Lennie’s Initial Visit to the Law Firm
After Lennie explains the circumstances in which he needed a lawyer, many steps must be taken to ensure that a proper defense is set up so that he may he keep his freedom. Since there are many different aspects to the whole scenario, there will need to be several different defenses to ensure that Lennie is proven innocent on all charges and that his alleged accomplice isn’t charged as well.
Did Lennie Cause The Death of the First Officer?
The first officer that pursued Lennie died instantly after being hit in the eye with a dart, which was thrown by an inebriated young woman who was startled by Lennie blowing a clown horn at her. The question here is, “Is Lennie at fault for this officer’s death?” The …show more content…
If the officer had survived he wouldn’t be charged because his act was a result of the girls’ actions. Ernie’s death was the result of the commission of a crime already in progress being committed by the Lennie, the girl, and Jeffrey, each of them can be charged with felony murder. They were all engaged in actions that constituted felonies and ultimately caused Ernie’s death. With a charge like this the state is not mandated to prove the defendant(s) had the explicit intent to kill Ernie only that he died during their actions.
At the time she hit the officer with the dart she was having delusions, so her defense would be wrapped into her previous insanity defense. Insanity is a blanketed defense so if she is successful in using the defense for murdering the first and second officer she will be able to use this defense there as well. If she isn’t found to be insane, she can be charged with murder.
There are different levels to murder, so this would fall under manslaughter. Manslaughter is preserved for cases where the defendant – the girl in this instance – didn’t mean for Ernie to die but because of her actions in shooting the second officer he did. Therefore, his death could be deemed more accidental than intentional due to the circumstances surrounding this …show more content…
Lennie ran off with the girl under the guise of her being 21 years old. Now that it has become apparent that the girl is only 16 the crime of statutory rape has been committed. This is a strict liability crime so there are very few defenses to it. Lennie’s defense team must show that the girl was aware and accepted the problem created by her affair with Lennie and that she willingly entered into relations with him, even though it was illegal to do so.
In many states there is one defense that can mitigate the punishment, which is marriage. In the state of Georgia, where the crimes were committed, marriage is a defense to the charge that the child and the defendant get married. (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-6-3.) This defense hints at the marital rape exemption, which is an issue within itself. It is very rare that a person is acquitted of being charged with statutory rape, but it is possible. Other possible defenses to a statutory rape charge are as follows:
• Peer sex exemption where a minor can plead their age and its proximity to that of the person they engaged in intercourse with.
• Mistake of fact occurs when a defendant truly believes that the minor child is actually of age of consent. There must be reasonable grounds for this
After Lennie explains the circumstances in which he needed a lawyer, many steps must be taken to ensure that a proper defense is set up so that he may he keep his freedom. Since there are many different aspects to the whole scenario, there will need to be several different defenses to ensure that Lennie is proven innocent on all charges and that his alleged accomplice isn’t charged as well.
Did Lennie Cause The Death of the First Officer?
The first officer that pursued Lennie died instantly after being hit in the eye with a dart, which was thrown by an inebriated young woman who was startled by Lennie blowing a clown horn at her. The question here is, “Is Lennie at fault for this officer’s death?” The …show more content…
If the officer had survived he wouldn’t be charged because his act was a result of the girls’ actions. Ernie’s death was the result of the commission of a crime already in progress being committed by the Lennie, the girl, and Jeffrey, each of them can be charged with felony murder. They were all engaged in actions that constituted felonies and ultimately caused Ernie’s death. With a charge like this the state is not mandated to prove the defendant(s) had the explicit intent to kill Ernie only that he died during their actions.
At the time she hit the officer with the dart she was having delusions, so her defense would be wrapped into her previous insanity defense. Insanity is a blanketed defense so if she is successful in using the defense for murdering the first and second officer she will be able to use this defense there as well. If she isn’t found to be insane, she can be charged with murder.
There are different levels to murder, so this would fall under manslaughter. Manslaughter is preserved for cases where the defendant – the girl in this instance – didn’t mean for Ernie to die but because of her actions in shooting the second officer he did. Therefore, his death could be deemed more accidental than intentional due to the circumstances surrounding this …show more content…
Lennie ran off with the girl under the guise of her being 21 years old. Now that it has become apparent that the girl is only 16 the crime of statutory rape has been committed. This is a strict liability crime so there are very few defenses to it. Lennie’s defense team must show that the girl was aware and accepted the problem created by her affair with Lennie and that she willingly entered into relations with him, even though it was illegal to do so.
In many states there is one defense that can mitigate the punishment, which is marriage. In the state of Georgia, where the crimes were committed, marriage is a defense to the charge that the child and the defendant get married. (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-6-3.) This defense hints at the marital rape exemption, which is an issue within itself. It is very rare that a person is acquitted of being charged with statutory rape, but it is possible. Other possible defenses to a statutory rape charge are as follows:
• Peer sex exemption where a minor can plead their age and its proximity to that of the person they engaged in intercourse with.
• Mistake of fact occurs when a defendant truly believes that the minor child is actually of age of consent. There must be reasonable grounds for this