Posted: January 6th, 2017

Draft two statutes, one defining a mala prohibitum crime and the other a mala in se crime.

1. Draft two statutes, one defining a mala prohibitum crime and the other a mala in se crime. Both statutes must regulate the ownership, care, control, or use of animals in some manner. Explain why each statute represents the type of crime (mala in se or mala prohibitum) you have defined.

2. Identify a feature of the current American legal system that appears to be more of the civil law tradition than the common law tradition. Fully explain why the feature relates more to the civil law tradition than to the common law tradition.

3. You work for a state legislator. She is very concerned about the state’s environment, particularly the introduction of nonnative, invasive species of plants. She asks you to draft a bill that makes it a crime to introduce such plants into the state’s environment. Assume you have a definition of a nonnative, invasive species. Draft a bill for her that applies the Model Penal Code’s four states of mind to different offenses. Grade the offenses from the highest to the lowest. Explain how each offense is different and why you graded the offenses as you did.

4. If a man thinks about killing his wife and thoughtfully plans the details involving how he is going to carry out the crime, can he be prosecuted for her death if she is killed in a car accident that he had nothing to do with? Why or why not?