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The Aaron Hernandez Case
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Topic: Aaron Hernandez Case in the murder of Odin Lloyd
You must pick a high publicity criminal case that has occurred in the last 10 years. The paper should be double spaced, 12 point font, contain a title page, abstract and reference page (no footnotes), and be between 3-5 pages long (not counting title page, abstract or reference page).You must follow the below mandatory outline. You should modify the below outline so as to fit your particular topic and fill it in with substantive content. You can expand on the below outline if necessary. All final papers must be written in APA format. Go to this link: http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htmto understand how to format papers in APA style.
A. Introduction:
Introduce the case:
Describe the defendant and his history and who he/she was/is.
Describe the victim(s) and their relationship with the defendant.
Go into detail as to the facts of the case.
Identify the witnesses and the evidence involved in this case.
Identify the jurisdiction of the court.
Explain if there was a motion for change of venue and explain what that means and if it was granted or not. Explain why a defendant would want such a change of venue generally and specifically in this case.
B. Identify the Specific Charges against the Defendant:
Address the legal charges by finding the exact charge.
Identify if there were federal or state charges and cite the statute. Identify the exact statutes involved and list the elements that the prosecutor must prove for a conviction;
Identify the lessor included offenses that the jury could convict the defendant upon.
Identify if the charges are a felony or misdemeanor and the fines/penalties involved.
State if the criminal charge a choate or inchoate crime? Explain both of these terms in your paper.
Was the crime charged a crime against a person or property? Explain the difference in your paper generally.
What is the standard of proof the prosecutors must carry to win the case?
What is the actus reus? What is the mens rea? Is there concurrence between the two? (define these terms)
Was the crime committed a criminal offense or a terrorist act—explain the difference in your paper.
C. Defenses
Identify the specific defenses used by the defendant.
What evidence is needed to prove this defense? Explain all of their elements
Explain the difference between justification defenses and excuse defenses. What category does the defendants defense in this case fall into?
Explore other possible defenses as follows (just briefly explain them even if they dont apply to your case): Ex Post Facto Laws, Bills of Attainder, Statute of Limitations (and explain what is the statute of limitations for the charges against the defendant in your case), Void for Vagueness.
D. Jury Verdict
What was the jurys verdict?
Assume that the defendant was found not guilty, can the case be re-tried? Why/why not? Explain the concept of double jeopardy in your response.
Do you agree with the verdict? Explain why/why not
Was the ultimate sentencing against the defendant cruel & unusual punishment? If so, why? If not, why?What are the mitigating circumstances? Where there any present in your case?
What are the aggravating circumstances? Where there any present in your case?
What were the victim impacts? Explain
E. Civil Liability
Does the defendant face any civil liability?
If so, who would be the plaintiffs and what type of tort?
What is the standard of proof that applies to that case that the plaintiff must carry to win?
F. Appeals:
Criminal Appeals can be based on mistakes of law and not mistakes of fact. Explain what these meanin context for basis of appeals (not as a defense to a criminal charge)
Are there any grounds for an appeal for the losing side? If so, explain them.
What does the term Habeas Corpus mean and how would it apply to this case for grounds for appeal?
G. Conclusion:
Summarize your findings
What are the parties (defendant and victim or victims families) doing nowwhere are they and how have they moved on in life
Where there any co-conspirators charged? What happened to them ultimately ?
