LS 109

Instructions: Read the following criminal law fact pattern and then respond to the prompt below. You are encouraged to make a concise outline BEFORE you start writing so that you can frame your answer clearly and

concisely within the 800 word limit. Your response should be posted to the assignments tab in bCourses by 5:00

PM on Friday, April 30th.

This prompt is designed so that a thoughtful and well-prepared student should be able to complete it within

roughly two class periods, i.e., in less than two hours. All of our students are allotted five days in which to

complete and submit their responses to bCourses.

The L.R.R. Hood Case: A Tragedy of Fur & Fury

*(NOT a true story – In this case, not a single actual living creature has been harmed in any way)

Once upon a time there was a sweet 6-year old child who was loved by everyone who ever set eyes on her, but she was loved

most of all by her dear grandmother. Granny sewed the girl a riding hood of bright red velvet, which suited her so well that she

would never wear anything else. Henceforth she was always known in the Woods as ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’ One day her

mother said to her: “Come, Little Red Riding Hood, here is a lovely sweet cake and a bottle of wine; take them to your

grandmother. Granny is old and frail, and the sugar and the alcohol will do her some good.” Granny lived in a cabin in the dark

forest, half a league from the village.

However, in the forest there also dwelt two wolves named Lupine and Vulpine. These two wolves had experienced a terrible

winter. They were famished, and were nearly at the point of death. These two wolves had searched the forest in vain for any

morsels to eat.

Upon seeing Little Red Riding Hood walking through the forest toward Granny’s house, Lupine’s eyes lit up and he exclaimed to

Vulpine “I see dinner. Let’s eat!” Vulpine looked back at him and grinned and nodded in enthusiastic agreement. Then Lupine set

off after Little Red Riding Hood and Vulpine followed close behind him.

Upon reaching Little Red Riding Hood, Lupine spoke: “We are starving and we have come to devour you.” Hearing this, Little

Red Riding Hood was quite reasonably terrified. So she replied, “Please do not eat me, Mr. Wolf. I am on my way to see my sick

grandmother, and what’s more, the Woodsman, who is the Sheriff’s deputy, is on the road just behind me, and if he catches you

he will surely kill you with his very large axe. You may take my basket of food if you will let me go forth unhurt.” Lupine

considered this, then he took the food and fled into the dark woods. Vulpine followed his lead.

The two starving wolves consumed all of the cake and all of the sweet intoxicating wine. However, they were ignorant of the

serious cognitive effects of consuming processed, high-sugar human sweets and alcoholic drinks. So, before they knew it, the two

wolves were overcome by the effects of the wine and of the sweetened cake. Still quite hungry, but now also intoxicated, they

stumbled along until they came upon Granny’s cabin. Then Lupine, peering into the windows and seeing no one about, decided

to enter the house in search of more food. He asked Vulpine to stand watch outside, and Vulpine agreed to do so. But in fact the

inebriated Vulpine curled up in the bushes and promptly fell sound asleep.