Essay Question Outline #3 (Unit 4)
Robert and Danny had an intense dislike for each other rooted in their being members
of rival gangs. On a sunny Saturday afternoon they encountered each other on a local
basketball court and Robert made it clear to Danny that if he ever saw him in his
neighborhood again that he would “gut him like a pig.” The problem for Danny was that
although he was terrified of Robert, he liked to play in “pick-up” basketball games on
weekends. The following Saturday Danny returned to the court to play basketball. With
Robert’s threat in mind, this time Danny brought a handgun with him. And sure enough,
when he arrived he saw Robert walking directly towards him. As soon as Robert was
within five feet of him, Danny pulled the gun from his jacket pocket and shot Robert in
his shoulder. Danny then immediately ran to his car and began to speed off when two
members of Robert’s gang stepped out into the street. Danny then drove his car directly
towards them but just as he was within inches of hitting them they jumped on top of the
hood of a parked car to avoid being struck by Danny’s vehicle. In the meantime,
Robert’s brother put him in his car and rushed off to the hospital to try to save his
brother’s life. He was driving at speeds up to 65 miles per hour in a neighborhood where
the speed limit was 30 miles per hour. Robert’s brother then ran through a stop sign and
“T-boned” another vehicle, killing the other driver. Unfortunately, Robert also died at the
scene of the accident from a loss of blood. Assume that the common law applies in this
jurisdiction.
For each of the following questions, you will need to IRAC one issue.
1. Assume that Danny is charged with murder and his lawyer is attempting to convice
the district attorney to reduce the charges to voluntary manslaughter. If you were
advising the prosecutor, outline for her the issue of voluntary manslaughter.
2. What crime is Danny most likely to be charged with relating to driving his car directly
at the two gang members. (Don’t discuss attempted murder as attempt crimes will be
considered later in the course).
3. What crime is Robert’s brother most likely to be charged with concerning the death of
the other driver?
