Assignment Case Suggestions PDF

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Amicus brief topics for Dr. Huggin's PSY 300 class....

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Assignment Case Suggestions Below you will find some suggested starting points for your paper. For each ‘case’ there are several different ways to proceed. You DO NOT have to cover an entire area (i.e. ‘eyewitness evidence’) but should instead pick a specific aspect of this larger picture to focus on (i.e. ‘instructions to the witness’). Note – if you have a particular topic in mind that doesn’t readily fit one of these suggestions let me know and we can discuss whether it is appropriate/relevant for the course. 1) John Smith has been arrested and charged with first degree murder for the death of his common-law spouse, Mary Jones. The key piece of evidence against him comes from the eyewitness statement of an elderly neighbour, Mrs. Crowe, who claims she saw the defendant commit the crime as she passed by her upstairs bedroom window (allowing her to see into Mr. Smith’s living room next door). Mr. Smith’s lawyer is claiming that the eyewitness identification be thrown out for being unreliable. You are being asked by the court to help it determine whether or not this eyewitness account should be included. 2) The trial for Ms. Molson, charged with break and enter and simple assault, is set to begin in two weeks time, and her lawyer has approached you to ask you to help explain to the judge that proceeding with a trial at this time would not be fair. The crime took place in a small rural Ontario town, where Ms. Moulson is one of only 3 black townspeople and where the victim is a wealthy white shopkeeper. Her lawyer argues that some procedures must be put in place to minimize the possibility that the trial will be biased. You are being asked to ensure that the trial is as fair as possible. 3) B. Chalmers is on trial for manslaughter. He is a young Hispanic male who works at a local mill. The victim, J. Quinn, was found dead in an underground parking garage of his apartment building. The only witness to the crime is an 11-year-old boy (Peter Lye) who was just dropping off a stack of newspapers to the service entrance downstairs and who later reported that a man matching Mr. Chalmers description ran out of the stairwell wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, scaring him so badly he dropped the remaining papers. He has been questioned by police and lawyers and has indicated Mr. Chalmers is the man he saw. You are being asked to determine if Peter Lye’s statements are reliable and valid.

4) Ms. Wise was last seen alive on Tuesday, January 6th, or early morning on Wednesday, January 7th. Hugo Montana, Ms. Wise’s former boyfriend, is accused of second-degree murder. One of the key witnesses the Crown has presented was put under hypnosis during her interview. Whether this technique could have altered her testimony is the issue at hand. Originally, Mrs. Walters, a neighbour of the deceased, reported to police that she

had last seen Mr. Montana, the defendant, at the Ms. Wise’s apartment on Thursday January 8th. . Following her hypnotic interview, she remembered seeing Mr. Montana at Ms. Wise’s apartment on Wednesday January 7th, potentially the last day she was alive. Your job is to determine whether the testimony of this witness is valid. 5) A fifteen-year-old girl has been beaten, raped and murdered. The defendants in this case have been charged with first-degree murder. The police canvassed the neighbourhood to find out more information about the murder. When they reached one door, a seventeenyear-old boy, Ted Short, informed the police that he knew the murder victim, and that he and his friends had in fact walked her partway home on the night she died. As a result of this information, the police arrested Mr. Short, and his two friends who were 20 and 23 years old. Following arrest, the police interrogated all 3 young men which ultimately led them Mr. Short to confess to the crime. They are now claiming this confession was false. You are being asked to determine if this is likely a false confession or not. 6) On July 21, 2014 Joe Fresh entered the Mighty Mart on Dundas St. W, a cash loan establishment. Fresh had a gun, and pointed it at 3 people, warning them not to move or they would be shot. He then robbed the teller. After, he turned around and left with a woman who had been standing directly behind him during the robbery. He and the woman got into a car and drive off. Prior to the arrival of the police, one eyewitness told the two others and the teller that the woman was Fresh’s accomplice, that he had seen them getting out of a car together from across the street earlier. When the police arrived at the scene, the teller was questioned first and she told the police the information the first witness told the others. With the witnesses’ description of the car and offenders, Fresh was arrested shortly after, with the woman (Ms. Smith) still with him in the car. When police apprehended them Smith appeared to be terrified and reported she was approached at gun point in the parking lot down the street and ordered to walk with him to the Mighty Mart. The witnesses at the crime scene all agree that she was an accomplice and that they came from the same car. However, a shopkeeper from down the street reported seeing the two walk down the street towards Mighty Mart, with Fresh dragging Smith. How should they proceed? 7) On March 19, 2015 a woman’s body was found, bloody and covered in stab wounds, floating face-down in a pool located in the apartment complex which she owned and where she also lived. All of the current tenants were questioned and cleared, except for one, a 23 year old publicist, named Ella Rogers. Her alibi had initially cleared her as a suspect in the case; however after investigating, police uncovered information that contradicted her alibi. Ella was brought in and re-interviewed, at which point she stated that she lied because on the night of the murder she was actually having an affair with one of her clients and they both did not want the affair to be exposed. Subsequently, police investigated and found issues with her credibility, as the man Ella claimed to be having an affair with denied everything. Police also found numerous threatening emails

from Ella to the victim on the victim’s personal computer. Ella was arrested by police and brought into custody, promptly interrogated, and confessed to murdering the victim. Later Ella claimed that her confession was false and that she had been coerced by police to confess. Records show that Ella was interrogated for almost 18 hours and was not given any food or allowed to rest. Your job is to determine the veracity of her confession statement(s) to police. 8) On December 14, 2014, Bill Holtz called the local police and reported that his wife, Jane Holtz, had just committed suicide in front of him in the bedroom of their home. Bill reported that after arriving home Jane had begun acting extremely irritable and temperamental, picking fights with Bill over small issues such as forgetting to pick up light bulbs. After a few hours Jane went up to their bedroom and took the small revolver out of Bill’s nightstand, returned downstairs and pointed it at her head, threatening to kill herself. Bill convinced her to return the gun to his nightstand, but after several minutes of awaiting her return became worried. When he arrived at her bedroom door, Jane pulled the trigger of the revolver which was pointed at her right temple, killing herself. Bill Holtz then stood trial for the murder of his wife. Before the trial began, bizarre stories of the Holtz’s personal life were revealed to the public via nightly the nightly news, and in daily newspaper reports. Reports included their fondness for bizarre sexual role-playing and violent sexual fantasies. Once the trial began, several doctors and nurses have submitted written testimony revealing that Jane had been under their care on several occasions for suicidal rumination and, in one circumstance, attempted suicide. Secondly, finger prints were taken off of the gun immediately after the incident apparently suggesting that Bill had not touched the weapon in several months. Thirdly, Bill’s hand and shirt sleeve was analyzed for gun powder residue and none was found, suggesting that he in fact never touched the gun. After just one hour of deliberation the jury convicted Bill Holtz of first degree murder. The defense now wants to appeal this finding, and your job is to determine whether the jury was attending to the evidence in the case properly. 9) Emily Smith, an 8 year old girl, alleges she has been sexually abused by her father on more than one occasion over the past year. Her father, Michael Smith, denies these allegations. If convicted, Michael faces up to 10 years in prison. The issue in this case is whether the alleged abuse in fact took place or if it is the case that the allegations are the result of suggestive interviewing and premature exposure to explicit content. The allegations came after Emily watched a CSI episode about child sexual abuse alone after which she remarked to her mother about the physical similarities the ‘dad’ on the show had to her father. The allegations came to light when Emily’s mother questioned Emily on 5 occasions after her initial remark. Emily’s mother claims Emily was not commenting on the physical resemblance of the CSI actor to her father, but rather that her daughter had identified with the sexual abuse that took place on the show. Emily’s mother admits she

watches CSI on a regular basis and is familiar with the characters. Prior to these allegations, Michael Smith had no criminal record or charges laid against him. A transcript of the police interrogation has revealed detectives asked Emily on three separate occasions to indicate on anatomically detailed doll, “where her father touched her”. The interviewer noted that Emily did not re-enact the alleged sexual abuse but did explore the doll`s genitals. Should Emily’s statements be considered? 10) In the case of R v. Wilson, the defendant Shane Wilson, a Black male aged 32, is currently charged with second degree murder for killing a 19 year old male named Andrew Jones. On November 1st, 2014, Andrew Jones was found shot dead in a park at around 9:00 pm. A ten year old eyewitness named Billy Hugh claimed he saw it all take place. While Billy Hugh was finishing up playing in the park by his house he said that he saw the suspect from a fair distance approaching the victim. “Once he got close to him, he pulled out a big scary gun and pointed it at him for about 10 seconds and then shot him three times and then he just walked away” Billy stated. Billy’s mother, Margaret Hugh did not see this shooting however she said she was supervising Billy from the house window which is located just across the park. When Billy screamed frantically, Margaret immediately left her house and asked Billy what had happened. He explained and Margaret instantly took Billy into their home and called 911. When the police arrived four minutes later, Billy was hesitant to give a description of the suspect and gave an extremely broad statement after repeatedly mentioning he had a gun. “He was a big guy; he was black and was wearing a black jacket.” Three days later when Billy and his mom went for an afternoon walk on November 4, 20014 Billy spotted a Black male named Shane Wilson walking past the park where the shooting occurred. Billy immediately said “THATS HIM MOM, THATS THE GUY WHO SHOT THE OTHER GUY!” . Shane Wilson was apprehended by the police and was charged for second degree murder. Your job is to determine whether this is likely a reasonable/valid identification. 11) Janet Smith, a 35-year old woman, has suffered abuse at the hands of husband throughout their ten-year marriage. She had previously attempted to leave the relationship, only to return in light of threats of harsher abuse and the lack of outside support. On the night in question, Smith’s husband had been drinking heavily, and an argument ensued between the couple. At this point, she was brutally physically and sexually abused. Prior to falling asleep, Mr. Smith threatened Janet Smith that he would kill her before the next morning. As her husband napped (allegedly as a result of being intoxicated) in his chair in the living room, she took the gun which her husband used to threaten her and shot him once in the head. Janet Smith has entered a plea of self-defense on the basis that due to persistent abuse over her ten-year marriage and considering the threat made against her life just prior to the shooting, the defendant had a reasonable apprehension of death. The Crown is in agreement that Smith is indeed a battered woman, but argues that the defendant ought to have made use of available alternatives

(i.e. police, shelters, etc). Further, the prosecution maintains that the shooting was motivated by anger (due to the disagreement that evening) and is therefore not the result of a reasonable apprehension of death seeing as her husband was sleeping when he was shot. Who is right and how should this case proceed?...