Tuesday, February 23. 2021

Today's classes are:

9:15 - 11:50 D Block Legal Studies

12:30 - 3:05 A Block Physical Geography

D Block Legal Studies - Today you'll start with time to finish up yesterday's questions on Actus Reus / Mens Rea and classes of criminal offenses. Next, we will watch a Law & Order episode on Alzheimer's disease and the required Mens Rea for a crime to be committed ("Sundown" episode 9 from Season 10).

Is a man with Alzheimer's Disease competent enough to stand trial for murder? And if he is found guilty, should he be subjected to the near-inhumane conditions common for prisoners of his type?

Are Persons With Dementia Responsible for Crimes They Commit?
People with advanced dementia have no place in court
When Frontotemporal Dementia Leads to Crime—Prosecution or Protection?

Lastly, we'll look at the Parties to an Offense...from the Halton District School Board in Ontario:

The Perpetrator: is the person who actually commits the criminal offence. When more than one person is directly involved in committing a crime, they are called co-perpetrators. In every case, the person actually has to be present at the scene of the offence to be identified as either a perpetrator of co-perpetrator. A person who commits an offence, aids a person to commit an offence, or abets a person in committing an offence is defined as a party to an offence under section 21 of the Criminal Code.

Aiding and Abetting: Aiding means helping a perpetrator commit a crime. To aid the perpetrator, one does not have to be present when the offence is committed. Abet means to encourage without actually providing physical assistance. Two things must be proved before an accused can be convicted of being a party by aiding or abetting. The first is that the accused had knowledge that the other intended to commit an offence. The second is that the accused aided or abetted the other. Mere presence at the scene is not conclusive evidence of aiding or abetting. Under section 21(2), a person who plans an offence is just as guilty as a person who actually commits the offence. However, a person is not guilty if his/her action is not intended to assist in the commission of an offence.

Counselling: The separate offence of counselling, (s. 22), is similar to abetting but is much broader in scope. Counselling includes the acts of advising, recommending, persuading or recruiting another person to commit an offence ("procuring, soliciting or inciting"). A person who counsels does not have to be present at the scene of the crime.

Accessories After the Fact: The Criminal Code provides a penalty for a person who is an accessory after the fact as outlined in section 23. Knowingly assisting a person who has committed a crime to escape capture includes providing food, clothing, or shelter to the offender. One exception to his law is the favoured relationship between a legally married couple. A man or woman cannot be held responsible for assisting in the escape of a spouse and someone escaping with a spouse. An accessory after the fact is one who receives, comforts or assists any one who has been a party to an offence in order to enable him/her to escape, knowing him/her to be a party thereto. There are three constituent elements of the offence of being an accessory after the fact: knowledge that a crime has been committed; an intent to assist the criminal to escape; and an act or omission intended to aid a criminal.

The effect of being a party is that you are guilty of committing an offence – you can be a robber in any of the ways set out. It is not a separate offence. Your criminal record will reflect that you were guilty of robbery, not abetting robbery. I'll go over the R. v. Goodine (1993) case with you...please discuss with a partner the following:

Why did the Crown appeal the accused's acquittal?

What is the actus reus of accessory after the fact?

Why was Goodine not charged with aiding and abetting?

And still with your partner consider the following:

1. Justin asks his girlfriend Penelope, a bank teller, to let him know what time the security guard takes his lunch break so that he can successfully rob the bank. Penelope tells Justin the security guard takes his break at 1:00. The next day, which is Penelope’s day off, Justin successfully robs the bank at 1:15. Has Penelope committed robbery? Why or why not? 

2.  Cory watches as her sister Amanda breaks into a parking meter across the street and starts scooping change into her purse. Amanda thereafter runs into a nearby alley and hides behind a dumpster. A police officer arrives on the scene and asks Cory if she witnessed the crime. Cory responds, “No, I didn’t notice anything.” The police officer does a search, does not find Amanda, and leaves. Has Cory committed a crime? If your answer is yes, which crime has Cory committed, and does Cory have a possible defense? 

3.  Jim wakes up late at night to the sound of someone pounding on his door. He gets out of bed, walks down the stairs, and opens the door. His father James is on the doorstep. James’s eyes are bloodshot and he is swaying slightly on his feet. He tells Jim that he just got into a car accident and needs to come inside before the police find out about it and begin an investigation. Jim steps aside and lets his father enter the house. The smell of alcohol on his father’s breath is apparent. He thereafter allows his father to spend the night without contacting the police about the accident. 

4. Sam is working out the back of Moonbucks, a popular coffee shop, when his his ex-wife Linda comes in with her new boyfriend Jim. Sam harbours a lot of hatred towards Linda since he caught her cheating on him with another man, whereupon she ended their marriage. Sam knows that Linda suffers from a heart condition that means she is entirely intolerant to caffeine, the consumption of which could prove fatal. Sam tells Jane, a fellow barista, that the decaf machine has broken so he has put the decaf beans into the main machine. This is untrue and subsequently the coffee the Jane pours is actually a caffeinated coffee. Linda drinks this and suffers a fatal heart attack and dies. What could Sam be charged with and is Jane a party to the offense (why or why not)?

A Block Physical Geography - Today we're in the learning commons / library to begin our research on the Orting College case study. Should the town of Orting, Washington, build a new college to attract people to their community or not? What will the impact of increased population be on the tiny town that sits in the shadows of Mt. Rainier? The assignment is in both your week 4 package and was adapted from the following website: http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/volcanoes/volcano.html


Websites of help for this assignment:

The following URL’s will help:
Volcanoes (Book by USGS)
Ground Zero: Orting Washington
Comprehensive monitoring provides timely warnings of volcano reawakening
Volcano Hazards from Mount Rainier
Volcano Hazards Program - Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier -- Learning to Live with Volcanic Risk
Mount Rainier - Living Safely With a Volcano in Your Backyard
Under the Volcano
Mount Rainier to get new digital-warning system for massive mudflows
USGS Rainier Hazards Landslides
USGS The Eruption History of Mount Rainier
Seattle Times Will we Have Enough Warning?
CS Monitor Can We Predict Volcanic Eruptions?
City of Orting
City of Orting Emergency Management
Pierce County Lahar Warning System
Bridge for Kids
Orting Schools

Orting USGS Topographic Map (Use the 2017 Orting 7.5 Minute Topo Map) 



A note of caution...

What is the greatest danger to Orting? Of all that could potentially happen at Mount Rainier what poses the greatest threat? Now ask yourself what triggers that threat? What causes it to happen? Last think about the statistical likelyhood of that event happening. How likely is the event to occur in the next 5, 10, 100, or 1000 years? Check out the risk analysis section of the COTF website for help here.