You are a junior associate at the law firm of Quigley, Quigley & Quigley. Samantha Harper, a first-year law student, came to see you about an incident involving her son Jonas. He has been charged with Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree as a result of an incident that occurred last spring. She would like to know if Jonas is likely to be convicted of the charge.
On the evening of May 3, 2008, a number of students from Hudson College gathered at Whitney's Pub in Hamden, Connecticut, to watch the Boston Celtics play the New Jersey Nets in a basketball game that would determine the Eastern Division Championship. Most of the students, including Frank Logan, were rooting for the Celtics, but Jonas Harper was an avid Nets fan.
Before the game began, Harper and his friends were getting rowdy. As the game progressed, Harper, a non-drinker, became very excited. When the Nets were winning by eight points with only two minutes left in the game, Harper began jeering at his friends and singing a victory song. The Nets, however, lost to the Celtics as a result of a last second three-point shot. After the game, the group began to tease Harper, and pushing and shoving ensured. As a result, Ernie Talbot, the owner and bartender, ejected them from Whitney's and threatened to call the police if the rowdy behavior continued.
Once outside, Logan continued to tease Harper. After Logan made a particularly offensive comment about the nets, Harper walked away from the group. As he prepared to cross the street, Harper saw a rock lying near the curb. He picked up the rock and threw it at Logan, shouting, "Who cares about the Celtics? They're just a bunch of ignorant low-lifes, just like you!" The rock went over Logan's head and hit a statue of a Revolutionary War hero that stood just outside the entrance to the bar. Ernie had originally purchased the statue to add an element of "class" to the otherwise nondescript entryway to the pub. The rock left an almost imperceptible scratch on the surface of the statue.*
Criminal Mischief Statute
Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree
A person is guilt of criminal mischief in the third degree when, having no reasonable ground to believe that he has a right to do so, he: (1) Intentionally or recklessly (A) damages tangible property of another, or (B) tampers with tangible property of another and thereby causes such property to be placed in danger of damage; or (2) damages tangible property of another by negligence involving the use of any potentially harmful or destructive force or substance, such as, but not limited to, fire, explosives, flood, avalanche, collapse of building, poison gas or radioactive material.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-117 (2001).
*This fact pattern was first developed by Carolyn Spencer.