Reconsider the facts of the Brian/Alex scenario, which are r…
Reconsider the facts of the Brian/Alex scenario, which are reproduced below. Draft a Brief Legal Analysis of whether Alex can successfully assert an Assault claim against Brian. On a sunny afternoon in a busy outdoor tourist plaza in Chicago, Brian (he/him), a well-known street performer, is entertaining a crowd of several hundred people with a series of gymnastics and balancing tricks. After several impressive flips, Brian announces that he will now perform a more daring act involving audience participation. Brian calls out for a volunteer, and Alex (he/him) steps forward. Brian directs Alex to stand against a large wooden board at the other end of the performance area. Once Alex arrives at the wooden board, Brian asks Alex to hold out his arms to either side, so that his body forms a “T” shape. Brian then places a blindfold over Alex’s eyes. Brian then loudly announces to the crowd that he will perform a classic knife-throwing act, tossing knives around Alex’s body without striking him. And these knives, Brian announces, will be on fire! When Brian throws the first flaming-knife, it lands right above Alex’s shoulder on the board. After the knife hits the board, Alex, responding to the sound and to the slight heat he feels from the flame, yells “What was that!” Brian starts mocking Alex loudly for being nervous, and tells him to hold still or else he might get hit by the next flaming knife. Brian then starts describing in excruciating detail what would happen to Alex if he were hit by a flaming knife in various different parts of his body; his eye, his ear, his heart. Alex makes whimpering sounds but remains standing with his hands held out and his blindfold on. Brian then throws a second flaming knife, which lands inches from Alex’s head. Feeling the heat and hearing the sound of the knife, Brian rips off his blindfold and runs away from the crowd. Shortly afterwards, Alex goes to the local emergency room, where he is diagnosed as having a panic attack. Over the ensuing months, Alex has repeated daily panic attacks. In drafting your analysis, you should be sure to attempt the following:(i) State the relevant legal issue that is raised by these facts (which I largely gave from the prompt above)(ii) State the relevant legal rule or rules for resolving the issue.(iii) Directly apply the rule or rules to the facts. (iv) Analogize or distinguish at least one relevant case.(v) Offer the best counter-argument to your analysis; a counter-argument is not about which rules should be used in the analysis, but about how any specific rule should apply to the specific fact pattern; often it is effective to highlight what facts are not known but could impact the analysis.