Exam 15: General Defenses and Justification

Reynaldo is charged with possession of a controlled substance.At trial the evidence establishes that Reynaldo was a former drug addict who was lured by an undercover police officer into returning to drug use.The undercover officer originally provided Reynaldo with the drugs which were in his possession when he was arrested by an officer from another agency.At his trial,Reynaldo's attorney will likely raise the defense of ________ on behalf of Reynaldo.

Under Texas law,the definition of "deadly force" includes any force:

A courtroom defense strategy where the accused admits to the conduct charged but seeks conviction of a lesser charge is known as ________.

Patty is abducted by a band of domestic terrorists.As a fundraising effort the terrorists decide to rob a bank.They compel Patty to join them by keeping a pistol pointed at her.Fearing for her life,Patty assists the terrorists by collecting the money from the bank tellers.Unknown to Patty,the pistol is actually a toy.Patty is:

Under what circumstances may a person lawfully use deadly force to prevent the commission of crimes concerning his property?

Connie is charged with murdering her 6-year-old child.She has history of mental illness.At the time of her arrest she was running through the neighborhood nude and screaming "I am queen of the world." At her murder trial,Connie's defense attorney raises the defense of insanity.To be successful with the insanity defense,the attorney will have to establish that at the time of the murder Connie was suffering from a severe mental disease or defect and did not ________ that her conduct was ________.

The Texas test of insanity is derived from the traditional McDonald Rule.

Rodney is creating a disturbance in the lobby of the movie theater.He is claiming that he gave the snack bar attendant a $20 bill but the attendant only gave him change for $10.The theater manager tells Rodney to settle down or he will have to leave the theater.Rodney continues to complain loudly.The manager summons the security officer who also tells Rodney to either settle down or leave.Instead Rodney sits down in front of the snack bar."That's it," says the theater manager."Throw him out." Rodney refuses to budge.At this point the security officer may lawfully:

George is a warden of a Texas prison.Part of his duties are to oversee the execution of persons convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.When George and his team of correctional personnel execute a condemned prisoner,they are not guilty of violating the murder statute because of the defense of public duty.

Harry,a college student,sees Sally,an armed robber,fleeing from a gas station she has just robbed.She is wearing a mask and has money in one hand and a pistol in the other.Without uttering a word,Harry,a handgun license holder,draws his pistol and shoots her in the back.Sally won't be robbing anybody else anytime soon as the shot paralyzes her.The community is in an uproar because Sally is only 15 years old.Many people are pressuring the District Attorney to file charges against Harry.If Harry is charged with the shooting of Sally,he should:

Sheila is charged with the manufacture of a controlled substance.At trial,her defense attorney convinces the judge that Sheila was entrapped into the endeavor.The judge agrees that the conduct of the police in the case was so outrageous that their behavior constituted entrapment.Because the judge ruled that Sheila was entrapped:

An affirmative defense in a criminal trial arises when the prosecutor affirms the facts as presented by the defendant.

Roger comes upon an automobile collision.A car is upside down and on fire.Roger rushes to the vehicle,breaks through the windshield,and drags the unconscious driver away from the vehicle.Subsequent investigation reveals that the driver stole the vehicle.The car is repairable but will cost about $30,000 to fix,including a $2,000 new windshield.Roger cannot be convicted of criminal mischief for destroying the windshield due to the defense of necessity.

Several statutory excuses that an accused might use to gain an acquittal at trial appear in the Texas Penal Code.Some of these excuses,such as insanity and duress,place the burden on the defendant to not only raise the issue at trial but to establish the excuse by the preponderance of the evidence.These excuses are known as:

Janice,a college student,takes her final exam in criminal law.As she exits the classroom she picks up her textbook and copy of the penal code.Confident that she passed the class,she heads to the campus bookstore to sell her books for quick cash.When she arrives at the bookstore,Janice discovers that she has inadvertently picked up a classmate's books instead of her own.Janice cannot be convicted of theft of the textbooks because she has the defense of mistake of fact.

Peace officers are immune from prosecution for using force to execute search warrants because of the public duty justification.

Officer Olivia goes to Waldo's house to execute a misdemeanor traffic warrant.Upon arriving at the address,she knocks on the door.The door opens abruptly and Waldo says,"What do you want piggy?" Olivia responds,"You are under arrest." Waldo laughs and draws what appears to be a hunting knife and says,"I am going to have some bacon for dinner!" Officer Olivia hits him on the wrist with her baton.She then arrests him.It is subsequently determined that Waldo has suffered a broken wrist and the hunting knife was a toy made of rubber.Waldo later contends he was just joking with the officer.Which of the following is a correct statement regarding this situation?

To establish whether or not a criminal defendant was entrapped,a court will examine the conduct of the ________ during the criminal event.

Carlos is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)due to having served several tours in the battle zones in the Mid-East.Upon his return to Texas,Carlos discovered that smoking marijuana helped ease the tension of his PTSD.Were Carlos to be arrested and charged with possession of marijuana,he could successfully use the defense of:

When a defense is labeled an "exception," the burden of proof is on the prosecution to negate the exception as part of establishing the elements of the offense.