First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between burglary, theft, and criminal trespass following the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. Section 2C:18-2 provides the following elements of burglary: entering structures closed to the public without a privilege, remaining in a structure surreptitiously, and trespassing in areas where it is prohibited explicitly (Justia, 2020). In addition, burglary implies trespassing to commit another offense (Justia, 2020). Theft is consolidated in Section 2C:20-2, which grades the crime; however, there is no need to trespass to commit theft (Justia, 2020). Sections 2C:20-3, 2C:20-4, and 2C:20-5 define specific theft types — theft by unlawful taking or disposition, deception, and extortion, respectively (Justia, 2020). Finally, Section 2C: 18-3 defines the unlicensed entry of structures, which may transition to burglary.
In the provided case police officer was called to investigate a break-in in the warehouse. Therefore, the officer did not commit an unlicensed trespass, as their presence on the crime scene was justified. The officer’s actions cannot be classified as burglary since their presence was legal, and they did not intend to commit an offense before arriving at the warehouse. As such, the police officer committed theft, most fitting under the Section 2C:20-3 definition, because they did not use deception or threats. Nevertheless, the officer unlawfully took the movable property of the victim, which is enough to grade their actions as at least a third-degree crime.
In this case, I would file the following charges against Joe Jones. First, I would qualify his actions as a robbery of the first degree. According to Section 2C:15-1, robbery is a first-degree crime if, in the course of committing the theft, the actor attempts to kill anyone or purposefully attempts to inflict serious bodily injury (Justia, 2020). Joe Jones swung a baseball bat at Maria after she refused to give him the money; a baseball bat strike can inflict a serious injury or even kill.
Secondly, I would charge Joe Jones with manslaughter, a crime of the second degree. His strike missed Maria and killed Tim, who was walking by her side. Jones’s action cannot be classified as Section 2C:11-3 Murder since he had no intention to cause death on purpose. In addition, he did not commit aggravated manslaughter since his actions do not fall under subsection a. of Section 2C:11-4 (Justia, 2020). However, his swing of a baseball bat falls under the definition of Section 2C:11-4, subsection b., paragraph 1, because Jones recklessly killed a person in an attempt to rob Maria (Justia, 2020). Overall, Joe Jones should be charged with first-degree robbery according to subsection b. of Section 2C:15-1 and second-degree manslaughter as per Section 2C:11-4, subsection b., paragraph 1.
In the described case, the defense attorney’s argument will not prevail due to provisions of Sections 2C:14-2 and 2C:14-7. First, the attorney claimed that sexual assault charges should be dropped because Jane did not resist. However, Robert would still be guilty of aggravated sexual assault according to paragraphs 4 and 5, subsection c. of Section 2C:14-2 (Justia, 2020). First, he was armed with a gun and threatened Jane to go inside the barn. Second, Jane did not resist at any point of events, but she also did not give affirmative and freely-given permission for intercourse. Part of the attorney’s argument, which mentions Jane’s short skirt and low-cut blouse, would not be admitted per subsection e. of Section 2C:14-7 (Justia, 2020). Overall, the defense attorney’s argument has no chance to prevail, as it lacks any reasonable legal basis.
Reference
Justia. 2020 New Jersey revised statutes: Title 2C – The New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. Web.