2023-10-25
This is a set of ten scenarios that can be used as part of a controversy or argument assignment. They were adopted and perhaps adapted, from Matthew Pitchford.
When Emerald City was founded on the banks of the Emerald River, the waterway was a primary conduit for trade. Now, an increased need for electrical power and concerns about seasonal floods have resulted in a new law that will dam the river, flooding a large area north of the city.
This dam will be used to power the city, control flooding, and redirect water into irrigation programs for local agriculture and business. The dam will also displace at least 50 families who live in what will become the new Emerald Lake. It will render several logging companies inoperable by changing the river water course, flooding logging forests, and ruining their unmovable mill equipment.
One family, the Donovans, refuse to leave their property and have warned that any police or construction workers who trespass will be met with force. They have already fired warning shots at several officers. The family has lived in the area for generations, and they say that there is nowhere else for them to go. They would “rather drown” than leave. Police argued that the family has no legal right to the land and will remove them before the dam becomes operational.
Should the family be forced out of their home?
Five hundred years ago, Invados annexed the lands of neighboring Pacifica. The people of Pacifica resisted Invados, and in the ensuing battles, thousands of Pacifics were killed and many of their villages were destroyed.
The annexation provided Invados with lush lands and a seaport, allowing the nation to become rich and powerful. The few Pacifics who survived the annexation were forced into poverty and had to sell homemade goods to earn a living.
Over generations, Pacifica goods became fashionable commodities in Invados. As descendants of the murdered and persecuted Pacifics gained social status, they proposed a system for financial reparations to be paid for the crimes Invados committed against their ancestors. The proposal was accepted, requiring each Invados citizen to pay an annual tax for the reparations.
However, a citizen named James refuses to pay the tax. He says he did no wrong, and a museum of Pacifica culture and a formal apology by Invados is proof that the nation had already taken steps to redress the crimes of its past.
Should James be prosecuted for refusing?
Peter has had a fairly tough life. Unfortunately, he did not cope well and developed a serious alcohol problem. As a result, he became increasingly depressed and ill-tempered. On the day that he had lost yet another job, he decided to get seriously drunk at the local bar. Feeling utterly hopeless and in a dangerously angry mood upon his return home, Peter found his wife in bed with his former boss. Enraged, he killed both of them.
Afterward, he wandered the streets of Atlantis for hours in despair before jumping off a bridge into the local river. He survived this suicide attempt however and was found many miles downstream half-dead, having sustained a serious head injury. Peter recovered but lost all of his memories. The inhabitants of the village where he was found decided to not bother him with any more questions and just accepted him into their community.
Peter called himself Gregory, accepted work on a farm and lived a happy life in the village. He did not regain his memories. Indeed, he even fell in love, married, and started a family on a farm of his own.
Years later, one of his former colleagues was passing through the village, saw Peter, and notified the police who immediately arrested him. He was tried for murder.
Should he be convicted and punished?
The citizens of Atlantis have recently voted upon a controversial drilling policy. This policy would allow companies to drill for oil and natural gas in Atlantis’ national parks. The oil and gas industries campaigned strongly for the policy, including running television advertisements that described how crucial their industries had been since the recent economic recession in Atlantis. These ads were called “highly emotional” and “misleading” by critics.
Environmental activists campaigned against the policy, stating that it would greatly exacerbate the effects of climate change not only in Atlantis but across the world.
The policy vote was close and came down to the votes of one city, Energia. Energia was home to thousands of oil and gas workers, who said they would likely lose their jobs if this policy failed. Energia had not changed its voting laws in decades and was notorious for voter suppression. The drilling policy failed to pass, leading to the reduction of oil and gas drilling in Atlantis and the loss of many jobs in Energia.
Years later, it was revealed that a climate activist named Daniel had tampered with the votes to suppress the number of “yes” votes in the key city. He claims that he was justified in defying the popular will because the policy would have had such detrimental effects.
Should Daniel be prosecuted for his actions?
A pair of twins named Andrea and Emily were born with a rare blood type as well as an extremely rare genetic defect which caused the gradual diminution of half of their vital organs. Their condition makes it difficult to live a normal life and causes them constant pain.
At the age of twenty, both twins are faced with the diagnosis that without a multiple organ transplant, they will die slowly within three years. The ensuing search for potential organ donors ends unsuccessfully. There is little time left.
Thereupon Andrea, the first of the twins, confronts their doctor (Dr. Moore) with the request to transfer her healthy organs to her sister Emily so that Emily could lead a normal life. The doctor clearly explains the consequences: Andrea will die. Andrea nevertheless insists. Their doctor refuses, citing his oath to heal and support life.
After a week of searching, Andrea finds another doctor, Dr. Webber, who accepts her request and goes ahead with the transplantation. The operation proceeds as planned and completely heals Emily while Andrea dies. The medical board of Atlantis brings charges against Dr. Webber, seeking to strip him of his medical license. He is also put on trial for assisted manslaughter.
Should Dr. Webber be found guilty?
Logan, a wealthy entrepreneur, and Elliot, an unemployed writer, are next-door neighbors. While their properties are adjacent (separated by a short wooden fence), their situations are different. Logan uses his large estate for a luxurious flower garden. Elliot takes care of ten beehives as his only source of income.
Logan’s business has recently suffered, and the debts from his lifestyle are mounting quickly. He decides to invite many of his former business partners to lavish dinner parties in his flower garden, hoping they will invest in his latest business venture. However, these parties are lately interrupted by bees from Elliot’s beehives, which scare the guests and disrupt the conversation.
Logan had complained for years that Elliot’s bees were stealing the nectar from his flowers, and now they are threatening his business prospects. Logan demands that Elliot remove his hives. Elliot refuses and after months of waiting, Logan secretly sprays his flowers with poison one night. Within days, all of Elliot’s bees have died and he sues Logan.
Should Elliot receive compensation from Logan?
Erica is a nineteen-year-old member of a religious sect in Atlantis; her fellow church members represent her primary community. On her way to work one day, she is hit by a car and is severely injured. Just before she arrives at the hospital, she tells a nearby nurse that due to her religious beliefs, she cannot accept a blood transfusion. She states that her religious beliefs teach that she will be miraculously healed. She says this while drifting in and out of consciousness.
Her doctor, Dr. Levi, grew up in a religious household but no longer practices any religion. He knows that with a transfusion, Erica has a strong chance of living for an additional thirty years. Disregarding Erica’s wishes, Dr. Levi gives her a blood transfusion while she is passed out, saving his life. After her recovery, Erica petitions to have Dr. Levi stripped of his medical license.
Should Dr. Levi face this punishment for his actions?
Michael, a known convict, kidnaps a five-year-old boy named Oliver from a playground in the capital city of Atlantis. Michael is captured a few hours later and confesses to the kidnapping but refuses to tell the police where he hid Oliver. Michael demands one million dollars to reveal where the boy is hidden, but Oliver’s parents cannot pay. Oliver has a medical condition that requires medicine every 24 hours or he will die.
The police officer in charge of this case, Officer Howard, had a son who was killed ten years ago. He is an experienced interrogator, but after twenty hours he has been unable to get Michael to reveal the boy’s location. Officer Howard threatens that he will torture Michael if he does not give them the information he wants. Michael refuses.
Subsequently, Officer Howard forces Michael under an ice-cold shower and burns his hands with a candle. Within thirty minutes Michael collapses and reveals the hiding place. The son is rescued, and the police officer is accused of torturing Michael.
Should Officer Howard be prosecuted for torturing Michael?
A conservative politician, Senator Austin, has been elected president of Atlantis. Because a friend had been killed by an undocumented immigrant, he advocated for xenophobic policies. He advocated stripping a substantial number of citizens of their civil rights, introducing a strict immigration policy, and limiting voting rights to people who are at least third-generation Atlanteans. He has also announced the establishment of secret police and tribunals.
Only weeks after the elections and before Senator Austin can take office, a woman named Melanie assassinates Senator Austin. Melanie is a civil rights activist who has been strongly opposing Austin’s campaign. Right after assassinating the president-elect, Melanie turns herself into the authorities. In her confession, Melanie claims that by killing Austin, she had defended Atlantis from a tyrant.
You are on the eventual jury, should she be convicted of murder?
Undercover police agent Julia has spent several years infiltrating a large drug cartel that is known to participate in kidnapping and human trafficking. She has finally gained the trust of the organization’s boss, Richard. As a final test, Richard sends Julia to kill Connor, the leader of a rival clan. Julia knows that Connor has been sentenced to death in a murder case the year before and has recently escaped from a high-security prison. She also knows that her own life is in immediate danger should she fail to obey Richard in this case.
Unable to inform her police contact person without blowing her cover and under constant supervision of Richard’s men, Julia is driven to the hideout of Connor and his gang. She enters the house, kills Conner, and reports to Richard.
A few weeks later the valuable information that Julia has gathered leads to the arrest of the leaders of the cartel and the destruction of their entire criminal organization. Only at this point are the police informed about Richard’s order to Julia and its link to Connor’s unsolved death.
Julia is arrested. Should she be found guilty?