Workshop for Beginning Legal Writing Teachers - AALS

schedule. The State will argue that a reasonable person in the same situation as
Mr. Lani would be reasonably afraid of Mr. Pemberque because a reasonable
person would be afraid if someone who knew his schedule.
Fourth, the State will argue that Mr. Pemberque’s car was visible from the
Lani residence, which was also the case in Ainslee. There, Ainslee parked on
the street approximately 60 to 100 feet from the victim’s house. Id. at 3.
Although the exact number of feet between Mr. Pemberque’s parked car and the
Lani residence has not yet been determined, the State will argue that Mr.
Pemberque’s car was visible because Mrs. Lani reported to the police that she
could see it from her house. In the Ainslee case, Ainslee’s car was visible from
the front window of the victim’s house. Id. at 3. Here, the State will argue that a
reasonable person in the same situation as the Lanis would be afraid because it
is not common for someone to routinely park outside another’s house and sit in
the car.
Next, the State will argue that Mr. Lani’s fear was reasonable under all the
circumstances. First, the State will argue that the plain language of the statute is
clear that the jury could consider all the circumstances. The State will argue that
here, like Ainslee, the jury should look at all the circumstances regarding Mr.
Lani. In Ainslee, the victim was a fourteen year-old girl. The State will argue that
here, like the victim in Ainslee, Mr. Lani’s circumstances are unique. The State
will point out that not only is Mr. Lani a registered sex offender, but he is also
developmentally delayed. The State will argue that a person in the same
situation as Mr. Lani would feel a stigma based on his sex offense conviction and
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Workshop for Beginning Legal Writing Teachers
Comment [MNB14]: Interesting point.
Comment [MNB15]: But how does that show
reasonable fear? Again, organize the arguments a bit
more conceptually , rather than organizing them
around facts. The comparison to the analogous case
should support the argument, but introduce the
argument in terms of the relevant legal concept.
Comment [MNB16]: In this draft, it seems like
your key points show up at the end of the paragraphs
� try to rework the paragraphs so that you move the
key points into the first sentence of each paragraph.
Comment [MNB17]: You said above that the
state had four arguments, and this is a fifth argument
paragraph. Make sure your roadmap is consistent
with the actual structure