JURI 540 Quiz 1

JURI 540 Quiz 1 General Concepts of Criminal Law

1. The legal age of consent for sex is defined by statute as 16 years old. Saul went out to a bar to have a few drinks. As he entered the bar, Saul had to show his ID to the bouncer to prove that he was over 21 years old. Inside the bar, Saul started talking with a pretty girl. The girl told Saul that her name was Phoebe, that she was a law student at the local university, and that she had worked for several years as a paralegal after college and before law school. Saul and Phoebe talked about music they liked, movies they had seen, and books they had read. Saul was impressed by Phoebe’s sophistication. Saul also enjoyed the fact that Phoebe said she had traveled to several foreign countries as an undergraduate exchange student. Saul asked Phoebe to go home with him, and she agreed. Later that night, Saul and Phoebe had sex. In the morning, police arrived at Saul ’s home and arrested him. In reality, Phoebe was only 15 years old, and she had snuck into the bar and then lied about her background. Is Saul guilty of statutory rape?
2. Groucho kept a small printing press in one room of his home. He used the printing press to help him in his business. Harpo was a classmate of Groucho’s son, Chico. He had been in Groucho’s home on many occasions to visit Chico and had seen the printing press. Harpo decided to print a one-page newsletter critical of the local school board’s policies and distribute it around town. On an evening when he knew Groucho and his family were not at home, Harpo broke into Groucho’s home intending to use the printing press to print his newsletter. He believed that the unauthorized use of the printing press constituted a crime, but he was mistaken in this belief. Groucho and his family returned home while Harpo was still in the house. He was arrested and charged with burglary. The jurisdiction follows the common law definition of burglary. Harpo should be found:
3. I wish to shoot my pistol in my backyard. In order to make sure I’m not breaking any laws, I contact my attorney to ask whether what I’m planning to do is legal. She writes back to advise that shooting in my backyard is lawful as long as I shoot between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and as long as the spot where I shoot from is at least 100 feet from the nearest house. The distance to nearest house appears to be about 600 feet, so I conclude that I have more than enough space to shoot lawfully. While I’m shooting one day around noon, a police officer walks up and looks through a strange device at my neighbor’s house. He then charges me with unlawful discharge of a firearm. A county ordinance that I didn’t know about makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a house. His range finder just told him that the neighbor’s house is only 480 feet away. Which of the following is a TRUE statement under the Model Penal Code?
4. The Statute provides: “Any person who enters into a marriage while already married to another person is guilty of bigamy.” Angelina went to Las Vegas for a weekend with her boyfriend, Brad. After a long night of partying and drinking alcohol, Angelina and Brad ended up at a drive- through wedding chapel. They signed all of the necessary paperwork, received a “quickie” marriage license, and were pronounced legally married. The next day, neither Angelina nor Brad could remember much about what they had done the night before. They never talked about the events at the wedding chapel. Even after they received a package sent from the wedding chapel with a copy of their official wedding certificate, a copy of a Las Vegas newspaper containing an announcement of their marriage, and several photos of the wedding, they still did not believe that they were legally married. A few months later, Angelina and Brad stopped dating. Two years later, Angelina married her new boyfriend, Evan. Is Angelina guilty of bigamy?
5. The felony crime of cocaine possession provides: “It is a felony crime for any person to knowingly possess at least five grams of cocaine.” Cain went to the local drug supplier named Dealer, and asked to buy some cocaine. Dealer said, “How much do you want?” Cain said, “I just need enough to get me through the night. How about a few grams?” Dealer said, “OK, here’s a pretty small bag, it’s $25.” Cain paid the $25, and received the small bag of cocaine from Dealer. Dealer immediately revealed himself to be an undercover police officer, and he arrested Cain. The bag turned out to contain six grams of cocaine. Did Cain commit the felony crime of cocaine possession?
6. You are on vacation at the beach working on a good sunburn. Suddenly you hear, “Help! [gurgle, gurgle] I’m drowning [gurgle, gurgle].” You jump up and shout, “I’ll save him!” in your best Mr. Incredible voice. Just as you’re about to jump in the water, you remember that you can’t swim. Embarrassed, you immediately turn around and run for the locker room. The person drowns—remarkably no one else at the beach could swim either. You are charged with Negligent Homicide. Which conclusion and reasoning are correct?
7. The statute provides: “Purposely altering, concealing, removing, mutilating, obliterating, destroying, or taking a public record, with the intent to do so” is a crime. “Public record” is defined by statute as including “records, reports, statements, or data compilations, in any form, of public offices or agencies.” William and Kate were lovers and also students at a public university. Kate did poorly on an exam. After talking with her professor, Kate became convinced that she deserved a better grade, and that the professor was being grossly unfair. Kate told William, who became upset because he also believed the professor was being unfair. William, who was a student of computer science, figured out the password to log into the university computer where student exam grades were stored. William logged into the university computer and changed Kate’s grade on the exam from an F to an A. Did William commit the crime?
8. Thomas, Martin, and Lucas were cruising around the town on a Friday night in Thomas’s car. Thomas was driving. Martin, who was riding in the front passenger’s seat, pulled out a marijuana joint and began to smoke it. Lucas, who was in the rear seat, said, “Stop that, Martin – I don’t want to get in trouble!” Martin said, “Don’t be such a loser. Everybody smokes marijuana these days. Here, do me a favor and hold this joint for a second, so that I can send a quick text to my girlfriend.” Lucas reluctantly took the joint from Martin. At that very moment, the police pulled over the car and arrested all three men. Is Lucas guilty of possession of marijuana?
9. Patrick has had a history of epileptic seizures over the last five years. Each seizure comes upon him without warning. One day, Patrick decided to attend an afternoon movie in town. As he was driving to the theater, he had a seizure. He lost control of the car and struck SpongeBob who was lawfully crossing the street. SpongeBob died on his way to the hospital as a result of his injuries. Patrick is charged with involuntary manslaughter. He will likely be found:
10. In which of the following situations would the Defendant’s claim of voluntary intoxication most likely result in a finding of not guilty?

Other sets

1. The Statute provides: “Any person who enters into a marriage while already married to another person is guilty of bigamy.” Angelina went to Las Vegas for a weekend with her boyfriend, Brad. After a long night of partying and drinking alcohol, Angelina and Brad ended up at a drive-through wedding chapel. They signed all of the necessary paperwork, received a “quickie” marriage license, and were pronounced legally married. The next day, neither Angelina nor Brad could remember much about what they had done the night before. They never talked about the events at the wedding chapel. Even after they received a package sent from the wedding chapel with a copy of their official wedding certificate, a copy of a Las Vegas newspaper containing an announcement of their marriage, and several photos of the wedding, they still did not believe that they were legally married. A few months later, Angelina and Brad stopped dating. Two years later, Angelina married her new boyfriend, Evan. Is Angelina guilty of bigamy?
2. Grouchokept a small printing press in one room of his home.  He used the printing press to help him in his business.  Harpo was a classmate of Groucho’s son, Chico.  He had been in Groucho’s home on many occasions to visit Chico and had seen the printing press.  Harpo decided to print a one-page newsletter critical of the local school board’s policies and distribute it around town.  On an evening when he knew Groucho and his family were not at home, Harpo broke into Groucho’s home intending to use the printing press to print his newsletter.  He believed that the unauthorized use of the printing press constituted a crime, but he was mistaken in this belief. Groucho and his family returned home while Harpo was still in the house.  He was arrested and charged with burglary.  The jurisdiction follows the common law definition of burglary.  Harpo should be found:
3. The felony crime of cocaine possession provides: “It is a felony crime for any person to knowingly possess at least five grams of cocaine.” Cain went to the local drug supplier named Dealer, and asked to buy some cocaine. Dealer said, “How much do you want?” Cain said, “I just need enough to get me through the night. How about a few grams?” Dealer said, “OK, here’s a pretty small bag, it’s $25.” Cain paid the $25, and received the small bag of cocaine from Dealer. Dealer immediately revealed himself to be an undercover police officer, and he arrested Cain. The bag turned out to contain six grams of cocaine. Did Cain commit the felony crime of cocaine possession?
4. Which of the following is NOT a correct way of understanding the difference between general intent crimes and special intent crimes?
5. “A person commits theft when he knowingly obtains, by deception, control over the property of the owner and intends to deprive the owner permanently of the use or benefit of the property. ‘Property’ means anything of value.” Clooby wanted to take his girlfriend, Alamuddin, to eat a nice dinner at an expensive seafood restaurant, but he lacked the money. So Clooby decided to try to scam the restaurant. Clooby took Alamuddin to the restaurant, and the two sat down for dinner. They ordered appetizers, entrees, dessert, and a bottle of wine. At the end of the dinner, the waitperson brought them a bill for $200. Clooby took the bill, and then asked Alamuddin if she needed to go to the rest room. As soon as Alamuddin returned from the rest room, Clooby told her that he had paid the bill, and the two walked out of the restaurant and left. In reality, Clooby never paid the bill. Is Clooby guilty of theft?
6. The statute provides: “Any person who maliciously damages or destroys any real or personal property not his own is guilty of vandalism.” Francis was walking down the street when he saw smoke coming from the window of a house. Fearing that the house was on fire, and that someone might be trapped inside, Francis called 911 and then ran to the door of the house and tried to open it. When the door wouldn’t open, Francis kicked in the door. Finding nobody inside, Francis waited outside the house for the firefighters to arrive. The firefighters quickly put out the fire and saved the house. Is Francis guilty of vandalism?
7. Baker attended a party at the house of a close friend. There were many other people – at least 30 – in attendance at the party. In a large bowl on a table in the living room, the host of the party had placed a large quantity of cocaine. As each person entered the house, the host would say, “Welcome! Please help yourself to some cocaine, if you’d like!” Baker never used drugs, he never intended to take any of the cocaine, and he never actually touched any of the cocaine in the large bowl. However, Baker was sitting on a couch in the living room engaged in conversation, approximately 10 feet away from the table with the large bowl of cocaine, when the police arrived and placed everyone at the party under arrest. Is Baker guilty of possession of cocaine?
8. I wish to shoot my pistol in my backyard. In order to make sure I’m not breaking any laws, I contact my attorney to ask whether what I’m planning to do is legal. She writes back to advise that shooting in my backyard is lawful as long as I shoot between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and as long as the spot where I shoot from is at least 100 feet from the nearest house. The distance to nearest house appears to be about 600 feet, so I conclude that I have more than enough space to shoot lawfully. While I’m shooting one day around noon, a police officer walks up and looks through a strange device at my neighbor’s house. He then charges me with unlawful discharge of a firearm. A county ordinance that I didn’t know about makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a house. His range finder just told him that the neighbor’s house is only 480 feet away. Which of the following is a TRUE statement under the Model Penal Code?
9. Rogers believes, wrongly, that there is a statute that makes it a crime to watch an R rated movie over the internet. Rogers decides that the government should not be able to restrict what people watch over the Internet. Therefore, as an act of civil disobedience, he deliberately watches an R rated movie over the internet. Rogers then calls the police, and reports himself as having committed the crime of watching an R rated movie over the internet. Is Rogers guilty of an attempt crime?
10. In which of the following situations would the Defendant’s claim of voluntary intoxication most likely result in a finding of not guilty?