Case Study: ARSON AND OTHER CASES

Final Project In the final assignment for this class, you will research a court case in which the defendant is charged with arson. The court case must have been tried within the United States. Also, there must have been an actual trial; plea bargains or other truncated cases are not appropriate for this assignment. You must attach the case along with your paper in WebTycho as part of this assignment. Failure to submit the actual case will result in a lower grade. This assignment will introduce you to the concept of case briefing and will also have you explain additional items of concern that will help you build an understanding of the case and the criminal prosecution. In completing the assessment, use information from the text, supplemental readings, videos, classroom conferences/discussions, and external sources, including electronic and print sources. Use either American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines or Bluebook citation format. Please be cognizant that, when using sources not normally considered scholarly, e.g., videos, television programs, and newspaper and magazine articles you will be held responsible for determining their scholarly value. If you are in doubt, contact me. You are required to submit different exercises during the semester, which include identifying the case to be analyzed, drafting the brief, and providing other information as needed via the conferences or Assignments folder. You must gain clearance from me to move forward. The primary purpose of these assignments is to encourage you to collect and analyze information throughout the semester and to prepare preliminary drafts, do not wait until the end of the semester. The required sections of the paper are as follows: I. Elements of the crime. Identify and discuss the elements of the crime, as the prosecution proved them. II. Defenses claimed by the defense. Identify and discuss any defenses claimed by the defendant. III. Constitutional protection issues. Identify and discuss any constitutional protection issues (e.g., Miranda warnings, search and seizure). IV. Case brief. Use the required formula: 1. Title and citation 2. Facts of the case 3. Issues 4. Holding (the final decision) 5. Reasoning (how the court arrived at this holding) 6. Analysis (how the facts of the case meet the legal criteria for prosecution) V. Your judgment. If you were the judge or a juror in this case, would you have agreed with the outcome? If yes, explain why; if no, explain why. Format Requirements Paper should be between six and ten pages (1,500 to 2,500 words) Double space 12 pt. font 1" margins Use APA citations for all sources Include APA reference page (not included in word count) Additionally - Create a cover page for your assignment (not included in word count) Include your name Course title and number Project title Date of submission