Exam 15: General Defenses and Justification

Merely affording an individual the ________ to commit an offense does NOT constitute entrapment.

Should degrees of deadly force be established?

If a jury determines that criminal defendant is insane,the individual is entitled to a verdict of ________.

Jose,an undocumented foreign national,is arrested for aggravated assault after striking a co-worker with a hammer.At Jose's trial in District Court,his attorney conclusively proves that Jose was only 16 years old at the time of the incident.When the judge learns of this fact,the judge should:

Wilma is kidnapped by Terry.Over the course of four days Terry forces her to assist him in shoplifting merchandise from department stores.He does this threatening to kill her and by pointing a concealed pistol at her during the shoplifting sprees.When the two are apprehended by store security personnel,it is discovered that Terry does not have a pistol but rather was faking the firearm by using his finger inside his coat pocket.At her trial for theft,Wilma could likely be successful in arguing that her conduct should be excused because of the defense of ________.

Henry is walking down the street when he hears a voice coming from a ground floor apartment.The voice is saying "Help! Help!" Henry,a reserve deputy constable,rushes to the door and knocks.No one answers.He then kicks the door in and discovers an elderly woman sitting in a chair watching a movie on television.She has the sound turned up because she is hard of hearing.She apparently did not hear Henry's knock.The cry for help was the sound from the television program.Were the elderly resident to seek to file criminal charges against Henry for damaging the front door and trespassing in her apartment,Henry's best strategy would be to assert the defense of:

A juvenile who commits a felony offense may lawfully be prosecuted for that offense in the adult justice system upon turning 17 years old.

The defense of age/infancy is available under the Texas Penal Code in a wide array of circumstances and with many exceptions.Neither the adult nor the juvenile justice system asserts jurisdiction over the otherwise criminal conduct of an individual if the individual is under:

Jake steals a car to go joyriding.Two hours later he is stopped by the police and taken into custody.At the police station,it is determined that Jake is 15 years old.Jake will NOT be prosecuted in the adult justice system for the automobile theft because he has the legal excuse of age,also known as ________.

A successful defense of entrapment will arise anytime a law enforcement agent participates in a criminal act with an individual who is subsequently charged with a felony as a result of that act.

Briefly explain the three elements that must be proven by a defendant to establish the insanity defense.

Police officer Marla stops Ricardo for a traffic violation.When Officer Marla checks with the police dispatcher to determine if any outstanding warrants exist for Ricardo,the dispatcher advises that an outstanding failure to appear warrant exists for him.Marla takes Ricardo into custody.However,at the jail it is determined that the arrest warrant is for a different individual with the same name as Ricardo.Nonetheless,under the public duty defense,Officer Marla will not be subject to criminal prosecution for the erroneous arrest of Ricardo because she ________ believed her conduct was authorized by legal process.

A soldier who kills an enemy soldier during time of war is immune from being convicted of murder because of the: