Question 1.

Breaking Into Your Own Home:

Jimmy accidentally locked his house keys in the house. None of his friends or family had a spare key. So he had to break into his house to get the keys. Someone driving by the house saw Jimmy breaking into the house and called the police to report a burglar. The police came out to the house to investigate.

Based on the above information, answer the following:

Could Jimmy be arrested for trespass or burglary with regards to his own house? Why? Cite the case law that supports your opinion.

Justify your ideas and responses by using appropriate examples and references from Westlaw (including primary sources such as cases, statutes, rules, regulations, etc.), government Web sites, peer-reviewed legal periodicals (not lawyer blogs), which can be supplemented by law dictionaries or the textbook. This means you need to use more than just your text and legal dictionaries.

QUESTION 2

Accepting Stolen Gifts:

Debbie and Michael live in Vermont and are dating. Michael presents Debbie with a surround sound system and a DVD player on her birthday. Debbie does not know that Michael had stolen the gift items a few days before her birthday.

The police arrest Michael a few days later, and the stolen goods are traced back to Debbie who is still unaware that Michael has gifted her with stolen items.

Can Debbie be charged with any crime under Vermont law?

Why or why not?

Justify your ideas and responses by using appropriate examples and references from Westlaw (including primary sources such as cases, statutes, rules, regulations, etc.), government Web sites, peer-reviewed legal periodicals (not lawyer blogs), which can be supplemented by law dictionaries or the textbook. This means you need to use more than just your text and legal dictionaries.