Review the fact pattern provided below. At this time, Mr. Kant stands convicted of either petit larceny or shoplifting, as dictated by your state statutes, and your office has been hired to handle the appeal. Based on your lessons and reading material regarding legal analysis and writing, legal research, legal citation and appellate procedure, prepare the appellate brief based on relevant statutory and case law from your state of residence. Proper format is outlined in Statsky on pages 600-602, and detailed in your state court rules, formbooks, etc.
Thoroughly research the issues involved and address the statute/s from your state under which Mr. Kant would be charged and convicted. Locate at least one binding opinion upon which to base your arguments and apply the opinion in a thorough and concise manner. You should also apply any relevant secondary authority that might be used in support of your arguments. In completing this assignment, please focus on demonstrating your research, analysis, citation and writing skills over format of the brief.
Bear in mind that you do not have access to the trial court record for this assignment, which would not be the case in an actual law office setting. Therefore, you may embellish the facts as necessary to fully develop your arguments. Use care, however, not to allow those embellishments to change the issues involved.
FACTS: Sam Kant, stands convicted of shoplifting/petit larceny (as dictated by your state statutes) from Bilmart, a national department store. At his wife’s request, Mr. Kant went to Bilmart on Wednesday, ______, 20___, and purchased a case of six 4 oz. cans of Hoover’s Baked Beans with Bacon. Upon returning home, his wife chastised him for once again failing to purchase what she had requested. Apparently, Mrs. Kant can’t stand the taste of Hoover’s Beans, but is very fond of the Handell’s brand, and was planning to serve them to her book club when she hosted them for lunch the following afternoon. Mrs. Kant ordered her husband to return to Bilmart to exchange the Hoover’s beans for Handell’s Beans.
Upon arrival at the store early the next morning, Mr. Kant found that the line for customer service was extremely long due to Bilmart’s annual sponsorship of a major community food drive. In an effort to save time, and thinking the line might be shorter upon his return, Mr. Kant placed the case of Hoover’s beans into a shopping cart, made his way through the store to the bean shelf, and then added the Handell’s beans to the cart. However, upon his return, the line had not diminished and it was obvious that Sam would be waiting a considerable amount of time to formalize the exchange. Fearing the wrath of his wife should he not return in time for lunch, Sam placed the case of Hoover’s beans inside a cart filled with what appeared to be merchandise returns in need of re-stocking. With the desired Handell’s beans in the shopping cart, Mr. Kant then proceeded to the store’s exit. As he neared the doors, Mr. Kant was approached and detained by store security, who witnessed Sam’s actions, and police were called to the store. Apparently, the cart into which Sam had placed the Hoover’s Beans did not contain returned items to be shelved, but rather, donations to the Bilmart Community Food Drive. Officers Kopp and Slickman questioned Mr. Kant and then cited him for Shoplifting.
