For this assignment, we will
review the elements of homicide. You
will be assigned either the role of
prosecutor or defense attorney.
Depending on your assigned role, you
must prepare arguments as described
below and based on the provided fact
pattern. Each element of the crime must
be specifically defined and supported
with the facts provided. The goal is to
link to the facts to the case to your
specific position. You must use your
textbook and at least one additional
scholarly source (Not Wikipedia!), to
support your arguments. Your analysis
should be 4-5 pages long, doublespaced, with a title page and a reference
page. Please use APA formatting for
your citations. The paper must be well
organized and contain both an
introduction and conclusion.
Subheadings for each crime are
encouraged to help you stay organized.
Your grade will be based on substantive
analysis as well as mechanics (i.e.: free
of grammatical errors, etc.). Your case
study should be submitted via
BlackBoard by the date established in
the syllabus. No late submissions
acceptedno excuses and no exceptions.
Your paper must be submitted as a .doc
or .docx file (Microsoft Word)- if it is not
submitted as a Microsoft file, credit will
not be earned.
If your last name is A-M:
You are assigned the role of prosecuting attorney. You must make arguments for the charges of
murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter. Be sure to discuss the role of a
prosecuting attorney in your paper.
If your last name is N-Z:
You are assigned the role of defense attorney. You must make arguments against the charges of
murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter. Be sure to discuss the role of a
defense attorney in your paper.
FACT PATTERN:
According to testimony at trial the defendant, a 68-year-old Chinese immigrant, shot the victim
several times. The shooting was in a “social club” in Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles. There
are over 25 witnesses to the shooting. After the shooting, the defendant put down his gun and
waited for the police to arrive. The defendant worked at the social club and the victim was one of
the members.
The defendant has no prior record.
Through the trial testimonial evidence was admitted that:
The victim regularly “harassed” the defendant at work. He would insult the defendant and threaten
him. He made a point of yelling at the defendant in front of other members of the social club on
multiple occasions. He threatened that he would do to the defendant what the Red Guard did to
other members of his family in China. The victim boasted about his time as a member of the Red
Guard.
An expert testified about the Red Guard: a group in China during the Cultural Revolution (under
Mao’s leadership) who took charge of enforcing their perception of what communism should be.
People were routinely beaten, arrested, tortured, and forced to make public confessions of their
“wrongs” in workplace and neighborhood meetings. A common punishment that the Red Guard
used was to march people through the town wearing signs stating their misdeeds such as “I am a
capitalist lacky.” The Red Guard was also responsible for the imprisonment and internal exile of
numerous Chinese. The defendant’s family included people who were arrested, harassed, exiled,
and killed by the Red Guard. The defendant was never a direct target, but spent all the years of the
Cultural Revolution in fear that he would be next.
In response to these threats, the defendant decided to get a gun and keep it at the club for selfdefense. He
hid the gun in a small linen closet.
On the day of the shooting, he was working at the social club. The defendant served tea to the
victim. The victim started yelling at the defendant saying he was a failure and could do nothing
right. Then, for the first time, the victim threatened the defendant’s family. The victim said he
would do to the defendant’s wife and adult daughter what the Red Guard did to the defendant’s
family in China. The defendant testified that he got scared for his wife and daughter and went and
got his gun from the linen closet and shot the victim several times.
The defendant’s wife and daughter were not at the social club and according to testimony never
went to the social club.