THE HONORABLE SOCIETY OF KINGS INNS
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION
AUGUST 2008
Examination: Criminal Law
Date: Thursday 21 August 2008
Time: 10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.
Internal Examiner: Mr Tom O’Malley NUIG
External Examiner: Mr Michael O’Higgins SC
Instructions
Time allowed: THREE hours
Answer any THREE questions
1. John, who suffers from chronic depression, had fallen into debt and, for the first few months of this year, he had been unable to pay the rent for the flat which he leased from Patrick. At the end of April 2008, Patrick warned John that he would be evicted from the flat if he did not pay the arrears due. John pleaded with him not to evict him as he had nowhere else to go. At that point, Patrick said that he had a proposal to make. He said that he was having serious difficulties with a person called Jude and that he would allow John to remain in the flat rent free for the rest of the year if John would, as he put it, do a job for him. Essentially he demanded that John take a loaded shot gun (which Patrick would supply), go to Jude’s house and fire a number of shots in through the window of the house. John said that he did not wish to do such a thing. Patrick replied in a very threatening manner that if John did not do as he was asked, he would not only lose the flat but he might lose his life as well. John was petrified by this threat. A few nights later, at a time when he was on heavy mediation for depression, John got a loaded shotgun from Patrick, went to Jude’s house and fired a number of shots in through a front window, although he could see that there were people inside in the room at the time. As it happens, one of those people, Mary, was hit by one of the shots and died as a result. John has now been charged with murder. Advise him of any defence(s) available to him.
2. Larry, an 11-year-old boy, was walking down the street one evening on his way to visit a friend when an older boy, Charles, approached him and asked him if he had any money. Larry replied that he did not but Charles said that he did not believe him. He then pushed Larry up against a wall and said, “I know that you have money, so just let me have it.” After saying this, he began to beat Larry across the face. Larry was carrying a Swiss Army penknife which he had just been given as a birthday present. He managed to get the penknife out of his pocket and open it, and he then stabbed Charles in the chest with the knife. Charles fell to the ground, bleeding heavily. Larry immediately contacted the Gardai on his mobile phone, but by the time they and the ambulance arrived, Charles had lost consciousness and he died a short time later. Larry claims that he felt that he had to stab Charles in order to save himself from serious injury. He has now been charged with murdering Charles. Advise him of any defence(s) that may be available to him.
3. Answer (a) AND (b)
(a) In January 2008, when Darren was 16 years of age, he went to a party where he met a girl called Davina. Later that night, she agreed to allow him to accompany her home. When they go to her house, they stood outside talking and kissing. They began to engage in sexually intimate behaviour although no form of sexual intercourse took place between them. While they were engaging in this behaviour, Davina’s father unexpectedly came along and was outraged at what he witnessed. He immediately called the Gardai who later arrested Darren and charged him with sexual assault. It transpires that at the time, Davina was 14 years of age. In his statement to the Gardai, Darren said that he did not ask Davina how old she was, but that he was certain from her appearance that she was at least as old as himself. The prosecution have produced photographs of Davina taken in January 2008 which, they say, show that she looked even younger than 14 years at the time. Advise Darren of any defence available to him in respect of the sexual assault charge.
(b) In January 2008, James married Patricia who had a daughter called Sandra who was 17 years of age at that time. Some weeks after the wedding took place, James found himself alone in the house with Sandra. He asked her to have sexual intercourse with him but she refused. He then invited her to have a drink which she did, and they ended up having several drinks. In the early hours of the morning, by which time both of them were heavily intoxicated, Sandra went to bed and fell asleep. Some time later she woke up and found James having sexual intercourse with her. She struggled with him and managed to get him out of her bed. She then ran from the house and complained to a neighbour that she had been raped. The Gardai were alerted and they arrested James. The Director of Public Prosecutions has sought your advice as to the charges, if any, that might be brought against James in these circumstances. Advise the Director.
4. Mary owns a house which is divided into a number of apartments, though she does not live in any of them herself. All of the apartments are let to various tenants. Some months ago, Mary received a complaint from the tenant in Apartment 6 that Monica, the tenant in Apartment 5, was constantly bringing male visitors back to her apartment late at night and playing loud music. Mary, who held strong views on these matters, decided that she would teach Monica a lesson. She decided that the following Friday evening she would enter Apartment 5 after Monica had gone out, and remain hidden there. Her plan was that as soon as Monica returned (probably in the early hours of the morning), Mary would surprise her, give her a slap across the face, tell her to behave herself in the future, and leave. All went according to plan at first, but when Mary entered Monica’s apartment to which she had a key, she noticed that Monica had some very expensive handbags. Mary could not resist the temptation to take one of the bags, which she did and then left immediately. However, she was seen by another tenant walking away with the bag and the Gardai have now prepared a file on the matter for the Director of Public Prosecution. Advise the Director as to the charges, if any, that might properly be brought against Mary in these circumstances.
5. Peter and Paul jointly operated a heroin distribution network in an inner city area. They were owed a good deal of money by Gus and, despite repeated demands, he refused to pay. They decided therefore to launch a petrol bomb attack on a house owned by Gus’s mother. They were aware that she no longer lived in the house as she was in a nursing home, but they were also aware that both she and Gus were very attached to the house which had been the family home. Peter arranged to procure an explosive in the form of petrol bomb from an associate, and he delivered it to Paul’s house. Then, in the early hours of the morning, Paul drove by himself to the house owned by Gus’s mother and threw the petrol bomb in through the window of the living room where it exploded setting the house on fire. Unfortunately, Samantha, who was Gus’s cousin, was staying in the house that night and she died in the fire. Paul claims that he did not think that there was anybody in the house at the time, though he admitted that he noticed a car parked in the driveway. Peter and Paul have now been charged with Samantha’s murder. Advise them as to whether either or both of them can properly be convicted of this offence.