There are two problems in this scenario noted as Problems A and B. Both problems A and B must be answered.
Problem A has a special format which is found at the end of the problem; please use this format as indicated. Problem B requires you to answer several questions at the end of the problem. The answers to Problem B are to be put into formal writing – prose.
Problem A
Fact Scenario:
Dillenger and Barker go to the home of Abbot at 11:30 p.m. for the purpose of stealing Abbot’s prized coin collection valued at over $750,000. They drive to Abbot’s neighborhood and park the car about a block away. They next hop Abbot’s backyard fence and go to his bulkhead doors. They open the doors, go down the steps to the cellar door and remove a pane of door glass with glass cutters. Dillenger puts his hand through the glass and slides open the dead bold on the inside of the door. Unfortunately, Dillenger cut himself on the cut glass pain remaining in the door and began to bleed profusely. He removed his shoe and sock and wrapped the sock around his bleeding hand. He left his shoe in the bulkhead passageway.
Dillenger and Barker proceed through the basement and take the stairs to the first floor, and proceed through the kitchen area into the living room. In the living room they break into the curio cabinet where the prized coin collection is kept. Barker takes the collection box and he and Dillinger begin to depart through the kitchen. Abbot awoke from his sleep when he heard the curio cabinet being opened. He ran down the steps and confronted Dillenger and Barker. Barker had been in prison before and swore never to return. He wanted to leave no witness to the crime. Barker, therefore, drew his .357 magnum revolver and shot Abbot to death. The gunshot was heard by several neighbors and alerted Jones who was walking his dog in the neighborhood. His dog had a special affinity for a tree next to Abbot’s backyard fence. As Jones’s dog was taking care of business at his favorite tree, Jones saw Dillenger and Barker run from the bulkhead, cross the yard, hop the fence and run down the block. Jones went into Abbot’s home through the open bulkhead passageway, ran up the stairs and found Abbot, who, by that time, had assumed room temperature. Jones called the police and waited for their arrival.
When the police arrived, Jones gave a description of Dillenger and Barker. The police cordoned off the crime scene and the crime scene for the crime scene detective squad. The detectives arrived and performed the following tasks: a) took blood samples from drops around the living room, kitchen, basement and bulkhead area; b) took finger prints of all surface areas around the curio cabinet, bulkhead door, kitchen and living room furniture; c) located the spent .357 magnum round that passed through Abbot and lodged in a solid oak desk; d) took a sworn statement from Jones about what he observed; e) took a sworn statement from Jack and Jill, the next door neighbors, who heard the gunshot while they were watching “Nightline” with Ted Kopple; f) made a schematic drawing of the crime scene; g) seized a shoe in the cellar passageway and e) seized a bloody sock near the fence where Dillenger and Barker jumped the fence to escape. The squad also put out an APB for Dillenger and Barker.
As is the misfortune of many criminals, Dillenger and Barker did not pay attention to the local speed limits. A deputy sheriff stopped them for speeding and asked for identification. Neither Barker nor Dillinger had any. He asked them their names, but they gave him false alias names. The deputy then called the station house and was apprised of the APB. Noting that the men he stopped fit the description, the deputy called for back up. When the backup arrived, the deputy and two other sheriff’s department men placed Dillinger and Barker under arrest and immediately searched the car. They found (a) the stolen coin collection set in the trunk; (b) a .357 magnum revolver under the driver’s seat; and (c) noticed that Dillinger’s hand was bleeding.
At the station house, Barker and Dillenger were given their Miranda rights and counsel rights. Dillinger invoked his rights and remained silent. Barker sang like a bird and told all. He later reduced his oral statement to the police to a written, sworn statement.
The Assignment
a. List each piece of evidence referenced in the Fact Scenario separately, including, but not limited to statements and other evidence observed, or otherwise gathered by law enforcement officers (police officers, detectives, and deputies), at the crime scene at and around the home, at the vehicle stop, and during the interrogation at the station, that you believe would be relevant to the charges at their trials.
b. Briefly state why the evidence is relevant.
c. State the form of the evidence (oral, documentary, physical/real, demonstrative).
d. State whether the evidence is direct or circumstantial.
This four-part analysis format is required for each individual item of evidence.
Sample Answer A
*Sample Answer (note that the sample is for illustration only and is not part of the assignment. The sample involves a scenario where Boozer is charged with aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon because he shot Grayson with a handgun):
a. Robert’s testimony at trial that he saw Boozer shoot Grayson
b. Relevant eye witness testimony to show that Boozer killed Grayson
c. Oral
d. Direct
Problem B
Fact Scenario:
(This is a separate fact scenario and unrelated to Part A)
In a prosecution for murder, the prosecution and the defense, with the express consent of the accused, stipulate in writing that the firearm offered into evidence in court was the same firearm taken by law enforcement at the scene of the murder. The judge accepts the stipulation of fact and admits the firearm into evidence. The judge tells the prosecution and the defense that they are bound by the stipulation of fact and cannot introduce any evidence contrary to this fact during the trial, unless the court approves the change.
In his instructions to the jury, before the jury deliberated, the judge told the jury that the stipulation of fact that the firearm admitted into evidence was the same firearm that was seized by law enforcement at the scene of the alleged murder must be accepted as a true fact by the jury and they may not disregard this evidence.
The Assignment
Answer the following questions using complete paragraphs:
1. Was the instruction the judge gave to the prosecution and defense appropriate under the law? Please explain your answer
2. Was the instruction the judge gave to the jury appropriate under the law? Please explain your answer.
During the same prosecution referred to in question 1, the prosecution and the defense stipulate in writing that if the alleged accomplice of the accused were present and sworn in court, the accomplice would testify that he, and not the accused, pulled the trigger on the firearm during the shooting. The judge accepts the stipulation. The judge instructs the jury that the jury must accept the stipulated testimony as being true and must accept therefore the facts asserted in the stipulation of testimony.
3. Was the judge’s instruction to the jury correct as a matter of law? explain your answer.
