Objective:
You are to research the criminal code/statutes for two states within the United States of America for each of the following criminal offenses.
(1) First Degree Murder, (2) Driving While Impaired/Under the Influence of Drugs of Alcohol.
With respect to each of the offenses above, please analyze the language set forth in each state statute in an effort to understand the elements required for each criminal offense.
For each criminal offense within each of the two states that you select, you will seek to determine the following:
(1) What is the actus reus element for the crime?
(2) What is the Mens Rea element for the crime?
(3) What are the concurrence/causation elements for the crime, if applicable?
(4) Does the crime require that any attendant circumstances be present? If so, set forth the element of the statute that requires such.
Be certain to break each statute down and label the elements as set forth above. This will demonstrate that you identify and explain each and every element of the criminal statute. Remember, the government must prove each and every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction. Thus, every element must be accounted for in your analysis of each criminal offense.
There are two criminal offenses ( First Degree Murder and DUI) that must be analyzed as part of this assignment. Each of the two crimes shall be worth ten points each and will be analyzed as follows:
Evaluation Criteria for Each Statutory analysis (2 points per category):
Proper Grammar and Syntax. (2)
Identification and descriiption of the actus reus element. (2)
Identification and descriiption of the mens rea element. (2)
Identification and descriiption of the concurrence/causation requirements. (2)
Identification and descriiption of the attendant circumstance requirement or an explanation setting forth why such a requirement is inapplicable. (2)
Each crime should list the elements contained in each of the two states that the student selects for this assignment. For example, if the Student selects the States of Arizona and Florida, each state should be broken down based on the categories set forth above. This will allow you to compare and contrast the elements in each respective state statute as part of your analysis.
