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Criminal Law
James
R. Elkins
College of
Law || West Virginia University
Fall, 2009
A Tentative Schedule of Case Readings
[Note:
This tentative schedule lists only the assigned cases. This schedule
is not a complete assignment for any given class period. For class
assignments, see the assignments page of
the course website. As I noted on the course syllabus, I reserve the
right to make changes in the schedule and change cases to be assigned
as I deem it necessary and proper.]
Tuesday, August
25, 2009: Introduction to Homicide
 Background
Reading: On Criminal Law and the Criminal
Justice System
[Note: All assignments
in Joshua Dressler, Cases and Materials on Criminal Law
(4th ed., 2007), the course text/case book, will be designed with
the use of the distinct/black/arrow
and will direct you to the case and page numbers of the reading.]
People v. Eulo (Dressler: 242-248)
Barber v. Superior Court (Dressler: 140-145)
People v. Superior Court (Du) (Dressler: 50-53)
Thursday, August
27, 2009: Two First Degree Murder Cases--The Premeditation|Deliberation
Element of 1st Degree Murder
State of West Virginia v. Schrader, 172 W. Va. 1; 302 S.E.2d
70; 1982 W. Va. LEXIS 692 (1982) [on-line
edited text]
State of West Virginia v. Guthrie (Dressler: 248-252)
Midgett v. State (Dressler: 253-255)
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Premeditation & Deliberation):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 514- 518 (5th ed.,
2009)]
Tuesday,
September 1, 2009
1st Degree Murder (a Mercy Killing)
State v. Forrest (Dressler 255-259)
Malice
West Virginia Jury Instruction: Malice
|| Revised
Malice Jury Instruction
For
Further Study: Dressler Study Guide (Malice):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 509-510 (5th
ed., 2009)]
Depraved Heart Murder (Based on Unintentional
Killing)
Berry v. Superior Court (& People v. Nieto Benitez)
(Dressler: 291-297)
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide ("Depraved Heart" Murder ):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding
Criminal Law 519-521 (5th ed., 2009)]
Thursday,
September 3, 2009
Provocation/Heat of Passion
Girouard v. State (Dressler: 259-266)
State v. Leonard (WV Sup.Ct. Appeal, 2005)
[on-line
per curiam opinion] [Chief
Justice Albright dissenting] [Justice
Starcher dissenting]
Attorney General for Jersey v. Holley (Dressler: 270-280)
People
v. Casassa (Dressler: 281-288)
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Extreme Emotional Distress):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 550-552 (5th
ed., 2009)]
Tuesday,
September 8, 2009: Unintentional Killings: Involuntary
Manslaughter
People v. Beardsley (Dressler: 134-140)
State v. Williams (Dressler: 301-309)
State v. Hose (Sup.Ct.App. W.Va., 1992)
187 W. Va. 429; 419 S.E.2d 690 [on-line
edited text]
Conrad v. Commonwealth (Dressler: 308-309)
Thursday, September 10, 2009: Causation (and a review of
homicide)
State of West Virginia v. McGuire (W.V. Sup.Ct.App.
2000) 200 W. Va. 823; 490 S.E.2d 912 [on-line
text]
Tuesday, September 15, 2009: Causation
State of Nebraska v. Amanda K. (Neb. Ct. of Appeals,
2000) 2000 Neb. App. LEXIS 7 [on-line
edited text]
Velazquez v. State (Dressler: 224-227)
State of Iowa v. Albertson (Court of Appeals of
Iowa, 2004) 2004 Iowa App. LEXIS 222 [on-line
text]
Lofthouse v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Sup. Ct.
Ky., 2000) [on-line
text]
13 S.W.3d 236; 2000 Ky. LEXIS 23
Thursday,
September 17, 2009: Causation (cont'd)
State v. Meyer (Ct.App. Iowa, 2002) [on-line
text]
State of Iowa v. Garcia (Sup.Ct. Iowa, 2000)
[on-line text]
Kibbe v. Henderson (Dressler: 216-224)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009: Felony-Murder (Unintentional
Killings)
Background Reading: Dressler (304-321)
State v. Sophophone (Dressler: 334-339)
Two West Virginia Arson/Felony-Murder Cases:
State v. Walker (Sup.Ct. W. Va., 1992) [on-line
text]
188 W. Va. 661; 425 S.E.2d 616; 1992 W. Va. LEXIS 269
Stucky v. Warden, West Virginia Division of Corrections [on-line
text]
202 W. Va. 498; 505 S.E.2d 417; 1998 W. Va. LEXIS
80 (1998)
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Felony-Murder): Joshua Dressler,
Understanding Criminal Law 521-534 (5th ed., 2009)]
Thursday,
September 24, 2009: Attempts
Background Reading: Attempts--General Principles (Dressler:
735-741); Bruce v. State (Dressler: 744-749)(a follow-up to
our discussion of felony-murder); United States v. Mandujano
(Dressler: 749-753); Commonwealth v. Peaslee (Dressler: 753-757);
People v. Rizzo (Dressler: 757-759)]
People v. Gentry (Dressler: 748-752)
State of Tennessee v.
Jackson (Ct.Crim. App. Tenn., 2002) [on-line
text]
People v. Miller (Dressler: 765-768)
State of Kansas v. Sheikh (Ct.App.Kan., 2001)
State v. Reeves (Dressler: 768-775)
[unedited version of the Reeves opinon: State
v. Reeves, 916 S.W. 2d 909 (Sup.Ct. Tenn. 1996)]
State v. Meade (Sup.Ct. App. W.V., 1996)
[facts as stated by the court]
196 W. Va. 551; 474 S.E.2d 481
For Further Study (Attempts):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal
Law ___-___ (5th ed., 2009)
Tuesday,
September 29, 2009: Conspiracy
Background Reading: (Dressler: 809-818);
People v. Swain (Dressler: 818-821); (Dressler: 836-859)
Commonwealth v. Azim (Dressler: 829-831)
Commonwealth v. Cook (Dressler: 831-836)
People v. Lauria (Dressler: 822-828)
Thursday, October 1, 2009: Conspiracy
Background Reading: (Dressler: 809-818);
People v. Swain (Dressler: 818-821); (Dressler: 836-859)
Commonwealth v. Azim (Dressler: 829-831)
Commonwealth v. Cook (Dressler: 831-836)
People v. Lauria (Dressler: 822-828)
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Conspiracy): Joshua Dressler,
Understanding Criminal Law 429-464 (5th ed., 2009)]
Tuesday, October 6, 2009: Aiding & Abetting
(Accomplice Liability)
Background reading: (Dressler: 860-863)
General
History of Aiding and Abetting -- Department of Justice Criminal
Resource Manual
State v. Hoselton (Dressler: 863-866)
179 W. Va. 645, 371 S.E.2d 366 (1988)
Compare: State
v. Vaillancourt (Dressler: 880-883)
State of West Virginia v. Deem [on-line
text]
193 W. Va. 295, 456 S.E.2d 22 (1995)
State of West Virginia v. Mayo [on-line
text]
191 W. Va. 79, 443 S.E.2d 236 (1994) (distinguishes
Hoselton)
State of West Virginia v. Mullins [on-line
text]
193 W. Va. 315, 456 S.E.2d 42 (1995)
Thursday,
October 8, 2009: Aiding & Abetting (Accomplice Liability)
State of West Virginia v. Miller [on-line
text] [Justice
Starcher concurring]
204 W. Va. 374, 513 S.E.2d 147 (1998)
State of West Virginia v. Wade [on-line
text] 200 W. Va. 637; 490 S.E.2d 724; 1997 W. Va. LEXIS 161
People v. Lauria (Dressler: 867-869)
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Aiding & Abetting): Joshua
Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 465-492 (5th ed., 2009)]
Tuesday,
October 13, 2009: Self Defense
State of West Virginia v. Wykle [on-line
text]
208 W. Va. 369; 540 S.E.2d 586; 2000 W. Va. LEXIS
113
State v. Jason H. (W.Va. Sup. Ct.App., 2004][on-line
text][dissenting
opinion--Justice Davis] 215 W. Va. 439; 599 S.E.2d 862; 2004 W.
Va. LEXIS 97
Thursday,
October 15, 2009: Self-Defense
United States v. Peterson (Dressler: 494-504)
State of West Virginia v. Cook [on-line
text]
204 W. Va. 591; 515 S.E.2d 127; 1999 W. Va. LEXIS 33 [In
conjunction with Cook, review People v. Kurr (Dressler:
536-540)]
State v. Warnow (Dressler: 518-529)
Tuesday,
October 20, 2009: Self-Defense
People v. Goetz (Dressler: 504-518)
State of West Virginia v. Boggess [on-line
text]
204 W. Va. 267; 512 S.E.2d 189; 1998 W. Va. LEXIS
198
State of West Virginia v. Headley [on-line
text]
210 W. Va. 524; 558 S.E.2d 324; 2001 W. Va. LEXIS 149
For Further Study: Dressler
Study Guide (Self Defense): Joshua
Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 223-234, 238-242 (5th ed.,
2009)
Thursday, October 22, 2009: Self Defense by Battered Women
State of West Virginia v. Smith [on-line
text]
198 W. Va. 441; 481 S.E.2d 747; 1996 W. Va. LEXIS 222
State v. Norman (two opinions) (Dressler: 525-530) (Dressler:
530-539)
State
of Kansas v. Stewart, 763 P.2d 572 (1988) [on-line
text]
Bechtel
v. State, 1992 Ok Cr 55, 840 P.2d 1 (1992)
[on-line
text]
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Self Defense by Battered Women):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 242-249 (5th ed.,
2009)]
Tuesday, October 27, 2009: Duress
United States v. Contento-Pachon (Dressler: 585-593)
Duress Defense & Battered Woman Syndrome
United States v. Marenghi [on-line
edited version of the opinion]
United States v. Dixon (10th Cir. Ct. App., 2005)
[on-line
opinion]
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Duress): Joshua Dressler, Understanding
Criminal Law 303-311 (5th ed., 2009)]
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2007: Competence to Stand Trial
Background Reading: (Dressler: 616-618)
State v. Chapman (Sup.Ct.App.W.Va., 2001) [on-line
text]
210 W. Va. 292; 557 S.E.2d 346; 2001 W. Va. LEXIS 158
State v. Kent (Sup.Ct. App.W.Va., 2003) [on-line
text] [dissenting
opinion] 213 W. Va. 535; 584 S.E.2d 169; 2003 W. Va. LEXIS 62
State v. Sanders (Sup.Ct.App.W.Va. , 2001)
[on-line
text]
209 W. Va. 367; 549 S.E.2d 40; 2001 W. Va. LEXIS 48
Tuesday, November 3, 2009: Competence to Stand Trial
Background Reading: (Dressler: 616-618)
State v. Chapman (Sup.Ct.App.W.Va., 2001) [on-line
text]
210 W. Va. 292; 557 S.E.2d 346; 2001 W. Va. LEXIS 158
State v. Kent (Sup.Ct. App.W.Va., 2003) [on-line
text] [dissenting
opinion] 213 W. Va. 535; 584 S.E.2d 169; 2003 W. Va. LEXIS 62
State v. Sanders (Sup.Ct.App.W.Va. , 2001)
[on-line
text]
209 W. Va. 367; 549 S.E.2d 40; 2001 W. Va. LEXIS 48
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Competence to Stand Trial):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 340-342 (5th
ed., 2009)]
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009: Diminished Capacity
Background Reading: (Dressler: 664-669)
State v. Griffin (Wash. 1983), 100
Wn.2d 417, 670 P.2d 265 [on-line
text]
State v. Degraw (Sup.Ct.App.W.Va. , 1996) [on-line
edited text]
196 W. Va. 261, 470 S.E.2d 215 (1996) [on-line
full text]
State v. Joseph (Sup.Ct.App.W.Va. , 2003) [on-line
text]
214 W. Va. 525, 590 S.E.2d 718, 2003 W. Va. LEXIS 172
For Further Study: Dressler
Study Guide (Diminished Capacity):
Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 367-378 (5th
ed., 2009)]
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009: A Warp-up of Diminished Capacity;
Voluntary Intoxication
State of Kansas v. White (Kan. Sup. Ct., 2005)
279 Kan. 326, 109 P.3d 1199
Commonwealth v. Graves (Dressler: 605-616)
State of North Carolina v. Golden (No.Car. Ct.App., 2001)
[on-line
text]
Coddington v. State (Ct.Crim.App. Okla, 2006)[on-line
edited text]
2006 OK CR 34; 142 P.3d 437; 2006 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 35
For Further
Study: Dressler Study Guide (Voluntary Intoxication): Joshua
Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law 323-333 (5th ed., 2009)]
Tuesday
& Thursday, November 17 & 19, 2009: Ralph
Tortorici--Case Study (Introduction-Insanity Defense || Review-Competence
to Stand Trial)
Background: Insanity:
Web Resources Mentally
Ill Criminals and the Insanity Defense: A Report to the Minnesota
Legislature (1999)
Expert
Psychiatric & Psychological Testimony
The
Insanity Defense: A Closer Look
Washington Post news
articles: [Salvi
Convicted of Murder in Shootings] [John
du Pont Found Guilty, Mentally Ill] [Insanity
Defense Not a Right]
Evolution
of the Insanity Plea
A
Brief History of the Insanity Defense
The
Insanity Defense
statement by the American Psychiatric Association
West Virginia Jury Instruction on Insanity: [current
& proposed revised jury instruction]
Ralph
Tortorici Case
[The PBS Frontline file for Tortorici--printed out--is
150+ pages. It will take a significant amount of time to work through
the file.] [To access the various files: first, follow the "The
Story of Ralph Tortorici" link; at the next screen you will find
links to--"An Overview," "A Son and a Brother,"
"A Well-Documented History of Mental Illness," "Letter
to Prosecution from Dr. Lawrence Siegel," "The Defense's
Summation," "The Prosecution's Summation," "Interviews."
Following each of these links you will find, in some instances, still
further links.] [Commission
on Judicial Conduct: Resignation of Cheryl Coleman as Albany City
Court Judge] [Cheryl
Coleman Private Law Practice] [For an instructive, thoughtful
account of how lawyers move beyond zealous advocacy to become zealots,
see: Confessions of a Criminal Law
(by Seymour Wishman)]
People v. Tortorici (Sup.Ct.N.Y.--App.Div., 3rd Dept.,
1998) [on-line text]
249 A.D.2d 588, 671 N.Y.S.2d 162, 1998 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3564
People v. Tortorici [on-line
text]
92 N.Y.2d 757, 709 N.E.2d 87, 686 N.Y.S.2d 346 (Ct.App. N.Y. 1999)
Tuesday & Thursday, November 24 & 26, 2009: Thanksgiving
Break. No classes.
Tuesday,
December 1, 2009: Insanity Defense
Background Reading: Dressler: 618-224, State v.
Johnson (Dressler: 624-636)(make particular note of the M'Naghten
Rule, State v. Johnson, at p. 625)
State v. Koon (W.Va. Sup.Ct.App., 1993) [edited
opinion]
190 W. Va. 632, 440 S.E.2d 442, 1993 W. Va. LEXIS 232 [on-line
full-text]
Teacher will use insanity defense in Florida
State v. McWilliams (W.Va.Sup.Ct.App., 1986)
[on-line text] 177 W.Va. 369,
352 S.E.d 120
State v.
Walls (W.Va. Sup.Ct.App., 1994) [on-line
text] [Justice
Workman dissenting] 191 W. Va. 332, 445 S.E.2d 515, 1994 W. Va.
LEXIS 80 (expert testimony and its rebuttal with lay testimony) (sufficiency
of the evidence to satisfy state's burden of proof) [Schizophrenia:
Diagnostic Criteria] [Schizophrenia]
[Paranoia]
State v. Green (Dressler: 648-657)
Thursday,
December 4, 2009: West Virginia Insanity Cases
State v. McWilliams (W.Va.Sup.Ct.App., 1986)
[on-line text] 177 W.Va. 369,
352 S.E.d 120
State v.
Lockhart (W.Va. Sup.Ct.App., 1997) (Lockhart I) [on-line
edited text]
200 W. Va. 479, 490 S.E.2d 298, 1997 W. Va. LEXIS 115 [on-line
text]
For Further Study: [Dissociative
Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder)] [Commentary
on Lockhart]
State v. Lockhart (W.Va. Sup.Ct.App., 2000) (Lockart II) [on-line
edited text]
208 W. Va. 622, 542 S.E.2d 443, 2000 W. Va. LEXIS 178 [on-line
opinion as filed ]
For Further Study: Dressler Study Guide (Insanity
Defense): Joshua Dressler, Understanding Criminal Law
339-365 (5th ed., 2009)]
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