Question: Several players interact with each other in the courtroom. Of those players, we see two profiles often in popular media: criminal defense lawyers and the prosecution. Both are responsible for taking a case from its preliminary phases to trial and beyond. Both gather evidence, interview witnesses, and develop possible arguments for their cases. Both are responsible for presenting the best outcome, whether they believe in the reasoning or not. In this assignment, you will have the experience of developing an argument for a criminal case.
Activity Details:
Step 1: Identify a criminal case that you feel passionately about. Find an article related to a criminal case in the Argosy University online library to use in the summary.
Complete the following tasks.
Write a one-page summary of the case. The summary should include:
- The alleged crime that occurred
- The elements of the crime
- The evidence presented in the case
- The possible defenses
Step 2: Write a one-page argument for the defendant as if you were the defense attorney on the case. In your argument:
- Address the jury by introducing yourself and the client named in the case.
- Highlight the strengths of the case by telling the jury your client's side.
- Personalize the case by telling the jury about your client.
- Acknowledge the weaknesses that the other side will point out.
- Discuss any defenses you may use during the case.
Request an outcome from the jury, which is normally a not-guilty verdict for the defendant.
Step 3: Write a one-page argument as if you were the prosecutor on the case. In your argument:
- Address the jury by introducing yourself and the state you represent.
- Highlight the strengths of the case by telling the jury why the defendant is guilty.
- Personalize the case by describing the aftermath of the crime, the victims, and the harm caused to society because of the crime.
- Acknowledge the weaknesses that the other side will point out.
- Request an outcome from the jury, which is normally a guilty verdict for the defendant.
Step 4: Conduct an internet search of government and career sites (e.g. bls.gov, jobs.com, monster.com, etc) to locate recent information on the career prospects for Defense Attorneys/Prosecutors in your geographic location. Present your findings, including related job titles, potential employers, a summary of this job function, the education and experience required to qualify for this position, and the average salary one could expect to earn.
Step 5: Save and submit the assignment.
Submission Details: Save your document as M2_A2_Lastname_Firstname.doc.
- By Wednesday, August 9, 2017, submit your final document to the M2: Assignment 2 Dropbox.
- All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
Submitted a one-page summary of the case, which included:
- The alleged crime that occurred
- The elements of the crime
- The evidence presented in the case
- The possible defenses
- Submitted a one-page argument as the defense attorney for the case and discussed all the listed points.
- Submitted a one-page argument as the prosecutor for the case and discussed all the listed points.
- Highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the case.
- Personalized each argument by introducing yourself and the client and discussed about the victims of the crime and harm caused to society due to the crime.
- Stated clearly the arguments that could be used in defending the accused.
- Requested an outcome from the jury.
- Provided relevant information on the career prospects for Defense Attorneys/Prosecutors.
- Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.