Bar Exam Prep Questions - Complete Solutions A criminal told his girlfriend that he was planning to rob a local liquor store and would give her a third
... [Show More] of the proceeds from the robbery if she agreed to drive the getaway car. The girlfriend agreed and following the robbery, drove the criminal away from the scene of the crime. Subsequently, the police arrested the criminal for the robbery and he made a constitutionally valid confession, implicating the girlfriend. With which of the following crimes may the girlfriend properly be charged? Both robbery and conspiracy A wife discovered that her husband had been having an affair with her best friend for many months. Enraged, the wife decided to invite her best friend over for poolside cocktails, spike her drinks with a strong sedative, and then push her into the pool to drown after she passed out. The best friend agreed to come over, but because the wife was extremely nervous, she took ten times the recommended amount of her prescribed anti-anxiety medication. The best friend arrived to find the wife acting erratically, clearly under the influence of the drugs. However, the wife managed to add the sedative to the best friend's cocktails, and when she passed out, the wife pushed her into the pool. The best friend drowned. The police eventually arrested and charged the wife with first-degree murder. The jurisdiction defines first-degree murder as a deliberate and premeditated unlawful killing of another human being. Does the wife have a valid intoxication defense to the first-degree murder charge? No, because the wife formed the intent to kill before she became intoxicated A man who suffered from a mental illness shot and killed his neighbor after making plans to do so. The man was arrested and charged with murder. At trial, the man admitted that he intended to kill the neighbor, and that he appreciated that what he was doing was illegal. However, he also testified that he performed the killing under orders from his pet goldfish, who was possessed by a demonic spirit, and that he was unable to resist the goldfish's constant urging to kill the neighbor. The Model Penal Code test of criminal responsibility applies in the applicable jurisdiction. If the man timely and properly pleads that he was not criminally responsible, can he be found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity? Yes, because the man was unable to resist the goldfish's constant urging To test his new, high-powered cross-bow, the defendant went out into the woods behind his home, which bordered the backyard of a house where the defendant knew several children lived and played. The defendant posted a target on a tree and began firing arrows at the target. As he was testing his cross-bow, the defendant heard the children playing nearby, but took no action to warn them as to the danger. Even though the children began to run directly behind the target the defendant continued testing his cross-bow. The defendant accidentally misaimed and shot an arrow to the side of the tree with the target, striking and killing one of the children. The defendant was convicted of murder for the death of the child. On appeal, the defendant argued that the evidence at trial was insufficient as a matter of law to support a conviction of murder. What action should the appellate court take with regard to this appeal? Affirm the conviction, as the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction of murder A man and a woman planned to rob a liquor store. The man entered the store while the woman stayed in the car to act as a lookout and getaway driver. As a police officer walked by the store, the woman turned on the car lights, which was the signal she had arranged to warn the man in the store if anyone was coming. Seeing the signal, the man ran out the door right into the police officer. Realizing that an armed robbery was in progress, the police officer shot and killed the man, after appropriate warnings. Should the woman be found guilty of felony murder of the man? No, because the killing by the policeman was justifiable Immediately after she arrived home from work, a woman found her husband engaged in sex with a female who worked in the husband's office. Enraged, the woman retrieved a handgun from her dresser drawer. She fired the gun, intending to shoot her husband's co-worker. Her shot missed the co-worker, and instead killed her husband. The woman was charged with common-law murder of her husband. Based on the foregoing facts, should she be convicted? No, because the act was provoked A defendant entered a convenience store wearing a Halloween mask and carrying a gun. He pointed the gun at the store clerk and told him to empty the cash register into a bag and hand it over. The clerk told the defendant that he needed a key from below the counter to unlock the cash drawer. He leaned over, pulled out a gun from behind the cash register, and quickly fired a shot. The defendant had seen the clerk reach for the gun, however, and jumped out of the way before the shot was fired. The bullet hit a customer, who later died from the injury. Is the defendant likely to be convicted of felony murder in a jurisdiction that follows the majority law? No, because the clerk could not be considered the agent of the defendant Two women who shared an apartment in a high-crime neighborhood decided to buy a taser for protection. As permitted by applicable state law, the taser had been advertised as a form of "non-lethal self-defense" when used properly. After purchasing the taser but before receiving the formal training required to learn how to use it, one of the women jokingly put the taser against her roommate's chest and shocked her. The roommate went into cardiac arrest, and although the woman called 911 immediately, the roommate died. The jurisdiction defines first-degree murder as premeditated and deliberate murder, and gives second-degree murder the same elements as common-law murder. For which of the following crimes is the woman most likely to be found guilty? Involuntary manslaughter A daughter babysat her neighbor's children every Thursday night. Her mother had coveted the neighbor's antique vase for many years. The mother bought a cheap replica of the vase, broke it, and gave the pieces to her daughter Thursday morning. The mother told the daughter to leave the broken pieces in the neighbor's trash, steal the antique vase, and claim that the children had broken it. The daughter reluctantly agreed. While she was babysitting that evening, the daughter put the pieces of the cheap replica in the garbage. However, before she actually stole the vase, her mother called her. The mother had changed her mind and told the daughter not to steal the vase. The daughter did not steal the vase, but forgot to take the pieces of the cheap replica out of the garbage. When the neighbor discovered the pieces of the replica in the garbage, she confronted the daughter, and the daughter confessed the whole plan. The neighbor called the police, who arrested the mother; she was subsequently charged with solicitation. Is the mother guilty of solicitation under the common law? Yes, because the mother encouraged her daughter to steal the antique vase A husband and his business partner owned a large technology company together. After a personally tumultuous but professionally successful decade working together, the husband discovered that the business partner had been fraudulently transferring company funds to the business partner's personal account for years. Before he confronted his business partner about this, he called his own wife to tell her what he had learned. His wife reminded him that the company had a $2 million life insurance policy on the business partner. The couple formed a plan to murder the business partner for the insurance proceeds when he was alone in the office building. On the day that they planned to carry out the murder, the husband told the business partner that he had to leave early and asked the business partner to stay late to finish up a presentation. He knew that by doing so, the business partner would be alone at the office. Later that night, the wife went in and shot the business partner. She then panicked and fled the country. The husband was later charged with the murder and conspiracy to commit the murder, but the wife was never apprehended. The jurisdiction recognizes the majority rule regarding conspirator liability. Is the husband likely to be found guilty of conspiracy and murder? Yes, because the husband persuaded the business partner to stay late at the office Two men and a woman plotted to burn down a building. Before the men and woman took any overt act towards completion of the arson, the police discovered the plot and arrested the three plotters on charges of conspiracy to commit arson. For evidentiary reasons, [Show Less]