Criminal Case, State Vs Stepp Essay

Case Facts: This particular case occurred in Lawrence County, Alabama on or about July 15, 2003, the defendant Eric Miller and co-defendant Colby Smith, beat a man to death with a bat and left him to die in a burning trailer and stole a three hundred and fifty dollar ($350) baseball card collection according to news reports. The victim in this case was Mr. Cole C. Cannon and he was listed at fifty-two (52) years of age at the time of the murder. The defendant’s mother testified in court in his behalf that he attempted suicide multiple times, lived in foster care for three years and had been in and out of psychological programs before the killing in 2003, when he was fourteen (14). She went on to say that she was a single parent and was

Romarr Gipson, at the early age of seven, is the youngest boy to have ever been charged with murder. Gipson along with his eight-year-old friend named Elijah Henderson were charged with first-degree murder of the eleven-year-old Ryan Harris. It was later determined after the boys claimed they murdered Harris, that she was found to be murdered and raped by a 37-year-old man named Floyd Durr. Gipson had already shown signs of psychological issues as a young boy. A psychiatrist determined that he had “cognitive disabilities.” The boy did not speak well and would lose his train of thought easily. Gipson’s family received a $2 million settlement from the city of Chicago from a claim that the boy was framed and psychologically damaged. Roughly eight years after the Harris case, Romarr Gipson found himself before a judge yet again. At this point he is fifteen years old, and facing aggravated battery charges. It appears that a child wrongfully accused of rape and murder will forever be traumatized by such an impactful event that it could easily lead to such problems as post-traumatic stress disorder, social and emotional complications, learning disorders, and behavioral problems. I believe that the “Psychological Theory” along with its sub-theories the “Psychodynamic Theory” and “Behavioral Theory,” help define and

As Privy Council held in the case of "Wagon Mound (No 1)" that a party can only be held liable for damage that was reasonably foreseeable, the defendant should not be responsible for losses that are ‘too remote’ from the breach. It is obviously that the university could foresee that Brad have to quit his job to finish the degree and also need to pay for the fees.

Sparkle Company is a Nigerian diamond mining company. Sparkle is a joint venture, 50 percent owned by Shine and 50 percent owned by Brighten. Both Shine and Brighten are U.S.-based companies with their functional currency being the American dollar. Sparkle Companies functional currency is that of Nigeria, being the Naira. During 2009, Sparkle had several transactions with its joint venture owners and outside parties. The details of Sparkle’s transactions are three loans, three expenditures, and one revenue stream. The loans the company took out were $1 million from Brighten, $1 million from Shine, and 300 million Naira from a local Nigerian bank. The expenditures

Facts: Kyle John Kelbel was convicted of first-degree murder, past pattern of child abuse, in violation of Minnesota state statute section 609.185(5) and second-degree murder, in violation of Minnesota statute 609.19, subdivision 2(1). He was sentenced to life in prison for the death of Kailyn Marie Montgomery. Kelbel appealed, and argued that the district court failed to instruct the jury that it must find that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the acts that constituted the past pattern of child abuse and he also argued that the evidence against him was insufficient to prove past pattern of child abuse

The specific aims and purposes of criminal law is to punish criminals, and prevent people from becoming future criminals by using deterrence. “Having a criminal justice system that imposes liability and punishment for violations deter.” (Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley, Does Criminal Law Deter? A Behavioural Science Investigation, Oxford Journal of Legal studies, volume 24, No. 2 (2004), pp. 173-205). Criminal law

The case of Kusmider v. State, 688 P.2d 957 (Alaska App. 1984), was a state appeal’s court case that addressed the chain of causation for a murder, which had occurred, and the actions of the trial court judge (Brody & Acker, 2010). In this case, the appellant, Kusmider, appealed his conviction for second degree murder, based on the fact that the trial judge did not let him introduce evidence, which may have shown that the victim may have survived his wounds, if not for the actions of the paramedics.

Before going further, let me explain the charges you will hear. Section 222(5) defines murder as “a person commits culpable homicide when he causes the death of a human being.” Murder is first degree when it is planned and deliberate, and all murder that is not first-degree murder is second-degree murder. If Dr Kimball was provoked into killing his wife in the heat of passion then he will be guilty of manslaughter. However, the defence believes that he is not guilty. You will clearly hear the evidence to support this.

Nancy Drew Suders was hired March 1998 by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) as a police communications operator for the McConnellsburg barracks, where her three male supervisors subjected her to a "continuous barrage of sexual harassment." Suders said one of the supervisors Sergeant Eric D. Easton, talked to her repeatedly about sex with animals. The second, Corporal Eric B. Prendergast sat on her desk and made gestures simulating oral sex. The third, Patrol Corporal William D. Baker made obscene gestures as many as five or ten times a night. In June 1998, Suders spoke to PSP's Equal Employment Opportunities Officer, Virginia Smith-Elliot, and told her that she "might need some help." Two months later Suders contacted Smith-Elliot

Dan Locallo is a very contradicting man. When he began his career as a prosecutor he was anything but polite to the defense lawyers. Locallo himself describes himself as “kind of an asshole” towards defense lawyers (Courtroom 302, 59). During his time as a prosecutor, Dan Locallo became intrigued by the opportunity to become a judge. When Steve Bogira asked Locallo why he wanted to become a judge, his reply seemed simple. Locallo claimed that he never wanted to become a judge because of a “power-trip” he does claim that “the power of attraction was a great influence” (Courtroom 302, 59). However, Locallo admits that the real reason why he wanted to become a judge was because he would have the “ability to make decisions, to do

In S.M, the defendant was charged with two counts of voluntary man slaughter, and two counts of aggravated battery. Id. The defendant, a fourteen-year-old boy was outnumbered four to one. Id. The defendant attempted to flee and even attempted shooting a warning shot into the air, but the other boys continued to advance on him. The defendant continued to be pursued even after he began shooting. Id. The court ultimately held that the defendant should not be found guilty of the two counts of voluntary man slaughter nor the two counts of aggravated battery, due to the fact that it could not be said that the juvenile’s belief that he was in immediate danger of death or

FACTS: In 1982, defendant purchased thirty-nine acres of land, consisting of woods, swamp, and meadows, in an isolated part of Lincoln, Vermont. He put up several "no trespassing" signs where the road turned into his driveway and posted his land with signs that said, "POSTED Private Property.

When a person is charged with a crime the type of defense that they choose could ultimately determine their fate. There are many different types of defenses that exist in our criminal justice system. In this paper I will be taking a brief look at two different cases that have implored two different types of criminal defenses. I will look at the nature and types of defenses used in the cases and what evidence was used to demonstrate defense. I will describe how justification and excuse played a role in the cases and I will also be describing the outcome of each case.

In the case of a crime assault and suspicion of rape of a 14 year-old girl; Jones, Walsh and Bert were arrested. During the investigation, the police obtain statement from a man name Bland providing additional information that suspect Jones was involved in three separate assaults and rapes of juveniles over three days. The prosecution filed charges against Jones, Walsh and Bert for their involvement in the crime. The suspect, Bert then hired an attorney to defend him and explains to his lawyer that he did not participate in any acts of raping these girls and that he was only present one time with Jones and all he did was hit one of the girls. Bert also goes on to say that he can prove this because at the times the other rapes are alleged to have occurred, he was with Mook, who is currently out of the country on a mountain climbing trip and will not return for 2 months. Bland also contacts the prosecutor’s office and provides a written statement to the prosecutor that Walsh was not present during any of the rapes. (Case Study, n.d.)

The two basic types of courts in the United States are trial courts and appellate courts. These two types of courts have two entirely different functions. The job of a trial courts is to determine questions of fact. Appeals courts, on the other hand, must determine questions of law. Appellate courts have the right to overrule jury verdicts and judges decisions due to the fact that an appellate court typically concerns itself solely with issues of law. An appeal is not the time to retry the case or to reargue the facts. In civil matters, either party can appeal the decision of the trial court. Usually in criminal matters, however, only the defendant may appeal a criminal conviction and the state is not