COURSE: Broward College

CJL1100 CRIMINAL LAW ONLINE

ASSIGNMENT: Final Paper

Category and criteria Comments Total

points

possible

Total

points

earned

Substance of the Response – Student

Sufficiently Covered all of the Parts of the

Paper Required in the Syllabus

40

Introduction:

• Introduce the case:

• Describe the defendant and his history and who he/she was/is.

• Describe the victim(s) and their relationship with the defendant.

• Go into detail as to the facts of the case.

• Identify the witnesses and the evidence involved in this case.

• Identify the jurisdiction of the court.

• Explain if there was a motion for change of “venue” and explain what that means and if it was granted or not. Explain why a defendant would want such a change of “venue” generally and specifically in this case.

Identify the Specific Charges against the Defendant:

• Address the legal charges by finding the exact charge.

• Identify if there were federal or state charges and cite the statute.

• Identify the exact statutes involved and list the elements that the prosecutor must prove for a conviction;

• Identify the “lessor included” offenses that the jury could convict the defendant upon.

• Explain what the difference is between felony and a misdemeanor criminal charge is and identify if the charges are a felony or misdemeanor and the fines/penalties involved.

• State if the criminal charge a choate or inchoate crime? Explain both of these terms

in your paper.

• Was the crime charged a crime against a person or property? Explain the difference in your paper generally.

• What is the standard of proof the prosecutors must carry to win the case?

• What is the actus reus? What is the mens rea? Is there concurrence between the two? (define these terms)

• Was the crime committed a “criminal offense” or a “terrorist act”—explain the difference in your paper.

Defenses

• Identify the specific defenses used by the defendant.

• What evidence is needed to prove this defense? Explain all of their elements

• Explain the difference between “justification” defenses and “excuse” defenses. What category does the defendant’s defense in this case fall into?

• Explore other possible defenses as follows (just briefly explain them even if they don’t apply to your case):

• o Ex Post Facto Laws

• o Bills of Attainder

• o Statute of Limitations (and explain what is the statute of limitations for the charges against the defendant in your case)

• o Void for Vagueness

• o Mistake of Fact

• o Mistake of Law Jury Verdict

• What was the jury’s verdict?

• What US Constitutional Amendment applies to the right to a jury (state specifically the amendment number) and what does it require? Have these requirements been met in your case? Why/why not?

• Assume that the defendant was found not guilty, can the case be re-tried? Why/why not? Explain the concept of “double jeopardy” in your response.

• Do you agree with the verdict? Explain why/why not

• What US Constitutional Amendment applies to prevent “cruel & unusual punishment” and (state specifically the amendment number)?

• Was the ultimate sentencing against the defendant “cruel & unusual” punishment? If so, why? If not, why?

• What are the mitigating circumstances? Where there any present in your case?

• What are the aggravating circumstances? Where there any present in your case?

• What were the victim impact statements made at trial? Explain what these are generally speaking and specifically did any victims make these statements during the sentencing phase of your case? If so, what was said by them? Civil Liability

• Does the defendant face any civil liability?

• If so, who would be the plaintiffs and what type of tort?

• What is the standard of proof that applies to that case that the plaintiff must carry to win?

Appeals:

• Criminal Appeals can be based on “mistakes of law” and not “mistakes of fact”. Explain what these mean (in context of an appeal— not in the context of a trial)

• Are there any grounds for an appeal for the losing side? If so, explain them.

• What does the term “Habeas Corpus” mean and how would it apply to this case for grounds for appeal?

Conclusion:

• Summarize your findings

• What are the parties (defendant and victim or victim’s families) doing now—where are they and how have they moved on in life

• Where there any co-conspirators charged? What happened to them ultimately?

•

Formatting of Response 10

• Rules of grammar, usage, punctuation and followed.

• Paper is in APA Format (Headings, Line Spacing, Title Page, Abstract, Pagination, in- Text Referencing)

• Paper Provided Proper References and Reference Page

• Student has followed the Minimum word count for each project

• Sentence Structure was Proper

• Student’s writing tone is proper for the project and audience receiving the written document.

Total Points 50