Law Case Studies
Case Study 1
Scott Murphy is a freshman in college and recently decided to pledge the fraternity, Chi Gamma Omega. As a “pledge” of the fraternity, Scott is forced to participate in a number of initiation activities in order to become a brother of Chi Gamma Omega. Specifically, one night Scott was held down on the ground while other brothers poured shots of vodka into his mouth. Severely intoxicated by the initiation ritual, later that evening Scott broke into a female student’s dorm room and sexually assaulted her. Scott is claiming he mistakenly believed he was entering the room of his girlfriend.
-Is Scott entitled to the defense of involuntary intoxication? Why or why not?
-Under what circumstances could voluntary intoxication serve as a defense?
– If none, should it result in conviction of a lesser crime? Why or why not?
Make sure to use at least 1 -2 cases to support your responses (and cite them using Bluebook Standards). Any relevant cases are applicable.
*Keywords to search for are: affirmative defense, intoxication, voluntary, consent
Case Study 2
Jack Oberman is a pharmacist at a local drug store and has never previously engaged in any form of illegal activity. Local police officers received reports that the drug store was filling illegal prescriptions for OxyContin, a strong painkiller often sold on the streets. An undercover officer approached Jack on five separate occasions claiming that he had a daughter suffering from a terminal illness who was in severe pain and discomfort. The undercover officer claimed he could not afford medical treatment and asked Jack to illegally provide him with OxyContin for his daughter. Jack refused on the first four occasions, but finally consented after hearing the horrific stories of the young girl’s suffering. Jack handed the undercover officer 10 OxyContin pills and was subsequently arrested.
-Is he entitled to the defense of entrapment?
-Would he be successful under both the objective and subjective tests for entrapment?
Make sure to use at least 1 -2 cases to support your responses (and cite them using Bluebook Standards). Any relevant cases are applicable.
*Keywords to search for are: entrapment, affirmative defense, luring, and trickery
Case Study One
The case involves Scott Murphy breaking into a female student dorm and sexually assaulting the owner after getting intoxicated during his initiation ritual to join the Chi Gamma Omega fraternity. Considering whether Scott is entitled to involuntary intoxication, the burden of proof lies on the defendant Scott considering they want to use the affirmative defense for the case. This was illustrated in the case of Gunther v. State, 228 Md. 404, 179 A.2d 880 (1962), where the court indicated that the defendant should produce evidence to support the affirmative defense.
An affirmative defense encompasses the reliance on a distinct substantive matter to exempt Scott from punishment and absolve him from responsibility from the sexual violence case. Involuntary intoxication could be used as an affirmative defense, which entails the defendant being tricked into consuming a substance such as alcohol or has been forced to drink it. In this case, the charged crime is sexual violence, which is a specific intent crime, meaning Scott must have a particular intention to commit the crime. Nonetheless, involuntary intoxication could be used to defend oneself from the criminal charges since the defendant could not form the requisite intent for the criminal action. Scott is therefore entitled to involuntary intoxication defense considering he was intoxicated from the initiation rules from joining the fraternity.
The only time where voluntary intoxication could serve a defense if the defendant proves that it prevented him from forming the criminal intent needed to commit the crime. Voluntary intoxication is also a form of affirmative defense, meaning that the burden of proof would lie on Scott to show that they lacked the necessary intent. In Scott’s case, it is evident that it was not voluntary intoxication considering he was abiding with the fraternity group’s initiation rules, which are pre-determined by the old members, and the new members follow. A question would arise if Scott indicated that he would want to be intoxicated as part of the initiation process.
Considering that Scott could defend himself using the involuntary intoxication and the fact that the sexual violence was a severe crime, Scottis to be convicted but for a lesser offense. This is because Scott could not form the specific intent required to commit the crime. It was a result of the initiation, and for this, he should receive a less severe conviction for the crime.
Case Study two
The case involves Jack Oberman, a pharmacist. He was lured into filing an illegal prescription of Oxytocin to an undercover officer claiming not to afford medical treatment for his daughter. She has a mental illness, which caused her severe pain and discomfort. To determine whether Jack is entitled to an affirmative defense of entrapment, Jack, as the defendant bears the burden of proof. In the case of State v. Miller, 2007-Ohio-5206 (Ct. App.), it was stated that the affirmative defense of entrapment would exist when the criminal design has originated from the government officials who have implanted in the mind of the innocent individual the disposition to commit the alleged crime and induce its commission to prosecute. In the case, the court indicated that the evidence did not support the entrapment defense since the officer made the opportunity available to the appellant to approach and offer them drugs, which was not synonymous with entrapment. The appellant and not the police initiated the criminal conduct.
To this effect, it is evident that Jack’s case was a case of entrapment, considering the undercover officer pushed Jack four times to have him make the illegal prescription. The undercover officer also described how the daughter was constantly experiencing severe pain and discomfort while he could not afford medical treatment, and the young girl was going through horrific experiences. Jack refused four times that he would not give him the pills, but the officer did push to finally consented. In case Jack was not coerced into providing the drugs by the government official, Jack would not have provided the drugs.
Jack would be successful on the objective test of entrapment, considering it focuses on law enforcement’s behavior and not the individual defendant. In case the government officials used tactics to induce a reasonable, law-abiding individual into committing the crime, the defendant can successfully assert the defense of entrapment in the objective entrapment jurisdiction. In this case, the undercover officer tricked Jack into believing that his daughter was suffering and needed pain medication as soon as possible to manage it. Yet, he could not afford medical treatment.
In the case of State v. Schaublin, 2015-NMCA-024, 344 P.3d 1074, the court indicated that subjective entrapment would occur when the criminal design originated from the government official who implants in the innocent individual’s mind the disposition to commit the crime and induce the commission to generate a prosecution. Here the defendant gets predisposed to commit the crime, and the police just provided an opportunity for the defendant to undertake it. In this case, Jack would be successful in subjective entrapment since he had no previous criminal records, and he could show enough evidence of trickery.
