Below are 9 scenarios and questions. Write a discussion for each number. For each # you can write a brief discussion of your opinion and/or facts. It discussion needs to be only 5 to 10 sentences.
1 John is 15 years old and has sexual intercourse with Julie, his 14 year old girlfriend. John did not force himself on Julie. In fact, Julie agreed she wanted to have sexual intercourse with John. Now Julie has a venereal disease and it is unclear if she received it from John or Jim (age 13), with whom she also had intercourse.
As the juvenile prosecutor, would you charge John, Julie and Jim with any crimes? Why or why not? What if Jill (age 14) came forward and said that she too had sexual intercourse with John and Julie in a threesome, would that change your opinion on charging?
**** As the juvenile prosecutor for this county, I can tell you that these types of situations do come across my desk. Also, it is not uncommon from the juveniles to also videotape themselves engaged in sexual acts and then post the images to Snapchat. That is a whole other problem. What do you think about those types of instances? Should the State be charging those cases?
2. Ben Bicyclist was riding his bike on the bike path along the Fox River. Bud Boater had just finished his fourth six pack of beer and a flask of peppermint schnapps. As Bud bent down to adjust the radio, he lost control of the boat and ran it ashore into Ben. As a result, Ben was thrown from his bike and landed on top of a four foot pile of glass bottles dumped there by a local tavern. Ben sustained major facial lacerations, broken ribs and a fractured leg.
Ben, who is supermodel, can no longer work in the fashion industry. He also has medical bills because he lost his employment and insurance. You are his attorney. Do you have any causes of action against anyone? Who are your potential defendant? Explain how you would argue your case.
3. For those of you who have seen the documentary, “Hot Coffee,” this question is for you. While it is not mandatory to watch this movie, it was mandatory viewing in the Vopal household (much to my then 13 and 14 year old sons’ dismay, however that is what you get when both parents are attorneys). The movie explains the myths surrounding the famous McDonald’s hot coffee case. It also explains tort and negligence law, and what exactly is means to have tort law reform.
So, for those of you who do/did watch the movie, what do you think? What did you learn? How do you feel about tort reform?
4. Art and Bart are bouncers at the Big Bar. Cal Customer is very drunk and out of control. He has been pinching Sally Server’s buttocks all night, and her continues to do so despite Sandy’s, Art’s and Bart’s warnings to stop. Finally, Sally has enough and yells, “TAKE THAT YOU PERVERT! I KNOW YOU HAVE HERPES SO BACK OFF BUSTER!” as she jabs a fork into Cal’s forearm. Irate, in pain and humiliated by Sandy’s words and actions, Cal lunges for Sandy, but grabs Penny Patron by mistake. Cal wrestles Penny to the floor and begins choking her. Art pulls Call off of Penny and drags him outside. Art and Bart then continue to punch Cal and break his nose and jaw. Meanwhile, Ross Regular has walked off with a bottle of Jack Daniels, Barry Bartender’s wallet and at least $500.00 from the cash register.
Explain all the torts committed at the Big Bar that night.
5. You have been retained by Alvin Aviator to defend him in the lawsuit filed against him by the Green Bay Packers. Explain your defenses.
6. Alvin Aviator is flying his experimental aircraft over Lambeau Field on a misty day in May. Suddenly, he has trouble with his aircraft, and needs to attempt an emergency landing. Austin Straubel Airport is too far away, and instead of plummeting onto a very crowded Oneida Street, he decides to land inside of Lambeau Field. Luckily, there were no mini camps in session and no one else was on the field. Alvin was able to land the aircraft saving himself, but destroying the sacred grass field inside the stadium.
You are interning with the Green Bay Packers Organization and the General Counsel of the Packers asks you to draft a complaint against Alvin Aviator. What torts/negligence theory do you allege? Why?
7. Polly and Pete Peta love animals. They hate to see tigers caged up at the local zoo. The couple devises a plan to help liberate these big cats from captivity. On August 1, 2018, Polly and Pete hid in the zoo until after closing. After midnight, they gained access to the tiger pen by climbing the fence. Once inside the fenced in grassy area, both Polly and Pete try to open the tiger pens. Unfortunately, the tigers are not in their pens for the night because Zita Zookeeper mistakenly forgot to put the cats in their pens. Mufassa and Simba, male Bengal tigers, savagely attack Pete and have a nice midnight human snack. Polly, however, was not mauled. She manages to open the gate to the grassy enclosure and escape with Nala, the female Bengal tigress. Polly hustles the cat out of the zoo’s front gate. Once outside the zoo, Polly coaxes Nala into her Prius, and drives the cat to her home in Shawano County.
After his snack, Simba runs off into the night and is killed when Fred Fedex hits him with his truck. Fed is unhurt, but the truck has sustained over $2000.00 of damage. Meanwhile, Mufassa strolls around the zoo and decides to take a nap in the zoo’s picnic area. Zita Zookeeper arrives at work at 4 AM. She notices the front gate to the zoo is open. Once inside the zoo, she realizes the tiger pen has been breached and that Simba, Nala and Musfassa are missing. Just before she can call Zeb the Head Zookeeper, Mufassa attacks Zita and bites off her arm. As she is calling 911, Mufassa runs out of the zoo’s front gate. Later in the day, Dan Deputy shot and killed Mufassa as Mufassa was running towards children playing on recess at Sunnyside Elementary School.
Please explain any torts or negligence causes of action in the incident above. How is liable and why?
8. As the Juvenile Prosecutor of Brown County, I see many cases of bullying coupled with racism. The culture of bullying is so prevalent within middle school and high school. So many kids get bullied on the playing field, in locker room and now across cyberspace through the use of Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. Some kids are able to overcome bullying while others resort to hurting themselves or ultimately killing others and themselves.
Do you think society with its technological advances has created an environment that encourages bullying? Do you think bullying has not necessarily increased over the years, but rather we know more about it now?
Should there be legal interventions? Social interventions?
9. Tort law give victims a chance to be made whole through civil court proceedings. Why is it important to have a civil remedy for wrongs (either intentional or negligent) committed against individuals?