Copyright and Terms of Service · 2015-12-02 · them; however, a reasonable charge to cover only...

DEFENSES TO PROSECUTION

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Copyright and Terms of Service

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◦ Violations

Example: Traffic tickets

◦ Misdemeanor

Example: 1st offense DWI

◦ Felony

Example: Murder

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Battered Woman Syndrome Defense:

◦ History of abuse

◦ In fear of injury or death from a probable assault by the actor

◦ Actions based on the assault history of the actor against the victim

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A husband comes home every night and

physically abuses his wife. One night, the

battered woman hears her abuser opening the

door of their home. She waits for him just inside

the door and hits him over the head with an iron

skillet when he opens the door. The man dies

from the blow to the head. The wife is able to

file the “Battered Woman Syndrome Defense”

against prosecution.

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PMS Defense

◦ A defense in

England and other

European

countries

◦ Not used in the US

to this date

◦ Similar to the

insanity plea

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What is PTSD?

◦ Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder

◦ Veterans of combat

◦ Based on hardships and

experiences endured in

combat

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Do all Veterans have PTSD?

◦ The law specifically states Vietnam Veterans◦ But any veteran can claim the PTSD defense if

he can show such traumatic experiences triggered his reaction

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A combat veteran who had witnessed the

horrors of war is walking down the street. He

sees a boy lying on the ground curled up in a

defensive position. A pool of blood surrounds

the boy’s body. A grown man is beating the

boy with a steel rod. The veteran reacts

instantaneously to the boys outcry of pain and

kills the boy’s assailant. The veteran reacted

just as he would have in combat. Therefore,

he can fall upon the PTSD defense.

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Who is a Juvenile?

◦ In the State of Texas

a juvenile is defined

as any child not

older than 16 years

of age and not

younger than 10

years of age

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Why are juvenile laws different?

◦ Broken a law or in need of supervision

◦ “Civil Offenses”

◦ Records sealed at 17 (unless continued record of criminal activity)

◦ Sealed records cannot be opened without a court order

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What happens when arrested?

◦ “Taken into Custody”

◦ Transported

◦ Taken before a Magistrate

◦ Written or oral statement

◦ Fingerprinted and

photographed

◦ Released or turned over

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Coerced or forced by another person to

commit a crime

No criminal history

Fear of:◦ Bodily Injury

◦ Exposure

◦ Injury of another

◦ Death

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“Enticed” to commit a

crime

No criminal history

Never seen committing

such a crime

Law enforcement

provides means and

motivation

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A law enforcement officer goes into a neighborhood where a majority of the people are starving. He leaves a bag of groceries sitting on the hood of a car, waits, and arrests the person who takes the abandoned food.

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Impossible to control conduct

Emotions not normal

Outside factors impact action

Action of another triggers impulse to act

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A man has not eaten anything for weeks. He is

walking down the street and sees a display of

apples in a cart in front of a grocery store. The

starving person walks by the store and grabs

two apples, immediately beginning to eat one of

them. A police officer sees the offense and

places the person under arrest for theft.

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Police are justified in their use of

force

The action defends another

The action prevents serious harm

to themselves

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Avoid a greater evil or crime Had no other choice Fear of consequences if they did not commit

the crime Any other normal, prudent person would have

made the same decision

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A woman is drowning in flood waters. Her arm is

wedged under a fallen tree. Blood is pouring

out of her arm and the flood waters are rising. A

man finds her. In fear that she will drown or

bleed to death before other help can arrive, he

amputates her arm in order to free her. The

greater evil would have been to let the woman

drown or slowly die from blood loss.

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Result of

happenstance

Harm not planned

No intent to harm

No influencing factors

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A worker is rebuilding a brick ledge. He has a

scaffolding set up on the sidewalk with a warning

sign. He turns to add another cleaned brick to

the pile, sneezes and accidentally knocks an

existing brick from the pile. A person passing

underneath the scaffolding is struck by the brick

and suffers the serious bodily injury of a skull

fracture. The workers defense is “Accidental.”

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Defending oneself

No pre-meditation

A normal, prudent person would have reacted in the same manner

One level of force greater than the force being used against you

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Not in control of one’s

senses at the time of the

crime

Emotionally driven

Actions contrary to

personality

The jury decides whether

to accept a plea of insanity

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A father comes home and finds a man attempting to rape his daughter. The father reacts violently in defense of his daughter, and beats the attacker over the head with an object within his reach. His defense is Temporary Insanity, due to his mental state when he saw his daughter being attacked.

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Incapable of determining right from wrong

Provable in court

The jury agrees

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Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and Texas State Penal Code http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/

Battered Woman Syndrome Defense http://www.essays.cc/free_essays/d5/arn49.shtml

PTSD in the Forensic Setting http://dpa.state.ky.us/library/manuals/mental/Ch15.html

Supreme Court Case: The State Of Washington v. Joseph Henry Maishhttp://www.mrsc.org/mc/courts/supreme/029wn2d/029wn2d0052.htm

Entrapment and Due Process http://www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawreview/frames/253/lordtxt.html

Do an Internet search for the following:

◦ Review journal killer’s mental illness recedes

◦ Defense Witness Calls Death of Cop's Wife Accidental

◦ TPI Crim 40.04

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http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/

http://www.essays.cc/free_essays/d5/arn49.shtml

http://dpa.state.ky.us/library/manuals/mental/Ch15.html

http://www.mrsc.org/mc/courts/supreme/029wn2d/029wn2d0052.htm

http://www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawreview/frames/253/lordtxt.html

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