CRIMINAL LAW X & Z2
Professor Chang
Midterm Examination
FALL 2002
INSTRUCTIONS
1. This exam is closed book No materials of any kind are permitted.
2. You have one (1) hour and 30 minutes to complete this exam.
3. This exam is worth 1/3 of your grade for this course.
4. This exam consists of one (1) essay question worth 50 points and one (1) multiple choice bonus question worth 2 points for a total of 52 points.
5. Your answer should demonstrate an understanding of criminal law as applied to the facts presented. There are no points for conclusions without analysis.
6. This exam consists of four (4) pages.
7. Write your exam number on your exam envelope, all used blue books, and at the top of this exam packet. Do not use your name, student ID number or Social Security Number on any exam materials.
8. When you have finished, return all materials including blue books, scratch paper, and this exam packet to the exam envelope and submit it to the proctor.
9. Good luck!
CRIMINAL LAW MIDTERM - FALL 2002 - STATUTES
COLUMBIA STATE STATUTES
Section 750 - First Degree Murder
A person who kills another human being without lawful justification commits first degree murder if,
in performing the acts which cause the death:
(1) The actor intends to kill or do great bodily harm;
(2) The actor is attempting to conunit or is committing an inherently dangerous felony.
Section 751- Inherently Dangerous Felony- Defined
Inherently dangerous felony means treason, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal
sexual assault, robbery, burglary, arson, kidnapping, and any other felony which involves the use or
threat of physical force or violence involving a risk of death against any other human being.
Section 1100 - Aggravated Fleeing or Attempt to Elude a Police Officer
(A) The offense of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer is committed by any driver or operator of a motor vehicle who flees or attempts to elude a police officer, after being given a visual or audible signal by a police officer and such flight or attempt to elude:
(1) is at a rate of speed at least 21 miles per hour over the legal speed limit;
(2) causes bodily injury to any individual; or,
(3) causes property damage in excess of $500.
(B) Any person convicted of a violation of this Section shall be guilty of a felony.
Section 1101- Signal by Police Officer To Stop - Defined
As used in Section 1100, the visual or audible signal by a police officer directing the driver or operator of a motor vehicle to stop may be by hand, voice, siren, or red or blue light. The officer giving the signal, if driving a vehicle, shall display the vehicle's illuminated, oscillating, rotating or flashing red or blue lights, which when used in conjunction with an audible horn or siren would indicate that the vehicle is an official police vehicle.
RIMINAL LAW MIDTERM - FALL 2002 - QUESTION ONE - (50 Points)
On the afternoon of September 25, 2001, Alana asked her boyfriend Bo to take her 1995
Toyota
Corolla to the auto mechanic for repairs. In addition to several mechanical problems, the steering column
was "peeled" in an attempted car theft so that the car could only be started with a screwdriver. Instead of
taking the car to the mechanic as promised, Bo drove the car to the south side of Ballentine City, with the
hope that he could rent the car for some cocaine. The south side of Ballentme in the state of Columbia has
a reputation as a high crime area.
After making some inquiries, Bo met up with Denny who agreed to rent the car for Bo. Denny
gave Bo two dime bags of cocaine and agreed to return the car at 9:00p.m. that night at the corner of 56th and Myrtle Street. At 9 pm, Bo waited for Denny at the designated street comer but Denny never appeared. Bo did not report the car to the police as stolen.
The next day on September 26th, Denny took the car to his friend Tony to see if Tony wanted to buy the car. When Tony saw that the steering column had been broken into, he told Denny that he was not willing to buy a stolen car and to get lost. As Denny drove away, he noticed a marked police car behind him Denny was nervous about the police car since he was driving without a driver's license. Denny made a sharp right turn and then a left turn to see if the police car would follow him.
Officer Carl noticed Dennys erratic driving and radioed in that he was following a vehicle and intended to make a stop for an "unsafe left turn." Denny increased his driving speed to 45 miles per hour. The speed limit is 25 miles per hour. Officer Carl turned on the emergency lights of the police car. Denny pulled into a dark alley and parked the car to escape by foot. Officer Carl also stopped his patrol car and ran after Denny.
Meanwhile, Officer Quinn had heard Officer Carl over the radio and was in the neighborhood.
Coming to Officer Carl's assistance, Officer Quinn saw Denny running and made a sharp right turn after him The time is approximately 8:30 p.m. and dark Officer Quinn heard a thump and applied the brakes as the front end of the patrol car went into the air. Officer Carl was dragged underneath the patrol car for approximately 100 feet before the car came to a stop. Officer Carl was still alive and pinned under the patrol car. Denny ran to a friend's house not realizing that Officer Carl had been hit.
Firefighters pried Officer Carl from underneath the patrol car. After 20 minutes, they were
successful, and officer Carl was air lifted to the hospital where he was pronounced brain dead after one hour. When Officer Quinn saw her friend Carl in the hospital, she became so distraught that she unplugged the respiratory system and then fatally shot herself.
The next day, Ballentine police arrested Denny and charged him with the murders of Officer Carl and Quinn. Was there sufficient evidence to convict Denny? What defenses should he raise?