explain how the prosecution will demonstrate his Mens Rea or mental state at the time of the incident.
Due: by 11:59pm EST on Sunday at the end of Unit 4 Late submissions will not be accepted.
Midterm-Essay Questions
Your assignment will be to submit your answers to the following five (5) questions. Please identify which answers are in response to which questions. Please use information from the readings and resources provided in the first three units of the course to support your responses.
1. Two well known athletes who are considered the best in the world are about to compete. Athlete A knows that Athlete B used a substance regularly for two years and stopped a month ago. Today the drug is illegal. Athlete A goes to the police and reports the previous illegal activity to get Athlete B jailed to miss the competition and secure a win for Athlete A without even competing. What are the criminal law implications here and will Athlete A be successful with the plan? Your answer should list any pertinent rules and then apply them to the situation. (20 Points)
2. An undercover officer approaches a man in a bar and says, “Can I hire you to kill someone for me?” The man replies? How much are you paying? The officer responds $10,000. He gives him the target information and agreed to pay him upon completion. The target is another police officer. As the man attempts to kill the target, police swoop in and arrest the would be hit man. Discuss and explain whether this is acceptable or unacceptable police work. Then, describe what, if any, defenses are available to the hit man. (20 points)
3. John is driving his sports car on the interstate at 65 MPH, while a friend is hanging onto the roof of the car. They are allegedly practicing because they both want to be stuntmen. Of course, the friend looses his grip, falls off the car and is killed. John is arrested and charged with Involuntary Manslaughter in the death. As John’s attorney, can you explain how the prosecution will demonstrate his Mens Rea or mental state at the time of the incident. You may use the Model Penal Code to explain your answer. (20 points)
4. Please provide the list of the core felonies which are 5 felonies against persons and 4 felonies against property. (20 points)
5. Discretion is an important part of the criminal justice system. Please identify those areas where discretion is used and explain why it is or is not a useful tool. (20 points)
Students: Be sure to read the criteria, by which your Midterm will be evaluated, before you write, and again after you write.
Evaluation Rubric for Midterm Essays
The rubric below will be used to evaluate the response for each question posed above in the Midterm Essay Questions section. Each response will be scored based on 20 points. The total maximum score for this 5 question Midterm Essay exam is 100 points.
| Performance Area | Novice | Proficient | Exemplary |
| Question
Comprehension & Response Evidence
|
Fails to address the question or demonstrates an inadequate or partial grasp of the question. Does not incorporate pertinent information from readings and resources within the course.
0-6 points |
Demonstrates an adequate understanding of the question. Incorporates some information from readings and resources within the course, but not in an overly thorough manner.
7-8 points |
Demonstrates an accurate and complete understanding of the question. Incorporates pertinent details from readings and resources within the course, providing evidence for key claims when needed.
9-10 points |
| Clarity of
Writing
|
Significant problems with clarity, concision, and organization, making the information presented
difficult to comprehend. Response contains significant grammatical, capitalization, spelling, or punctuation errors.
0-3 points |
Presents information fairly clearly and concisely, may have minor organization problems.
Response contains some grammatical, capitalization, spelling, or punctuation errors. 4 points |
Presents answer clearly and concisely, and in an organized manner. Response are well written with no grammatical, capitalization, spelling, or punctuation errors.
5 points |
| APA Formatting and Citations
|
Use of APA style was unacceptable with major errors.
0-3 points |
Use of APA style was acceptable with few errors.
4 points |
Use of APA style was acceptable with no errors or very minor errors.
5 points |