Read each of the cases below. Note the details of the offence and the offender, including their criminal record. Each of the offenders has been found guilty or has pleaded guilty to the offence indicated. The offence classification and the maximum penalty (and minimum penalty, if applicable) are noted in each case. Once a sentence is determined, indicate it in the space provided. All of the cases are fictitious. The information provided is the extent of the information that is available to the court, as is often the case in the real world.

Mary Michaels is a 21-year-old single mother of two children. She lives in a basement apartment with her mother and her two children, ages 2 and 3. Mary is unemployed and has a grade 9 education. She went to the local grocery store and stole $17 worth of groceries: canned salmon, 2 boxes of cookies, powdered milk, and a gossip magazine. When apprehended, Mary said that she did it to feed her children. This is Mary’s third time before the court; she was convicted of shoplifting twice before and received an absolute discharge and a conditional discharge (with 6 months of probation). Mary is not represented by a lawyer.

Offence: Theft Under $5000, Section 322 , hybrid offence
Penalty: Crown has chosen to proceed by summary conviction.

1			What type of sentence would you impose? Provide a rationale for your decision.

Jason Brennan is a 35-year-old single male. For the last 9 years he has been working for a large electronics company as a Sales Manager. He works long hours and is respected by both his supervisor and his subordinates. He is often alone in the store before or after hours and he has the security codes required to enter the building and to move merchandise within the various parts of the building. About a year ago Jason began borrowing (and not returning) some of the stock. At first he intended to return the merchandise, but then decided that no one really noticed it was missing, so he decided to keep it all. Jason started small, with batteries, headphones, CDs and DVDs. He then moved to laptops, cell phones and accessories for each. At Christmas he stole a laptop for each of his four nieces (they were very grateful!). For his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary he stole a 55-inch big screen television for them and installed it himself. Eventually the store manager realized that there was an internal theft in place and arranged for a hidden camera to be installed. The manager was shocked to see Jason stealing merchandise, at least once a week, often in plain view of others who just assumed that he had paid for it. When apprehended by the police Jason explained that he felt that he was not paid enough money for the amount of time and effort that he puts into his job and started stealing to level the playing field. It is estimated that he stole approximately $75,000 worth of merchandise. His annual salary is $55,000.00.

This was Jason’s first offence. He pleaded guilty in court when he realized how much evidence the police had, primarily from the video surveillance.

Offence: Theft, Section 322
Penalty: Crown has elected to proceed by indictment – maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

2			What type of sentence would you impose? Provide a rationale for your decision.

Mrs. Lane is a 57-year-old socialite who spends most of her time doing charity work, travelling, and attending social events and galas. She and her husband, a land developer, live in a very wealthy section of a large Canadian city. They have three grown children and four grandchildren. Mrs. Lane has always suffered from depression, managing it with prescription medication. During a recent episode of depression she started to walk aimlessly around the city – in and out of stores. She entered a department store where she removed a $90.00 bottle of perfume from a shelf and placed it in her large Louis Vuitton purse. She left the store without paying for it and was apprehended by store security on her way out. In court Mrs. Lane entered a guilty plea to the charge of Theft Under $5,000.00. Her lawyer said that her depression was at the root of the “uncharacteristic” behaviour.

Offence: Theft, Section 322
Penalty: Crown has elected to proceed by summary conviction.

3			What type of sentence would you impose? Provide a rationale for your decision.

Billy Budgett is a single, 33-year-old man who lives alone in an inner-city rooming house. He spends most of his days walking along the streets engaging in various types of anti-social behavior. He is currently before the court because he pulled the fire alarm in eight different venues, which included a downtown mall, a city ice arena, a sports venue, a bus station and four office buildings. Each incident was captured on video tape which was presented as evidence in court. He initially pleaded not guilty to 8 counts of False Alarm of Fire, but midway through the trial he changed his plea to guilty. He was found guilty of pulling false alarms in all 8 situations. He has a previous record of 17 previous convictions of false alarms of fire.

Offence: False Alarm of Fire, Section 437
Penalty: Crown has elected to proceed by indictment – max. penalty 2 years imprisonment.

4			What type of sentence would you impose?<br> Provide a rationale for your decision.

Marlene Mintz is a 41-year-old mother of 15-year-old daughter named Darla. Marlene has been divorced from Darla’s father for 12 years, and he has no contact with Marlene or Darla. Marlene makes ends meet by working as a cashier at a local food market. Marlene’s boyfriend, Jim, a 35-year-old carpenter, has been living with Marlene and Darla for about 9 months. He is very possessive of Marlene and requires her to provide him with a full accounting of her whereabouts each day. He is not fond of Darla, who is often very vocal about her displeasure with his presence in her life. Marlene loves Jim and claims that she will do anything to keep him – he has said that he will never marry Marlene as long as Darla is “in the picture”.

One very cold December day, Marlene asks Darla to go for a walk with her to the river that runs through a remote section of the town because she needs to discuss a critical issue with her. Darla hesitantly agrees and the two head to the river where they have a loud argument. During the argument Marlene pushes Darla to the ground, smashing her head on a large boulder. Scared and confused, Marlene drags her to the shore of the river – and covers her body with grass, twigs, and snow. She then returns home and at 11 pm that evening she reports Darla missing. She and Jim appear on television, making a tearful plea for Darla’s return. Friends and strangers search – however, the police are suspicious when they overhear Marlene ask Jim if he would stay with her now. Eventually, Darla’s body is found and after an intense investigation Marlene confesses to the murder – adding that it was not premeditated. Marlene says that Jim was unaware of the murder and was not a part of the plan – the police agreed.

Marlene had two previous convictions of driving with a suspended license. She entered a guilty plea in court. She was convicted of second degree murder.

Offence: Murder – second degree
Penalty: Life Imprisonment (the parole eligibility period needs to be determined)

5			What type of sentence would you impose?<br> Provide a rationale for your decision.