Sentencing Proposal
Assignment Content
- After a defendant receives a guilty verdict, there is more work to be done. This assignment allows you to explore sentencing options as you continue to think about the case your learning team worked on in Week 3. Read the ruling carefully and return to the case specifics in Week 3 if you need a refresher. Refer to How Courts Work: Steps in a Trial: Plea Bargaining from the American Bar Association website as you work on this assignment.
The ruling for State v. Stu Dents is in and the defendant, your law firm’s client, was found guilty. As a paralegal, your task now is to help the attorney consider the sentencing options for the client and determine what to propose to the court.
Read the Ruling on State v. Stu Dents. Use this information as the basis for your sentencing proposal.
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word sentencing proposal in which you address the following:
Formulate 2 distinct sentencing arguments.
Identify the desired outcome of each punishment. Is a plea bargain a consideration? If so, what is that desired outcome?
Identify alternative and intermediate sanctions.
Explain how the Eighth Amendment influences the outcomes of this case.
Format your paper according to APA guidelines.
CJA/305 v4
Ruling on State v. Stu Dents
CJA/305 v4
Page 2 of 2
Ruling on State v. Stu Dents
In the case of State v. Stu Dents, the jury finds the defendant guilty of the following:
· Homicide
· Assault of a police officer
· Kidnapping
· Crimes related to drugs
For the charge of burglary, the defendant is not guilty due to lack of evidence that the victim’s possessions were taken without her permission.
Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
CJA/305 v4
State v. Stu Dents Court Case
CJA/305 v4
Page 2 of 2
State v. Stu Dents Court Case
Last year, on the mid-afternoon of October 18th, the defendant, Stu Dents, left his apartment on Main Street and drove to Broadway and 83rd. Two eyewitnesses say the defendant then walked through the Broadway Arms apartment building to his girlfriend’s apartment, number 156, and entered the apartment.
It is unclear how the defendant entered the apartment, but no signs of force were evident. Witnesses could not say if the defendant used a key. The victim, Uma Opee, was not home at the time. Coworkers say Uma Opee was last seen when she left work at 5:10 p.m.
The body of the victim was found October 19th at 7:45 a.m. behind an abandoned building approximately 5 miles from her residence. The victim was found with cloth stuffed in her mouth, her arms and legs tied with rope restraints, having been stabbed to death.
Uma Opee worked at a music store within walking distance of her apartment. She had a previous criminal record that included shoplifting, drug possession and sale, assault, and disorderly conduct. Uma completed court-ordered rehabilitation just 2 months before her death.
The coroner determined that the victim was stabbed 13 times and bled to death at approximately 11:45 p.m. the evening of October 18th. Cuts and bruises were found on the victim’s body as well as skin particles under her fingernails, signifying a struggle had occurred prior to her death. DNA tests were conducted on the skin particles under the victim’s fingernails and matched the DNA samples of the defendant. A toxicology report showed there were no drugs in the victim’s system at the time of her death.
The victim’s apartment was found to have spots of blood on the carpeting in the living room as well as rope particles matching the rope used to tie the victim’s hands and feet. A blue MDMA tablet, also known as ecstasy, with a “thumbs-up” imprint was found under a table in the living room as well as powder cocaine residue on the living room coffee table.
Upon a search of the defendant’s home, detectives found ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, and jewelry owned by the victim among the defendant’s possessions. Among the jewelry found was an inscribed ring with the victim’s name. The ring was later identified by coworkers as a ring the victim wore on a daily basis, including the day of her disappearance. A small bag containing blue ecstasy tablets, with a “thumbs-up” imprint, were found at the defendant’s residence, which matched the tablet found at the victim’s residence. In a locked room toward the back of the defendant’s home, police found a wall completely covered with photographs of the victim. The photos were of Uma Opee in various locations and situations. Some photos appeared to have been taken without her knowledge. Police estimated over 300 photographs of the victim were stapled on the wall. Police also found love letters to the victim and a journal that was started 6 months prior to the incident. The journal included Stu Dents’s name inside the front cover along with detailed events from his first meeting of the victim up to the night prior to the murder. Entries discussed purchasing rope, rags, and a sharp hunting knife “to fulfill [his] destiny”. Many pages of the journal contained references to aliens, God, and the end of the world. The journal entries stopped on October 17th.
Enough evidence was obtained to make the arrest of Mr. Dents. Officers located Stu Dents on October 21st at 8:45 p.m. at a relative’s home. When police officers tried to take him into custody, he began screaming about the end of the world and aliens working in the police force. He was extremely agitated, irrational, and combative. When Officer T. Chur began to handcuff him, the defendant punched the officer in the face and screamed, “Alien!”. As officers subdued the defendant, he repeatedly yelled, “I am God, let me go! I am God!”.
The toxicology screen of the defendant showed no trace of illegal drugs at the time of arrest.
The state charges Stu Dents with the following:
· Homicide
· Assault of a police officer
· Kidnapping
· Burglary
· Crimes related to drugs
Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.