criminal

 List all the facts and circumstances relevant to deciding whether Peggy Stewart was in “imminent” danger. Peggy Stewart (Defendant) was charged with murder in the first degree of her husband. The Butler District Court, entered verdict of not guilty. The prosecution appealed with a question reserved. The Supreme Court (5-2) held that the statutory justification […]

Two expert witnesses testified during the trial. The expert for the defense, psychologist Marilyn Hutchinson, diagnosed Peggy as suffering from “battered woman syndrome,” or post-traumatic stress syndrome. Dr. Hutchinson testified that Mike was preparing to escalate the violence in retaliation for Peggy’s running away. She testified that loaded guns, veiled threats, and increased sexual demands

Mike’s intimidation of Peggy continued to escalate. One morning, Laura found her mother hiding on the school bus, terrified and begging the driver to take her to a neighbor’s home. That Christmas, Mike threw the turkey dinner to the floor, chased Peggy outside, grabbed her by the hair, rubbed her face in the dirt, and

Necessary for self-protection? In an order dated January 21, 1986, the Court, after inspection of the grand jury minutes held that the prosecutor, in a supplemental charge elaborating upon the justification defense, had erroneously introduced an objective element into this defense by instructing the grand jurors to consider whether Goetz’s conduct was that of a

Were Goetz’s shots a preemptive strike? of attempted murder (Penal Law §§ 110.00, 125.25[1]), four charges of assault in the first degree (Penal Law § 120.10[1]), one charge of reckless endangerment in the first degree (Penal Law§ 120.25), and one charge of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Penal Law § 265.03

Would you add more? Remove some? After waiving extradition, Goetz was brought back to New York and arraigned on a felony complaint charging him with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. The matter was presented to a grand jury in January 1985, with the prosecutor seeking an indictment for attempted murder, assault, reckless

Do you agree with those circumstances? According to Goetz’s statement, the first contact he had with the four youths came when Canty, sitting or lying on the bench across from him, asked, “How are you?” to which he replied, “Fine.” Shortly thereafter, Canty, followed by one of the other youths, walked over to the defendant

Under what circumstances can people use deadly force, according to the New York statutes cited in the opinion? 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

If Professor Fletcher is right, was Goetz justified in shooting? Bernhard Goetz (defendant) was indicted for criminal possession of a weapon, attempted murder, assault, and reckless endangerment. The Supreme Court, Trial Term, New York County, dismissed the indictment and the People appealed. The Supreme Court, Appellate Division affirmed, and the People appealed. The Court of

The order of the Appellate Division should be REVERSED, and the dismissed counts of the indictment reinstated. When the prosecutor had completed his charge, one of the grand jurors asked for clarification of the term “reasonably believes.” The prosecutor responded by instructing the grand jurors that they were to consider the circumstances of the incident