2007 Spring LAP Case information

Goodwin Procter Case name: Commonwealth v. Chrissie Snow Last summer, Chrissie Snow worked at the Lowes movie theater in downtown Boston near the Boston Commons. Chrissie worked at the concession stand. On Tuesday, August 1, 2006, Chrissie was working the afternoon shift at the concession stand. It was an unusually hot day even for August, and it seemed like the whole city of Boston had flocked to the movie theater to avoid the heat outside. The movie theater had not anticipated the crowds, and it was understaffed. Chrissie worked hard to get everyone their candy, popcorn, nachos and soda as quickly as possible. At around 5:00 p.m., two men reached the front of the concession line and Chrissie got ready to take their order. One of the men was wearing a bright red t-shirt and a black baseball cap. (These happen to be the same colors as the shirt and hat uniforms worn by the staff at the movie theater.) The other man was wearing a green t-shirt and no hat. The two men kept whispering to each other, looking at Chrissie and laughing. Janet, who was working the register right next to Chrissie, told Chrissie to ignore the men and just take their order. Chrissie tried to be patient but the line kept getting longer behind them. Would you like to place your order? Chrissie asked the men politely. Sure, the man in the red shirt responded. Well have two sodas and a large popcorn. No, said the man in the green shirt. Well have one lemonade and two nachos. The men went back and forth like this, changing their order and laughing for about five minutes. Chrissie, who has had trouble controlling her temper in the past, got extremely frustrated. She said to the men, If youre not going to place an order, you are going to have to step off the line. The man in the red shirt, who was a few inches shorter than Chrissie, responded And who is going to make me? Chrissie responded, Get off my line now, or else. Chrissies boss, Jack Tripper, overheard this exchange and had the men removed from the theater. Mr. Tripper was very displeased with how Chrissie had handled the situation. Just before her shift ended, Mr. Tripper yelled at her and threatened to fire her from the job. Chrissie was distraught and very angry, and left work in a hurry. She grabbed her purse, but forgot her other bag, that had her basketball practice clothes in it. She was looking forward to blowing off some steam in a pick-up game in the park on her way home, but half-way there, she realized she had forgotten the bag. It was about 8:00 p.m. and it was almost dark outside, but she decided to walk back to the theater to get her bag. As Chrissie headed down the main path through the park, she noticed a figure to her right running towards her on one of the side paths. The path to the right also led back to the movie theater, but it was not very well lit, so Chrissie only took it during the day. She could not see the persons face, but noticed that it was a man who was slightly shorter than her, wearing a red shirt and a black hat. Chrissie panicked, thinking that it could be the rude customer from earlier in the day. She starting walking quickly, but the person kept getting closer to her. She heard him yelling, but could only make out some words that sounded like, Waithold itcatch you Chrissie had some training in self-defense, and once the man got close enough, Chrissie, without fully turning to see his face, elbowed him in the nose and sprayed his eyes with pepper spray. The man fell to the ground and said to Chrissie, I was just trying to give you your bag. Chrissie realized that it was her boss, Mr. Tripper. She helped him up, and he said to her, Whats with you and this temper you have? Im sick of you snapping like this. Youre fired. Jack Tripper suffered from a broken nose and needed eye surgery because of a reaction he had to the pepper spray. Luckily, his friend Ralph Furley, who witnessed the entire incident, was meeting Mr. Tripper in the park for that evening for a quick jog and was able to take Jack Tripper to the hospital for treatment. Chrissie Snow is charged by the Commonwealth with assault and battery.

Memorandum To Apprentice Attorneys

From The Senior Attorneys Re Witness: Chrissie Snow Commonwealth v. Chrissie Snow Date

Chrissie Snow is 15 years old. Her family just moved to Boston because her mother got a new job. Chrissie grew up in Detroit, Michigan where she was a huge Pistons fan. Chrissie loves basketball, and has played the sport ever since she was young. It is a good fit for her because of she is very tall. She is 59 and still growing. At that height, she towered over the other girls in her class and it is only on the basketball court that Chrissie feels comfortable and even proud of her tall stature. Even though Chrissie was only a freshman in high school back in Detroit, she had been a member of the varsity squad at her old high school, and was hoping to make the varsity team at her new school, Hyde Park High School, when school started in the fall. Chrissie hoped that being a member of the basketball team would also be a good way to make friends in the new city. Because her family moved at the end of the school year, Chrissie decided to get a summer job at the Lowes Boston Common movie theatre. She was able to get to the theater using public transportation from her familys new home near Hyde Park, so she did not have to depend on her mother for a ride. Chrissie found out about the job from her new friend, Janet. Janet also plays basketball and is on the same summer league team as Chrissie is. Janet and Chrissie are the two stars of the summer team and ever since Chrissie found out that Janet is also the captain of the varsity team at Hyde Park High, Chrissie wants to make sure she makes a good impression on Janet. One day after practice (which took place at a court in Boston Common), Janet mentioned that she worked at the Lowes movie theatre right on the Common, and that they were looking for a second concession stand worker during the busy summer blockbuster season. Chrissie jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with Janet and to make some money so she could buy new sneakers in time for high school tryouts that fall. Normally, the movie theatre job was pretty easy and Chrissie got to choose one free soda or Icee, and either popcorn or nachos every day. Some days though, it got really busy and everyone working behind the counter got a little frazzled. One day in particular, when the mercury reached over 100 degrees and the most anticipated movie of the summer, Aquaman, was opening, the theatre was swamped. Everyone was scrambling to get their jumbo combos from Chrissie and Janet, who was working next to her, before the previews started for the 5:15 showing. Just when she thought the rush was finally dying down, two men approached the counter. When she first saw the men, she thought that one of themthe one wearing a red shirt and black baseball hat looked just like her boss, Jack Tripper. Red shirts and black hats were the uniform of all the Lowes theatre workers, and Jack liked to come around at busy times to test his employees and to see how they were handling the pressure and treating the customers. Chrissie is supposed to wear glasses, but she wasnt that particular day. Because of her bad eyesight, it took her a while to realize that the man was not her boss, but was instead a customer.

Even though Chrissies mother constantly nagged her about wearing her glasses, Chrissie rarely did so because she thought they made her look like a geek. She was already freakishly tall and she didnt need to be called four eyes in addition to all the comments about her height. Besides, they were a nuisance on the basketball court and she could see well enough to sink her three pointer 9 times out of 10. The red shirted customer and his sidekick turned out to be real jerks. It was obvious that they were less interested in the movie than in giving Chrissie a hard time. They kept changing their order just as Chrissie was finishing preparing it and every time they would laugh and say we said Sprite, not Coke or why are you making nachoswe wanted popcorn. Even though she tried her hardest to be polite, Chrissie was really offended by the way the men were treating her. It was obvious from behind the counter that she was taller than them, but they looked mean, and were pretty big themselves. After Chrissie had re-made their order four or five times, she was getting really angry. She was pumping the last squirt of butter onto the extra-large popcorn the duo had ordered when the one in the red shirt said Jeez girlieweve told you a million times! Were allergic to butter and you just ruined our order. Make us a new onethis time with no butter or were not paying. As they started snickering again, Chrissie lost it. She snapped at the men who she swore had just asked for extra butter when they ordered. Get off my line or else! Unfortunately for Chrissie, Jack had arrived to do one of his routine customer service checks just as the situation was getting really out of hand. All he heard was Chrissies final outburst and he was NOT happy. Although he had the men escorted out of the theatre, he yelled at Chrissie and threatened to fire her. After her bad day at work, Chrissie just wanted to get out of there and go shoot some hoops on a court in Boston Common with her summer league team. She ran out of the theatre the second her shift was over around 8:00 and she forgot to grab her gym bag with her basketball clothes in it. Chrissie decided to go back to the theater to grab the bag. She took a short-cut through the Common to get her bag, so she wouldnt be late for practice. It was dusk, and even though Chrissie told herself the park was safe because it was patrolled 24-7 by Bostons finest, she was a little on edge. As she trudged along thinking of her bad day and the big jerks who had almost cost her her job, Chrissie noticed a man in a red shirt and black cap running towards her. Immediately, Chrissie thought it was the guy from earlier on who had tormented her in the lineobviously he was mad and was coming at her for revenge after getting kicked out of the theatre. In her mind, he looked exactly like the kind of shady character who would be lurking around the Common after dark. With this in her mind, Chrissie started running. At that point, the mystery man started shouting at her. She couldnt exactly make out his words because she was panicking, but she thought he was yelling, Hold itIm gonna catch you! This only freaked Chrissie out more and she decided this was the time to use the self defense moves she had learned in the class her mother had insisted on having her take. When the man came close enough, Chrissie whipped out her pepper spray and elbowed the man in the nosejust like the self defense instructor had taught her to do if she was ever attacked like this. As the man fell to the ground, Chrissie realized that it was not the scary man from the line, but it was her boss Jack. Even though Chrissie apologized profusely and tried to explain herself, and even offered to take Jack to the hospital, this was the last straw for Jack and he fired her on the spot. A week after the incident in the park, when she was shooting baskets in her driveway, she was arrested by the Boston Police and charged with assault and battery. Chrissies mother had urged her to take the self-defense class back in Detroit. At her school in Detroit, Chrissie got into a lot of fights. Chrissie had always been a bully. Other kids

in Detroit would always tease her about her size and her glasses, and Chrissie often reacted by starting fights with them, or by bullying them first so that they didnt make fun of her. Chrissies mother saw their fresh start in a new city as an opportunity for Chrissie to change that reputation. Before they moved, Chrissie and her mother had a long talk about Chrissies temper and her aggressive tendencies. Chrissie realized that this move to Boston would be a good opportunity for her to start anew. She was eager to leave her aggressive temper back in Michigan. Chrissie is upset that she had to resort to violence in this incident, but she feels that she had no other choice in the situation.

Witness Memo Jack Tripper Jack Tripper manages the Lowes movie theater in downtown Boston. The theater is near Boston Common. Jack manages the afternoon shift, from when the theater opens at 1pm until about 9 pm. Then someone else takes over for the night shift. Hes been working at the theater for many years first as an employee and now as manager. He wants to be an artist, but he runs the theater to help pay the rent. Jack has several employees at the theater. He gets along with them all pretty well including Chrissie. He tries to be supportive of his employees and help them deal with difficult customers. Jack is a very mild-mannered and easy going manager who rarely raises his voice or gets upset. However, despite his laid back nature, he never hesitates to speak with an employee or customer when they are acting inappropriately. Jack sees himself as something of a mentor but sometimes Chrissie can be shorttempered. Shed get annoyed if she was asked to be a reasonable employee and take an extra shift or if Jack told her she needed to do a better job cleaning up the concession stand at the end of her shift. Chrissie just didnt seem like a team player. Jack was managing the theater on Tuesday, August 1, 2006. It was a pretty busy day at the theater. It was really hot outside, so lots of people were flocking in to take advantage of the air conditioning. Jack had not anticipated the heat wave and the subsequent high customer volume, so he had not staffed enough people. In particular, the concession stand Chrissie was staffing was really busy, and the line was so long customers were becoming disgruntled. Jack knew the long line was partly his fault for understaffing, but he quickly got annoyed at Chrissie for not moving the line faster. It seemed like she was taking forever to get people popcorn! Jack was heading over to talk to Chrissie about speeding things up, when he heard an exchange between her and a customer at the front of the line. Chrissie said something about you are going to have to step off the line. He was glad she was moving things along, but she was also being rude. Her tone was unacceptable. He would definitely have to talk to her about that. Still, when he heard the customers say And who is going to make me? he came rushing to Chrissies defense. He certainly didnt want any threats in his theater. This was a family establishment, after all. He called over a security guard and had the men removed from the theater. Things were so busy, Jack did not have time to talk to Chrissie about the incident right away, but he caught up with her at the end of her shift. By that time, Jack was tired from the busy afternoon, and his annoyance at Chrissie had been building for a couple of hours. He raised his voice and told her that if she couldnt speed up, be more efficient, and be more polite to customers, he would fire her. Chrissie looked upset at first, but as Jack went on, she started to look angry. When he finished his lecture, she stormed off and left the theater. About 5 minutes later, Jack was in the employee break room and saw a bag he recognized as Chrissies. Just like Chrissie, he thought, Being irresponsible and leaving her stuff around again. Jack was annoyed, but he also felt bad that he had been so harsh to Chrissie earlier in the

day -- when hed said he would fire her if she didnt shape up, she looked like she was going to cry. So Jack grabbed the bag and headed into the Common. He knew that Chrissie would be headed toward the T stop, so he started running through the Common, using a short cut he knew to get there faster. He saw her on another path nearby, and sped up, running towards her. He was yelling Wait, Chrissie, hold on. You forgot your bag. Hold on. Ill catch up with you. Your bag! Hold it, Chrissie! He finally got close enough to reach her and was just approaching her from behind, when he remembers her turning and glaring t him just before he felt himself falling to the ground. His eyes were stinging and his nose hurt. Chrissie was a strong woman she was a basketball player, after all, who worked out with the team and Jack knew that her elbow to his nose might well have broken it and he couldnt see a thing. He couldnt imagine why Chrissie would try to hurt him since she wouldnt have any reason to think he might hurt her. He hadnt been out of line when he spoke to her at the theater. Maybe hed been a little harsh, but shed deserved that lecture. And now he was trying to help her by bringing her the bag! I was just trying to give you your bag, he said, startled by the incident. How could Chrissie have not known it was him? Hadnt she heard him yelling? Hed been calling out to her for a minute or two. Jack is still confused as to why Chrissie would do this to him. All of the anonymous employee upward reviews of management said how kind and thoughtful he was as a supervisor and person. In fact, he recalls one evaluation from an employee referring to him as the kindest person she had ever met. On several occasions at the theater, Jack had to intervene in confrontations and he would never lose his cool. Of course, he took his job seriously, but he never lost his temper in these situations even when provoked by customers or employees. He feels that he has been victimized by Chrissie on account of her bad temper and because she knew he was an easy target for her to take aggression out on. She reached down and helped him up, but by now Jacks injuries were smarting and he was mad. Whats with you and this temper you have? Im sick of you snapping like this. Youre fired! He dropped her bag and headed out of the Common. After a few feet, he heard his friend Ralph Furley calling his name. Ralph was an old friend Jack had known since high school. They had planned to meet in the Common after Jacks shift for a run. Ralph took Jack to the hospital. At the hospital, the doctor told Jack he had a broken nose. He also needed eye surgery because of a reaction he had to the pepper spray. His eyesight was okay in the end, but it took him several weeks to recover completely. When he spoke to the police about the incident, he told them he wanted to press charges.

Second Witness Ms. Janet Wood Janet Wood is a senior at Massachusetts Bay High School. Janet knows the defendant, Chrissie Snow, in several ways. First, Janet works with Chrissie at the Lowes movie theater in downtown Boston, near the Boston Commons. The two have been working at the movie theaters concession stand as a summer job. Also, both Chrissie and Janet play on the same summer league basketball team at Hyde Park. The two get along well and have become friends. Janet is a very good basketball player and is captain of her high school team. Every year, there are tryouts to earn a spot on the high school basketball team. Tryouts are in September. Because Chrissie recently moved to Boston, she will need to try out to earn a spot on the high school team. Knowing that Janet is the captain of the team, Chrissie has been very attentive to anything that Janet says. During the afternoon of August 1, 2006, both Chrissie and Janet were working their jobs at the movie theater. It was a very hot day and the movie theater was very busy because it was air conditioned. The move theater had not anticipated the crowds; consequently, both Chrissie and Janet were very busy due understaffing. Chrissie and Janet were both working the register that afternoon so they were standing next to each other. The theater employees were not the only ones who were a bit overwhelmed by this situationcustomers were also very agitated and some were acting unruly. All in all, the atmosphere at the theater was bad that day. At around 5:00 pm that afternoon, Janet noticed that two large men were at the front of the concession line and that Chrissie was taking their order. One was wearing a bright red t-shirt and a black baseball cap and the other was wearing a green t-shirt with no hat. Both were laughing, whispering, and generally behaving in an inappropriate manner. Janet saw that Chrissie was growing increasingly agitated by their conduct. Knowing that Chrissie could sometimes be sensitive, particularly about her height (Chrissie is fairly tall), Janet told her to just take their orders and ignore them. Chrissie listened and continued to try to take their order as politely as possible. Janet then turned back to her own line. A short time later Janets attention was again drawn to Chrissies line when she heard Chrissie say, If youre not going to place an order, you are going to have to step off the line. Janet saw that Chrissie was very frustrated but, before Janet could do anything, the man in the red shirt looked up at Chrissie and responded in a menacing manner, And who is going to make me? Chrissie looked right back and said, Get off my line now, or else. Janet was about to do something to calm Chrissie down but, before she could, their boss, Jack Tripper jumped in and had the men removed from the theater. Chrissie was clearly shaken by the incident and although she had stood up for herself, Janet could tell that Chrissie was upset and maybe even scared. After all, the two men were very angry and loud by the time they left and they kept staring and pointing at Chrissie as they were escorted out. Janet had intended to talk to Chrissie about the incident when their shift ended but never got a chance because Mr. Tripper pulled Chrissie aside just before shift end. Janet didnt hear what

Mr. Tripper told Chrissie but did see that Chrissie was extremely flustered, agitated, and even a little scared as she left the theater.

M E M O R A N D U M
To From Re

The Apprentice Attorneys The Senior Attorneys Witness: Ralph Furley Commonwealth v. Chrissie Snow

Date

Witness Mr. Ralph Furley Ralph Furley is the landlord of a Boston apartment building, which is owned by his brother, Bart Furley. Ralph became landlord after the previous landlords, Stanley and Helen Roper, left for another apartment building. Ralph is a very friendly man, and makes sure to get to know all of the people who live in his apartment building. Some people think that Ralph is goofy, because he dresses funny and says silly things. Most of the people who live in the building, the tenants, call him Mr. Furley. His relationship with his tenants is pretty good, but it has been rumored that Ralph spies on his tenants. Ralph Furley is not married, and has never been, but he still considers himself a ladies man. He wore outlandish leisure suits in very loud colors. He almost always wears a neckerchief.

Mr. Furley got to know Jack Tripper when Jack moved in as a tenant in the building, and they have never had any arguments. They consider themselves good friends with one another. One day, Jack noticed that Mr. Furley was huffing and puffing after only one flight of stairs, and suggested that Mr. Furley get in shape. It would make him healthier and also could help him get more dates. He and Jack began jogging together in the park, and set up a plan whereby twice a week, Mr. Furley would meet Jack after Jacks shift. Mr. Furley stretched out began to jog over to where he would meet Jack, right near the movie theater. He thought he saw Jack, who was running toward one of his employees, Chrissie, with a womans bag. Mr. Furley heard Jack yelling Wait! and something like I wanted to catch you! very loudly. He saw Chrissie turn around, elbow him in the nose, and spray him with what looked like pepper spray. Mr. Furley felt very bad for his friend Jack, and took him to the hospital for treatment. He told the police about what he had witnessed: it seemed like an unprovoked assault on his tenant and jogging partner.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT DEPARTMENT OF THE TRIAL COURT Case No. 05-CR-52-0168

COMMONWEALTH v. CHRISSIE SNOW

JURY INSTRUCTIONS
General Introduction Now that you have heard the evidence and the argument, it is my duty to instruct you about the applicable law. It is your duty to follow the law as I will state it and to apply it to the facts as you find them from the evidence in the case. You are the sole judges of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight their testimony deserves. Duty to Deliberate The verdict must represent the considered judgment of each of you. In order to return a verdict, it is necessary that each juror agree. Your verdict must be unanimous. Presumption of Innocence The defendant, Chrissie Snow, is presumed to be innocent of any crime. This is what is known as the presumption of innocence. That presumption remains with the defendant throughout the trial up to the point, if reached, where the Commonwealth proves her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Commonwealth has the burden of proving each element of each charge against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt, as I will define that obligation to you. This burden never shifts to the defendant. The defendant has no obligation to prove anything to you, whether by her testimony or other evidence. Reasonable Doubt The Commonwealth has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the crime of which he is accused. What is reasonable doubt? It is a term which is often used and probably pretty well understood, but not easily defined. It is the state of the case in which you, as jurors, after you have compared and considered all the evidence, find your minds left in such a condition that you cannot say that you feel an abiding conviction, to a moral certainty, that the charge against the defendant is true.

It is not sufficient for the Commonwealth to establish a probability, even a strong probability, that the charge against the defendant is more likely to be true than not. That is not enough. You must be satisfied to a near certainty that the defendant committed the crime. This and nothing less is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Nature of the Claim The defendant is charged with having committed an intentional assault and battery upon Jack Tripper pursuant to section 13A of chapter 265 of the Massachusetts General Laws. The Essential Elements of the Crime In order to prove the defendant guilty of intentional assault and battery, the Commonwealth must prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt: First, that the defendant touched the person of Jack Tripper, however slightly, without having any right or excuse for doing so; and Second, that the defendant intended to touch Jack Tripper. Intent to Touch The Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to touch Jack Tripper, in the sense that (1) the defendant consciously and deliberately intended the touching to occur, or (2) the defendant recklessly touched Jack Tripper. Proof that the touching was merely accidental or negligent is not sufficient. The Commonwealth is not required to prove that the defendant specifically intended to cause injury to Jack Tripper. Actual Injury Is Not Necessary It is not necessary for the Commonwealth to prove that the defendant actually caused injury to Jack Tripper. Any slight touching, so long as it is intentional and without justification, is sufficient. Self Defense In this case, the defendant has introduced evidence that she acted in self defense. Where there is evidence of self defense, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt not only the elements of the offense which I have just described to you, but also must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self defense. If the Commonwealth has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self defense, you must find the defendant not guilty. In other words, if you have a reasonable doubt whether or not the defendant acted in self defense, then you must find her not guilty. You must find the defendant not guilty if the Commonwealth does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self defense and does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant used force which was unreasonable and excessive in the 2

circumstances. Thus, if you have a reasonable doubt whether or not the defendant acted in self defense, and if you also have a reasonable doubt whether the defendant, in exercising her right of self defense, used excessive or unreasonable force you must find the defendant not guilty. In determining the issue of the reasonableness of the force used by the defendant, you should consider such matters as the evidence before you concerning the circumstances of the night in question, what means of escape or retreat was available to the defendant, and other such matters which appear to you to be significant in determining the reasonableness of the defendants conduct. Ordinarily, the question as to how far a person may properly go in self defense is a question for jurors such as yourselves, not to be judged idealistically, but with due regard to the infirmity of human impulses and passions. If the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe and did believe that she had done everything possible under the circumstances, including retreat, if possible, to avoid physical combat she is entitled to the privilege of self defense.

LIBA/1787288.1