apartment about an hour ago when Derek Defendant knocked on her door and she let him in. He stated that he was desperate and needed money to protect himself from people who wanted him dead. She knew him from the apartment building and they had exchanged pleasantries and causal conservation over the last year. She told him that she did not have any money to give him. She told him that he should get the money from his family and friends. He then got up and grabbed some jewelry she had on the table. She then told him that he should steal from his family and friends and not people he barely knows. He went to her and said then it is time we get to know each other better. He then punched her in the face, placed his hand on her left breast and pushed her to the couch. He pulled his pants down and went to the couch. She was able to escape and leave her apartment. He ran after her. She went to the elevator but saw it was not near her floor so she went to the stairway. She was able to get about a half floor down when he was able to catch up to her and knock her down. She started to scream. He was pulling her pants down. She was able to scratch his face. He started to bleed a lot from left cheek from that scratch. He got up and ran away. Page 43 of 56

4 The police asked if they could see her hands to see if they could get some skin from under her nails so they could get a DNA sample. However, she told them that she washed her hands when she got back because they were so bloody. She then got dizzy and fainted. Victoria Victim was taken to the hospital. The officers were able to get into the apartment of Derek Defendant. When they looked around they found a gun on a table by a bed in the bedroom. In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, they found various prescription bottles in different names and addresses. They seized the gun and the prescription bottles. Later that day, they stopped a man who looked like the suspect walking down the street about three blocks from 123 Main Street. They frisked him and found an empty gun holster and a bottle of prescription drugs not in his name. After the suspect told them that the gun was over by the bushes, Officer Baker went to the bushes and using their flashlights, recovered a handgun and a bottle of prescription drugs not in the Derek Defendant s name. In order to determine which specific crimes he will be charges with and in particular which degree, the conduct must match the conduct that is in the criminal statutes. The standard formula for criminal offenses where specific harm is required is: a culpable mental state manifested in an act that causes the prescribed harm. Examples of this type of crime are assault and murder. The standard formula for criminal offenses where specific conduct is required is: a culpable mental state that is manifested in a prescribed act. Examples of this type of crime are criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of stolen property. Culpable Mental State Both types of crimes require a culpable mental state. This is more commonly known as mens rea, which is Latin for guilty mind. Almost all offenses require a culpable mental state. The few that don t are called strict liability offenses. Culpable Mental States (Penal Law 15.05) The following definitions are applicable to this chapter: 1. Intentionally. A person acts intentionally with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense when his conscious objective is to cause such result or to engage in such conduct. 2. Knowingly. A person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware that his conduct is of such nature or that such circumstance exists. Page 44 of 56

5 3. Recklessly. A person acts recklessly with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto. 4. Criminal negligence. A person acts with criminal negligence with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. Type Intentionally Knowingly Recklessly Criminal Negligence Definition A conscious objective (Penal Law [1]) or purpose to cause a particular result, or to engage in particular conduct (id.). A person is aware that his or her conduct is of the nature described by the offense or that a circumstance described by the offense exists (Penal Law [2]). A person acts recklessly when that person engages in conduct which creates or contributes to a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a result will occur or a circumstance defined by statute exists, and when that person is aware of and consciously disregards that risk (Penal Law [3]). A person acts with criminal negligence when that person engages in conduct which creates or contributes to a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a result will occur or a circumstance defined by statute exists, and when that person fails to perceive that risk in a situation where the offender has a legal duty of awareness (Penal Law [4]). Only in assault and homicide statutes. How do you know which mental state applies to a particular offense? The Statute defining the offense will state which mental state applies. Construction of Statutes with Respect to Culpability Requirements (Penal Law 15.15) 1. When the commission of an offense defined in this chapter, or some element of an offense, requires a particular culpable mental state, such mental state is ordinarily designated in the statute defining the offense by use of the terms intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or criminal negligence, or by use of terms, such as with intent to defraud and knowing it to be false, describing a specific kind of intent or knowledge. When one and only one of such terms appears in a statute defining an offense, it is presumed to apply to every element of the offense unless an intent to limit its application clearly appears. Page 45 of 56

6 2. Although no culpable mental state is expressly designated in a statute defining an offense, a culpable mental state may nevertheless be required for the commission of such offense, or with respect to some or all of the material elements thereof, if the proscribed conduct necessarily involves such culpable mental state. A statute defining a crime, unless clearly indicating a legislative intent to impose strict liability, should be construed as defining a crime of mental culpability. This subdivision applies to offenses defined both in and outside this chapter [the Penal Law]. For example, if we look at assault in the third degree (Penal Law ) we see that there are three different subdivisions which are each a crime. Each subdivision and therefore crime, requires a different culpable mental state. Assault in the Third Degree (Penal Law ) A person is guilty of assault in the third degree when: 1. With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person; or 2. He recklessly causes physical injury to another person; or 3. With criminal negligence, he causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument. Assault in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor. Definition 1. With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person; Culpable Mental State intent to cause physical injury 2. He recklessly causes physical injury to another person; or recklessly 3. With criminal negligence, he causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument. criminal negligence How do you prove a mental state? It is virtually impossible to go into someone s head to see what mental state they had at the time they committed the act. Further, the defendant is not required to testify against him- or herself, so the prosecutor cannot call the defendant to testify as to what was in their head at the time of the act. Therefore, the triers of fact are required to look at the act and see if that shows the defendant s state of mind. In other words, what mental state is manifested in that act. For example, if a defendant is in an argument with another person and the defendant throws a punch, you are likely to think that the defendant intended to hit the person. If the defendant throws a hard punch, then it is likely that the defendant intended to cause physical injury. Page 46 of 56

7 Strict Liability There are a few offenses where there is no mental state required: If the act is committed, that is enough, no need to prove a mental state. One example is rape in the third degree (Penal Law [2]) (which is a type of statutory rape ). Rape in the Third Degree (Penal Law [2]) A person is guilty of rape in the third degree when: 2. Being twenty-one years old or more, he or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person less than seventeen years old[.] Rape in the third degree is a class E felony. The Act Besides a culpable mental state, criminal offenses require some type of act. Under criminal law, the defendant is required to do something. In rare instances it is criminal when a certain person fails to act. For example, under the crime of endangering the welfare of a child, 2 it is criminal for a parent to fail to protect their child from becoming an abused child. For example a father was guilty of endangering the welfare of a child 3 for allowing his spouse, a drug addict, to live with and have access to their infant child during a period of time when the child is being abused. 4 The court held that the defendant father was guilty in that he failed to exercise reasonable diligence in the control of his child to prevent her from becoming an abused child. In this case, there was evidence that the mother beat the infant child and broke several bones and caused internal injuries. The court found that the Legislature had properly imposed strict liability upon the parent for any resulting child abuse. Therefore, regardless of the fact that the father had no intention of the child becoming abused, and therefore, no mens rea, the fact that he failed to act made him guilty. Most of the time, the defendant is required to do some act, that is a bodily movement. Sometimes the act is not specified, but what the act must cause (e.g., harm) is specified. For example, assault in the third degree 5 requires a physical injury to be caused; it does not state how the physical injury is caused (e.g., hitting, kicking, tackling, shooting a paper clip). Other crimes specifically state how the act must occur. For example, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. 6 2 Penal Law Penal Law (2). 4 People v Scully, 134 Misc 2d 906 (Crim Ct, Kings County 1987). 5 Penal Law (1). 6 Penal Law Page 47 of 56

8 Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (Penal Law ) A person is guilty of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree when s/he knowingly and unlawfully possesses a controlled substance. Possess (Penal Law [8]) Possess means to have physical possession or otherwise to exercise dominion or control over tangible property. Therefore in order to act under to act under this offense you must possess (e.g., have physical possession, such as holding the controlled substance). Another example is sexual misconduct. Sexual Misconduct (Penal Law ) A person is guilty of sexual misconduct when: 1 He or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person without such person s consent; or 2 He or she engages in oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct with another person without such person s consent; or 3 He or she engages in sexual conduct with an animal or a dead human body. Sexual misconduct is a class A misdemeanor. Definitions (Penal Law ) 1 Sexual intercourse has its ordinary meaning and occurs upon any penetration, however slight. 2 (a) Oral sexual conduct means conduct between persons consisting of contact between the mouth and the penis, the mouth and the anus, or the mouth and the vulva or vagina. (b) Anal sexual conduct means conduct between persons consisting of contact between the penis and anus. While the term sexual misconduct in its every day and ordinary meaning may bring up many different types on conduct, the statute defining the crime and the statute defining the terms in that statute, limit the conduct that is considered criminal under sexual misconduct. For example, if the Page 48 of 56

9 defendant using his hands touches a person s breasts or buttocks it is not considered sexual misconduct (though it might constitute sexual abuse in the same Penal Law article). Harm Sometimes the statute requires a specific type of harm, as opposed to an act, to be considered a crime. For example, assault in the third degree 7 requires a physical injury not an act of hitting. Higher degrees of assault require that the harm be a serious physical injury. While we may think of an act of a slap in the face to be an assault, it is not, on its face, a criminal assault unless the harm is an impairment of physical condition or substantial pain (i.e., a physical injury). Also, if you saw someone hit another person with all their might, but the person hit is not injured at all, that also would not be an assault under this statute. On the other hand, if that slap in the face of a fragile person where the person is in great pain for over a day would be assault. Harm Statute Assault in the Third Degree: With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person (Penal Law [1]) Burglary in the First Degree: he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling with intent to commit a crime therein, and when, in effecting entry or while in the dwelling or in immediate flight therefrom, he or another participant in the crime causes physical injury to any person who is not a participant in the crime (Penal Law [2]) Reckless Assault of a Child by a Child Day Care Provider: being a child day care provider or an employee thereof, he or she recklessly causes serious physical injury to a child under the care of such provider or employee who is less than eleven years of age (Penal Law ) Aggravated Manslaughter in the Second Degree: he or she recklessly causes the death of a police officer or peace officer where such officer was in the course of performing his or her official duties and the defendant knew or reasonably should have known that such victim was a police officer or peace officer (Penal Law ) Harm physical injury physical injury serious physical injury death (of a police officer) Therefore, under this statute, the kind of act that constitutes the assault is not as important as the result of that act (i.e., the harm physical injury). 7 Penal Law Page 49 of 56

10 Harm and Act There are certain statutes that require both a harm done by a specific act. Harm and Act Statute Assault in the First Degree: With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument (Penal Law ) Harm and Act serious physical injury with a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument Who Can Be Charged? (Accomplice Liability) Andrew intentionally shoots and kills Brian. Can Andrew be charged with his murder? Andrew and Charlie decide that Brian must die. Charlie drives Andrew to where Brian is located and waits outside making sure no one else gets into that location. Andrew intentionally shoots and kills Brian. Can Andrew and Charlie be charged with his murder? Andrew, Brian and Charlie decide to rob a bank. Charlie buys the gun and rents the car. Andrew and Brian enter a bank and rob it. They leave and go into the get-away car that Charlie is driving. Can they all be charged with robbery? Criminal liability for conduct of another (Penal Law 20.00) When one person engages in conduct which constitutes an offense, another person is criminally liable for such conduct when, acting with the mental culpability required for the commission thereof, he solicits, requests, commands, importunes, or intentionally aids such person to engage in such conduct. Where a criminal offense has been committed by more than one person, there is usually the principal actor (the perpetrator) and the accomplice. Both are equally liable for the criminal offense (unless the criminal offense states otherwise). There are two elements to that someone was an accessory to the crime, acts in concert or an accomplice: (1) the mens rea required for commission of the offense for which criminal liability is alleged; and (2) an act or acts by which the accessory solicits, requests, commands, importunes, or intentionally aids the principal actor to engage in the conduct constituting that offense. Accomplices may be found guilty of a crime under a theory of acting in concert even where separate elements of the crime are performed by different persons and no one person performed all of Page 50 of 56

11 the elements by him- or herself (People v Morris, 28 Misc 3d 1215[A], 2010 NY Slip Op 51331[U] [Sup Ct, NY County 2010]) There is no legal distinction between criminal liability as an accomplice or a principal: both are equally guilty. However, there must be a community of purpose with the person or persons who commit the offense (People v Ficarrota, 91 NY2d 244 [1997]): there must be an intent that conduct constituting the crime occur (People v Lipton, 54 NY2d 340 [1981]). Being associated with the principal or being present at the scene is not enough (People v Perniciaro, 58 NY2d 751 [1982]) Breaking Criminal Offenses into Elements In order to determine whether a person can be charged with a crime or whether that charge is sufficient, you have to be able to break the crime into elements. What are elements? Elements are components of a particular law. The particular culpable mental state is an element. The particular harm is another element. The particular act is another element. How can you break an offense into elements? There is no magic formula or order. Any order that makes sense when you look at it works! Here is one method that works. Getting Elements Elements to almost every criminal offense can be found in the Criminal Jury Instructions put together by the New York Courts. Criminal Jury Instructions can be found on the internet at: Page 51 of 56

12 EXAMPLE: Assault in the Third Degree ASSAULT IN THE THIRD DEGREE (A Misdemeanor) (Physical Injury; Intent) Penal Law (1) (Committed on or after Sept. 1, 1967) The [COUNT] count is Assault in the Third Degree. Under our law, a person is guilty of Assault in the Third Degree when, with intent to cause physical injury to another person, he or she causes such injury to that person [or to a third person]. Some of the terms used in this definition have their own special meaning in our law. I will now give you the meaning of the following terms: physical injury and intent. PHYSICAL INJURY means impairment of physical condition or substantial pain. INTENT means conscious objective or purpose. Thus, a person acts with intent to cause physical injury to another when that person s conscious objective or purpose is to cause physical injury to another. [NOTE: In a case of transferred intent, add the following paragraph: Under our law, it is not required that the person who is injured be the same person who was intended to be injured.] In order for you to find the defendant guilty of this crime, the People are required to prove, from all the evidence in the case, beyond a reasonable doubt, both of the following two elements: 1. That on or about [DATE], in the county of [COUNTY], the defendant, [DEFENDANT S NAME], caused physical injury to [COMPLAINANT]; and 2. That the defendant did so with the intent to cause physical injury to [COMPLAINANT]. Therefore, if you find that the People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt both of those elements, you must find the defendant guilty of the crime of Assault in the Third Degree as charged in the [COUNT] count. On the other hand, if you find that the People have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt either one or both of those elements, you must find the defendant not guilty of the crime of Assault in the Third Degree as charged in the [COUNT] count. Assault in the Third Degree Elements (derived from the CJI) 1 The defendant caused physical injury 2 The defendant intended to cause physical injury Page 52 of 56

13 Basic Criminal Offenses Where Specific Harm Is Required Formula: A culpable mental state manifested in an act that causes the prescribed harm Examples: Mens Rea: A culpable mental state Causation: An act that causes the prescribed harm Assault Murder Intentionally Recklessly With Criminal Negligence Death Physical Injury Serious Physical Injury Where Specific Conduct Is Required Formula: a culpable mental state that is manifested in a prescribed act Examples: Mens Rea: A culpable mental state Act: Prescribed act criminal sale of a controlled substance criminal possession of stolen property. Knowingly Possession of contraband Sale of contraband Our Class Problem: The Criminal Incidents On November 30, 2017, at around 1:00 pm, the police received a 911 call: Wendy Witness who lives in apartment 333 on the third floor of 123 Main Place, in Prince County. She told the 911 operator that she heard some screaming in the hallway of the apartment building. She went into the hallway and heard that the screaming was from a stairwell and a flight or two above her. Wendy Witness went up one flight and saw a man wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with a knife in his hand trying to pull off the pants of someone she could not see who it was but assumed it was a woman because of the sound of the screams. Wendy Witness went back into her apartment and made the 911 call and told the 911 operator everything she saw (see above). The 911 operator dispatched Police Officers Anthony Able and Betty Baker to that location. About five minutes later, the police received another 911 call. This time it was from Victoria Victim. In her call, Victoria Victim told the police that Derek Defendant tried to rape her in her Page 53 of 56

14 apartment (Apartment 666 on the sixth floor). She was able to escape by running out of her apartment. She ran into the stairway, but Derek Defendant caught up to her and tried to pull her pants off to rape her. She was able to scratch his face with her nails and he ran away. She knew Derek Defendant because he lives on the second floor of the building, though she did not know which apartment. The police arrived about five minutes later. They first went to apartment 666 to see Victoria Victim. Police Officers Anthony Able and Betty Baker knocked on the door. Victoria Victim opened the door. The officers noticed that she was bleeding from her mouth. Victoria Victim explained to them that she was in her apartment about an hour ago when Derek Defendant knocked on her door and she let him in. He stated that he was desperate and needed money to protect himself from people who wanted him dead. She knew him from the apartment building and they had exchanged pleasantries and causal conservation over the last year. She told him that she did not have any money to give him. She told him that he should get the money from his family and friends. He then got up and grabbed some jewelry she had on the table. She then told him that he should steal from his family and friends and not people he barely knows. He went to her and said then it is time we get to know each other better. He then punched her in the face, placed his hand on her left breast and pushed her to the couch. He pulled his pants down and went to the couch. She was able to escape and leave her apartment. He ran after her. She went to the elevator but saw it was not near her floor so she went to the stairway. She was able to get about a half floor down when he was able to catch up to her and knock her down. She started to scream. He was pulling her pants down. She was able to scratch his face. He started to bleed a lot from left cheek from that scratch. He got up and ran away. The police asked if they could see her hands to see if they could get some skin from under her nails so they could get a DNA sample. However, she told them that she washed her hands when she got back because they were so bloody. She then got dizzy and fainted. Victoria Victim was taken to the hospital. What are the criminal acts? What can Derek be charged with? If you could ask the witnesses any questions, what questions would you ask in order to determine what the defendant could be charged with? The officers were able to get into the apartment of Derek Defendant. When they looked around they found a gun on a table by a bed in the bedroom. In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, they found various prescription bottles in different names and addresses. They seized the gun and the prescription bottles. Page 54 of 56

15 What are the criminal acts? What can Derek be charged with? If you could ask the witnesses any questions, what questions would you ask in order to determine what the defendant could be charged with? Later that day, they stopped a man who looked like the suspect walking down the street about three blocks from 123 Main Street. They frisked him and found an empty gun holster and a bottle of prescription drugs not in his name. After the suspect told them that the gun was over by the bushes, Officer Baker went to the bushes and using their flashlights, recovered a handgun and a bottle of prescription drugs not in the Derek Defendant s name. What are the criminal acts? What can Derek be charged with? If you could ask the witnesses any questions, what questions would you ask in order to determine what the defendant could be charged with? Page 55 of 56

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