Law Assignments
Law Assignment 1
You have returned from your academy training, and you have just been assigned your first case. John McMahon is a 25-year-old man who was recently convicted of possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison, suspended on the condition that he serves 2 years on probation. Special conditions of probation include payment of a $500 fine, completion of any drug treatment program directed by the probation officer, and random drug testing as directed by the probation officer. During your initial interview with Mr. McMahon, you learn that he has a number of friends who are involved in the criminal justice system and that he has a history of alcohol and cocaine dependence that began when he was 17 years old. His drug abuse resulted in his failure to complete high school (he dropped out during his senior year), and he has never had any form of drug treatment. Mr. McMahon also reported that his father is an abusive alcoholic who has on occasion been physically abusive to his mother. To Mr. McMahon’s credit, he has maintained a job working as a laborer in the construction industry, where he works about 30 hours per week. He scores out as a moderate risk offender using the in-house risk assessment instrument. With this in mind, address the following in a Word document that is 750–900 words in length:
- Create a document outlining the conditions of probation that Mr. McMahon must follow that includes standard conditions as well as the special conditions imposed by the court. Be sure to include identifying information as well as the sentencing information on this form.
- Write a memo to your supervisor outlining how you plan to supervise Mr. McMahon. Outline how often you plan to have contact with him, what form of contact you will have (telephone, face-to-face in the office, face-to-face in the community at his job site or residence, and so on), and how frequently you will administer drug tests. What other interventions or resources will you allocate to this case? Be sure to align your response with evidence-based practices, and provide sound reasoning for your proposed plan of action in this case.
Law Assignment 2
Jason was recently arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is a seventeen-year-old male who had a small caliber pistol on school grounds. A fellow student told the school resource officer who confronted Jason. The school resource officer saw Jason and shouted at him to lay flat on the ground with his hands behind his head. Jason laughed and said there was nothing to worry about. He then pulled the gun out of his jacket pocket and pointed it into the air and said, “Look it isn’t even loaded” and then discharged two rounds into the ceiling. He immediately dropped the gun and fell to the floor, obviously surprised.
Jason has had two previous arrests. One arrest was for obstructing/opposing an officer without violence when he became involved in a possible domestic violence arrest that was the result of an argument between his teenage sister and his mother. His second arrest was for battery and was the result of a fight with another boy after school. He claimed the boy had been bullying him. Both arrests were handled in juvenile court and he served probation.
Jason currently faces several charges including possession of a weapon on school grounds, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and improper discharge of a firearm. If he is tried in juvenile court, he will receive probation until his eighteenth birthday, and the record will be sealed. If he is transferred to adult court, his prior arrests will be used to determine sentencing, and he will receive a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison.
Written Exercise Questions:
- What are the issues that need to be considered by a forensic psychologist in determining a transfer to adult court?
- What methods would be used to make this decision?
- What additional information would help in making this decision?
- Identify why some juveniles are transferred to adult court.
- Should Jason, in your expert opinion, be referred to adult court or should he remain in juvenile court?
- Include in your response the goals of juvenile court in comparison to adult court; identify the differences between juvenile court and adult court.
- Finally, explain why you do or do not agree with the trend of trying juveniles in adult courts.
Law Assignment 3
Address the differences between criminal and civil court and the roles mental health professionals play in these two types of courts.
- Identify some of the differences between criminal and civil court. These differences involve who the parties are, types of complaints, penalties, and how the process proceeds.
- Then identify what types of activities a mental health professional would perform in criminal court and civil court; include some examples of these activities.
Law Assignment 4
List of possible topics:
- The role of the forensic psychologist in child custody evaluations
- Ethical pitfalls for psychologists working as an expert witness
- The duties of a correctional psychologist
- Conducting a criminal responsibility evaluation
- Conducting a competency to stand trial evaluation
- Evaluations for psychological damages in civil cases
- The evaluation of child abuse charges
- The role of the forensic psychologist in sentencing hearings
- The reliability and validity of risk assessment
- The juvenile justice system
Once you select a topic from the above or one approved by your instructor for your course project, include the following in your opening section of the paper:
- What drew you to select this particular topic?
- Any personal or professional experiences that influenced your choice?
- Any biases you feel you may bring to the research topic as you begin? How can you address these biases?
Constitutional Law
Why is the draft still men-only?
What court cases have been decided recently? What interest groups are involved in this issue? What has the US Supreme Court said and what has Congress done or not done?
You are looking at this issue from a Constitutional perspective. What part of the Constitution potentially makes this illegal?
Transportation Law
Trend in Air Cargo
For this discussion, choose an article (or video) on current trends in the air cargo industry. Link your video article in your post with a summary and your analysis of how these trends can affect competition and profits for organizations. Do you think deregulation has attributed to these trends? Why or why not?
Business and Corporate Law
Sally’s dilemma
Sally has been looking at properties for the restaurant with a realtor. She asks you whether it is better to buy or lease. You suggest that you and Sally discuss the available options and issues that might impede the operation or make a deal cost-prohibitive. You explain that some leases have a way of being great investments for the owners of the property. Often, leasing terms are designed to squeeze all of the profit out of the tenants’ operations. Although there are also pros and cons to owning the property. Our task right now is to decide if we should buy or lease. First, calculate the potential profit. Here is the information you need: Profit = number of seats (259 seats and 90% will be occupied on average) x the number of meal seatings (3 per night (6:00 pm, 7:30 pm, and 9:00 pm)) x average meal price of $250 x 365 days of operation. Food and service expenses are 68% of your revenue. Additional costs including insurance, professional fees, etc. = 9.9 million per year. Rent would cost $100 per seat per day. The cost of the mortgage is $125 per seat.
Based on the information that you have gathered, discuss the following:
Your decision to buy or lease
The calculations for the potential profit
The pros and cons of buying and leasing
Movie Review
Watch the movie My Cousin Vinny and then write a 2 page paper. The paper should include a summary of the movie as well as at least one law that was described in the movie and your opinion of the movie.