Reference no: EM133438565
Question: You are a defense attorney in the state of Jamaica where the common law applies. Write a motion to dismiss the indictment against Perino.
Title 8 Section 1530 of the Jamaica Code reads:
A person is guilty of manslaughter when they recklessly cause the death of another person. Title 8 Section 500 of the Jamaica Code reads:
A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and purpose of the actor's conduct and the circumstances known to him, its disregard involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a law- abiding person would observe in the actor's situation.
On December 1, 2022, Gloria Perino purposely set fire to a couch, thus causing a serious fire on the fifth floor of an abandoned building at 6000 Union Turnpike in the state of Jamaica. The Jamaica Fire Department, in responding to the conflagration, arrived to find the rear portion of the fifth and sixth floors burning. The firemen attempted to bring the situation under control, but making no progress and there being no additional assistance available, they decided to withdraw from the building. At that point, they were suddenly enveloped by a dense smoke, which was later discovered to have arisen from another independent fire that had broken out on the 1st floor.
This 1st floor fire was determined to have been started by Melinda Vance, a 1st floor resident, and there was no evidence implicating Perino in its responsibility. However, the combination of the thick smoke from the 1st floor and the fifth-floor fire made evacuation from the premises extremely hazardous, and, in the process, Fireman Eric Clark sustained injuries from which he subsequently died.
Accordingly, Gloria was indicted for manslaughter for having recklessly caused the death of Eric Clark.
You are a defense attorney in the state of Jamaica where the common law applies. Write a motion to dismiss the indictment against Perino.