Johnathan has some friends over for a poker night. It's cold outside, so many of the guests are wearing jackets. They pile them up on Abby and Johnathan's bed during the poker game. Later, when Wright is leaving, he picks up Hot Gus' jacket, believing it to be his, and leaves with it. Can Wright be found guilty of larceny?
No, mistake of fact will negate the required mens rea for this crime, because Wright had no intent to steal Gus' jacket.
In Macon, it is illegal to smoke weed on the street. However, lots of residents of downtown Macon violate this law. One night after many hours of dancing at JBA, Katie accepts a joint from Price, and takes a few hits on the sidewalk outside of the club. A police officer is walking past at the same time, and arrests Katie. She argues that she cannot be guilty because she believed the law allowed smoking on the street. Can she use mistake as a defense?
No. Mistake of law will not relieve Katie from culpability
Eva feels bad that she has been ghosting Christina, and invites her over to watch tv. Christina observes that Eva has a pink sword, and wants it for herself. When Eva goes to the bathroom, Christina takes Eva's sword and leaves the apartment. What can Christina be charged with?
Larceny
trespassory taking and carrying away of the property of another with intent to steal
Danielle has to go home to switch out her car with her mom's, to get her AC fixed. While she is gone, she asks Maddie to take care of Baby. Maddie misses the days when she had a bunny, so she decides to bring Baby to her apartment for a while, even though Danielle told her that Baby doesn't like to be moved around. While in her apartment, Maddie posts a picture of Baby, getting the attention of a hot man. The two begin dating shortly thereafter. Maddie returns Baby to Danielle's home before Danielle gets back. Is Maddie guilty of any crimes?
Embezzlement.
fraudulent conversion of the property of another by one who has been entrusted with that property
(I don't know if this is a good example because idk if the conversion is really there but we will roll with it)
Abby is looking for a watch to give Johnathan as a wedding gift. She consults Gucci, because she knows that he has the best taste in high end accessories. Gucci offers to sell one of his watches to Abby, telling her that it is an Omega worth a considerable amount of money. In reality it is a Temu knockoff. Abby, who forgot to wear her contacts that day, believes the lie, and agrees to trade her dress collection for the watch. What is Gucci guilty of?
False pretenses
false representation of a past or present material fact which causes the victim to pass ownership of the property to the defendant with knowledge that the statement is false and with intent to defraud the victim
Maddie and Lauren are incredibly jealous of Bobby's couch, and want to take it for themselves. They tell Jon that Taco Mac is having a sale for buy one get one beers on Saturday, knowing that he will convince Bobby to accompany him. The two leave with enough time to get to Taco Mac before the game starts and the lines are too long. Lauren stands guard outside, and Maddie enters the apartment through the back door by using a credit card to open it. She then carries out the couch, and the two take it back to Prison. What is Maddie guilty of?
Larceny, not robbery, the crime was committed during the day.
breaking and entering the dwelling house of another at night with the intent to commit a felony therein
Maddie and Lauren are incredibly jealous of Bobby's couch, and want to take it for themselves. They tell Jon that Taco Mac is having a sale for buy one get one beers on Saturday, knowing that he will convince Bobby to accompany him. The two leave with enough time to get to Taco Mac before the game starts and the lines are too long. Lauren stands guard outside, and Maddie enters the apartment through the back door by using a credit card to open it. She then carries out the couch, and the two take it back to Prison. What is Lauren guilty of?
Through accomplice liability, Lauren is guilty of larceny, but not burglary, because the crime was committed in the daylight.
If L intends to help M commit a crime, and L actually helps, and M does commit the crime, then L is just as guilty as M
Christy has a grandson with a birthday fast approaching. With all the stress law school causes her, she has neglected to buy a present for the boy. She knows that he likes minions, and when she sees Butch in his minion hoodie, she gets an idea. While Butch is walking down the hallway, she tackles him to the ground and forcibly removes the hoodie. What is she guilty of?
Robbery
larceny (trespassory taking and carrying away of the personal property of another with intent to steal)
PLUS
the property was taken from the person or immediate presence of the owner and was accomplished through force or fear
Johnathan has some people over for a poker night. Because of the weather, many people wear jackets, but take them off once they are inside. When the event is over, Katie takes Wright's jacket and wears it home. When he discovers this, he wants to have her charged with Larceny. Katie argues that she thought the jacket was hers, and cannot be guilty because she made a mistake of fact. Witnesses confirm that Katie came wearing a pink Lululemon jacket, and Wright came in a navy zip up hoodie. Can Katie use mistake as a defense?
Probably not, because the mistake was not in good faith.
After the midterm, Hurley enlists the help of Crim Jim to help her grade our tests. She allows him into her office, and access to the tests, and he is allowed to grade them while she is not there, as long as he stays in her office. Jim decides he is a little short on money, so he takes the test from the office and makes copies of it, and sells the copies to the 1Ls next year. What crime can Jim be charged with?
Embezzlement - fraudulent conversion of the property of another by one who has been entrusted with the property.
Jim's returning the tests does not negate the theft of the material
Abigail has no way to get to DWTS on Tuesday, so she asks Lauren for a ride. About halfway through the evening, she tells Lauren that she wants to go to bed, and needs to leave, but in reality, she wants to go see a boy. Lauren drives her back to her apartment, expending a considerable amount of gas while doing so. (Imagine that had she stayed the entire time, no gas would have been burned when Lauren took her back at the regular time LOL) When she finds out, can Lauren have Abigail charged with a crime, and if so, which one?
Ideally, false pretenses, because Abigail defrauded Lauren out of her very valuable gas
false representation of a past or present material fact which causes the victim to pass ownership of the property to the defendant with knowledge that the statement is false and with intent to defraud the victim
Marisa sees Eva's phone in her pocket, and decides she needs to have it. While Eva is not looking, she reaches into Eva's pocket and lifts the phone and walks away with it. What can Marisa be charged with?
Larceny. Eva is not looking and cannot apprehend the force (however slight) and also there's not force involved
Carlee lost her iPad, so she decided to steal Katie's scribe so she can take notes on that instead. In Torts, Katie sees that Carlee has her scribe, and yanks it from Carlee's hands. What crime can Katie be charged with?
No, claim of right is a defense to robbery because there is not the requisite mens rea (intent to steal)
Abby has developed a deep dislike for Roudil. She wants to get revenge on the professor for ruining her fall break, so she intends to ruin it right back. One night, Abby goes to Roudil's home, intending to steal her passport. After picking the lock, Abby began looking for the passport, but instead, found her purse collection. Satisfied, Abby took some of her purses instead. What can Abby be charged with?
Larceny of the purses
Burglary of the home (intent to steal at the time of entry)
Eva and Danielle were thrifting one Saturday downtown. While Lauren was looking at the shoes, Eva selected a top that she wanted and took it to the counter. She pulled a gun and demanded that they give her the top for free. There was also a cop in the store, who already selected the merchandise he wanted, but was being held up by Danielle, who was consulting him about what shoes she should buy. After the employee agreed to give Eva the top, she found Danielle and the girls left the store. What crimes can Danielle be charged with?
Not accomplice liability, because she was unaware of the robbery taking place and did nothing to assist its completion.
McCann has had it with people laughing at her in class. She decides she is going to teach her students a lesson. She waits for the school to replace all the doors so that they will lock (result of false shooter call). She then brings 18 cans of bug bombs into class. She sets them off one by one then leaves the room, locking the door behind her, and trapping all the students in the room. Several die as a result of inhaling the smoke from the bug bombs. What is the most severe crime can she be charged with?
Common law murder
intent and malice aforethought (intent to kill AND/OR intent to cause serious bodily injury)
Eva and Danielle were thrifting one Saturday downtown. While Lauren was looking at the shoes, Eva selected a top that she wanted and took it to the counter. She pulled a gun and demanded that they give her the top for free. There was also a cop in the store, who already selected the merchandise he wanted, but was being held up by Danielle, who was consulting him about what shoes she should buy. After the employee agreed to give Eva the top, she found Danielle and the girls left the store. What crimes can Eva be charged with?
Robbery of the top, she used force to get the employee to give her the top
Maddie, Katie, and Danielle are all in a study room, discussing their dislike for Rosie. They joke that she is ugly, and Maddie generates an AI video of Rosie being tied to a stick and turned over a fire like a rotisserie chicken. Abby walks into the study room, and seeing the video and hearing the comments, becomes enraged. She pulls the knife from her lunchbox and stabs Katie, Maddie, and Danielle in that order. They die What is the most severe crime she can be charged with?
Voluntary manslaughter - rage brought about by a sudden provocation that would have enraged a reasonable person. At least for Katie, she can be charged with this. Arguable about Maddie and Danielle, could be first degree (time to cool down) Their killings could be murder (intent to kill and malice aforethought)
Abby has developed a deep dislike for Roudil. She wants to get revenge on the professor for ruining her fall break, so she intends to ruin it right back. She tells Eva she wants to steal Roudil's passport. Abby and Eva go to Roudil's home, and Eva stands guard and acts as the getaway driver. Abby began looking for the passport, but ran into Mr. Roudil. Frightened, the shoots and kills him. She then gets the passport and leaves. Eva did not know that Abby had a gun, and believed she only intended to steal the passport. What crimes can the girls be charged with?
Abby - robbery, larceny (within that), voluntary manslaughter
Eva - accomplice to the robbery, not the killing (didn't know and had no reason to believe, but this is arguable I think)
Involuntary manslaughter - extreme recklessness
Christy was humiliated one too many times in Kundawala's class, and wanted to make sure it would never happen again. She wants to make sure his hearing is a permanent loss so he cannot finish the semester. She comes into his office and clangs his head between two symbols, intending only to deafen him. Unfortunately, the impact is so severe it causes him to have a seizure and die. What is the most severe crime she can be charged with? (modern statute version)
2nd degree murder - intent to cause serious bodily injury
One day, Katie has had enough of Jaida's aroma. She decides to confront her in the hallway after J&J. Katie tells her that she is committing "olfactory assault" on the class, and that she needs to get a hygiene routine that will reduce the odor. A lot of people in the hallway are listening, and nod in agreement. Humiliated, Jaida leaves the school. The next day, she returns, and when walking past Katie in the hallway, Katie catches another whiff and says out loud "oh come on..." Jaida then swings around and hits Katie in the head with her contracts book. Katie's head is slammed into the wall and she eventually succumbs to her injuries. What is the most severe crime Jaida can be charged with?
Common law murder - She acted with intent and malice aforethought (probably intent to cause serious bodily injury)
NOT voluntary murder because she had a day to cool off, and Katie's words alone on the day of her murder were not sufficient provocation
Butch was getting ready to leave for school, and was so concerned with checking for cats under his car that he missed hurricane Galema ripping down the street on the way home from Mac's house. Having heard the stories about him, she was not concerned with slowing down, and plowed Butch down, resulting in his death. What is the most severe crime she can be charged with?
Common law murder - intent and malice aforethought (intent to kill)