CJ230 Unit 2 Discussion 2

1. Latisha enters a restaurant and sets her umbrella in the corner before going to her table and eating lunch. Before leaving the restaurant, she grabs what she mistakenly thinks is her umbrella and leaves. About a block down the street, it begins to sprinkle and Latisha opens the umbrella and realizes that it is not hers. She looks at it more closely, decides it is nicer than the one she started with, and decides to keep it. Should Latisha be charged with theft and if so, based on what? I do believe that Latisha should be criminally charged in the theft of the umbrella. Once she realized that had taken the wrong umbrella, she should have taken it straight back to the restaurant, but she did not. She voluntarily decided to take the new umbrella because it was nicer than the one that she purchased. In order to establish if theft has occurred it is important to consider the Actus reus of theft. The first item to consider is whether “appropriation” has occurred. Appropriation is partially defined in S3 of the Theft Act 1968, which shows the words needed to be proved are “any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to appropriation. Law Teacher. (2020). Theft, Robbery, and Burglary Theft Act. Retrieved from https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/criminal-law/theft-robbery-and- burglary-theft-act.php . 2. Arthur loves his 6-month-old daughter and only wants what is best for her so he drives her to the best day care each day. But one day he is preoccupied and forgets to drop her off before going to work. She is left in the car all day and dies. The prosecutor wants to charge Arthur for the homicide. Explain how the prosecutor can establish mens rea based on these facts. I believe that Arthur should be criminally charged in the death of his daughter. The pure definition of mens rea is criminal intent Cornell Law School. (2019). Mens Rea. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea . To be guilty of any crime, a person must act with a "mens rea" or "criminal intent." Normally this means intentionally or deliberately pursuing a criminal result. But criminal negligence may substitute for criminal intent under very specific circumstances. When it does, it can subject someone to serious charges such as child endangerment or manslaughter even when the actions are unintentional. Shouse California. (2019). California’s Legal Definition of “Criminal Negligence”. Retrieved from https://www.shouselaw.com/criminal-negligence.html . 3. Li made fireworks and was extremely careful to use the highest safety precautions, but in spite of that, one of the firecrackers malfunctioned, killing Jean. Should Li be criminally charged with Jean’s death? Why? Actus Reus generally involves three elements or components: (1) a voluntary act or failure to perform an act (2) that causes (3) a social harm condemned under a criminal statute. Lippman, M. Contemporary Criminal Law . [Purdue University Global Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781544308111/ . In saying that, I do not believe that Li should be criminally charged in Jean’s death. Li