CrimLaw_W4_DQ1&2

Statutory Rape

1. Kevin and Jen live in Colorado. Kevin is 18 years old, and Jen is 16 years old. They are dating and have had consensual intimacy. Jen's mother finds out about their relationship and files a statutory rape charge against Kevin.

Research the state law in Colorado and find out whether Kevin can be proved guilty of statutory rape even if Jen consented to the intimacy. Why?

 Would your answer change if both Kevin and Jen were 17? Why?

 Would your answer be different if Jen was 18 and Kevin was 16? Why?

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.

2. Heat of Passion Murder: 

William is a single parent of a seventeen year old son. William went out to dinner one night , leaving his son at home with instructions that he was to have no visitors. When William returned home, his son was hosting a part for several teenagers. William angrily told the guests to leave, getting into an argument with one by the name of Bobby. Bobby left but returned a half hour later and threw a beer bottle through William's living room window. William didn't know what had broken the window until much later, but he heard the window break and saw the glass shatter. He ran outside with the handgun that he kept in his house for protection. Bobby had parked his car on the street in front of the house. As Bobby was starting to drive away, William shot once from the front porch, hitting Bobby in the head and killing him.

Has William committed homicide? If so, what degree of homicide?

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.