...would be a spouse seeking to hire an assassin to murder their husband or wife. The murder need not take place for an offense to have been committed. The preliminary offense is the solicitation and hiring of the assassin and the person who hired that assassin could be charged criminally even if the murder was not carried out. solicitation is requesting, encouraging or demanding someone to engage in criminal conduct, with the intent to facilitate or contribute to the commission of that crime. Most commonly, solicitation refers to solicitation of prostitution the crime of soliciting someone to engage in prostitution.Though state laws vary, to be guilty of solicitation, one must: request that someone else engage in criminal conduct; and have the intention to engage in criminal conduct with that person. A criminal conspiracy exists when two or more people agree to commit almost any unlawful act, then take some action toward its competition. Then the action taken need not itself be a crime but it must indicate those involved in the conspiracy knew the plan and intended on breaking the law. For example, Andy, Dan, and Alice plan a bank robbery. They 1) visit the bank first to assess security, 2) pool their money and buy a gun together, and 3) write a demand letter. All three can be charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, regardless of whether the robbery itself is actually attempted or completed. I have learned that you don't have to actually do the crime to do the time. All that...
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...avoidance schemes. Birkenfeld's $104 million reward works out at $4,600 for every hour of the two and a half years he spent in prison. He took advantage of a 2006 law passed by Congress that awards whistleblowers up to 30 percent of the revenue they help to recover with the information that they supply to the IRS. Part of a case that shook Swiss banking to its core in 2009 when UBS entered into a prosecution agreement and paid $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution to settle charges that it helped 17,000 U.S. clients hide $20 billion. The money was awarded to Mr. Birkenfeld after he told U.S. authorities about illicit banking practices that were encouraged by the Swiss banking giant that led to UBS paying $780 million in fines and agreeing to hand over information on more than 4,000 Swiss bank account holders to avoid a criminal case. In 2006, Congress strengthened whistleblower rewards. The 2006 law targets high income tax dodgers, guaranteeing rewards for qualified whistleblowers if the company in question owes a least $2 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties. Some lawmakers, however, have complained that the IRS has been slow to pay out awards. Beginning in the summer of 2007, the information Birkenfeld provided over a series of meetings criminal and civil investigations into UBS. To avoid criminal prosecution, the bank agreed to pay a $780 million fine and, turned over names of thousands of American account holders to the IRS. Birkenfeld provided information...
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...Criminal Law Midterm Part B Crime has been part of the human condition since people began to live in groups. Ancient documents indicate that activities such as murder, theft, and robbery were defined as criminal by civilizations that existed before biblical times. The bible recounts stories of crimes such as Cain killing Abel, and the parable of the Good Samaritan, who came to the assistance of a man who had been assaulted and robbed.[i] Criminal laws regulate human behavior and tell people what they cannot do and in some instances, what they must do under certain circumstances. Throughout history, all societies have had criminal codes regulating conduct .Democracies have always sought to transform their basic principles and ideals into achievable goals through a system of laws that balance the rights of individuals with the compelling needs of society as a whole. These goals include public order, domestic tranquility, and protection of the basic rights of individuals.[ii] Because governments in democracies are the servants and not the masters of the people, laws should be the product of the will of the people. Criminal justice systems in democracies operate most successfully when the majority of people believe that the laws are reasonable and that the system can operate efficiently and effectively. The issue of what laws should be enacted often causes serious public debate. Laws are enacted by elected representatives of the people they are enforced...
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...Memorandum The issue being discussed within this memorandum is whether or not a person is capable, by law, to intentionally and premeditatedly commit homicide while Intoxicated; since this is usually considered involuntary or reckless, manslaughter. Under Virginia law, murder is defined as "the unlawful killing of another with malice aforethought." Stapleton v. Commonwealth, 123 Va. 825, 96 S. E. 801; Premeditation, or specific intent to kill, distinguishes murder in the first from murder in the second degree; proof of this element is essential to conviction of the former offense, and the burden of proving it clearly rests with the prosecution. Shiflett v. Commonwealth, 143 Va. 609, 130 S. E. 777; Jefferson v. Commonwealth, 214 Va. 432, 201 S. E. 2d 749. Joe a resident of Norfork, Virginia, is angry with his boss, Jerry, because he has just been fired. Joe goes to a bar and drowns his sorrows in 4 pints of been. Joe leaves the bar with a new degree of “liquid courage.” He goes into the hardware store and purchases a knife, he then staggers straight to Jerry’s house. He bursts into Jerry’s house, hunts down Jerry, and kills him with the knife. Joe is arrested and tried for first degree murder. The prosecution alleges that the murder was premeditated and announces that it will be seeking the death penalty for Joe. Joe claims that although the murder was planned and voluntary, he was so drunk that he could not have properly formed the intent to kill and should therefore not be...
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...Criminal Law Evaluation This paper is going to examine both the sources and purposes of criminal law. In addition to Identifying and explaining jurisdiction of individual states, local, and federal enforce of criminal law. Moreover, there are two standards of proof in criminal cases proof beyond reasonable doubt and the other one is a criminal act has to have been committed with criminal intent. Adversarial system is important to the criminal justice system because it consist of two advocates representing two different sides in front of a jury or judge to determine what is true and false. Discuss and differentiate the concepts of criminal liability and accomplice liability. Also, three different types of inchoate offenses that will be discussed are solicitation, conspiracy, and attempt. The purpose of criminal law is to make sure society does not experience harm, to warn them of the consequences, to define what the intent is for all offenses, to inform society of the seriousness of the of offenses, to punish people for their wrong doings, and to make sure the victim and anyone connected including the public receive justice (Schmalleger, 2010). Criminal law also provides society with regulations and informs people of the consequences for breaking the law. For example, it makes a distinction in regard to petty and severe crimes. In addition to conveying criminal laws purpose is to keep society safe by giving and enforcing rules with deterrence, rehabilitation, and punishments...
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...TABLE OF CONTENTS TO CRIM LAW (Levine) I. Overview of CJS A. Theories of Punishment 1. Utilitarian 2. Retributive B. Who should be punished? 1. Excuse (Because of personal condition X I shouldn’t be punished) 2. Justification (I acted in the right way and don’t deserve to be punished) C. Principles that Limit Punishment 1. Legality, Vagueness Lenity II. Components of a Crime A. Actus Reus 1. Conduct 2. Attendant Circumstances 3. Social Harm 4. Causation a. Actual Causation b. Proximate Cause i. Common law: Intervening Cause? ii. MPC: Built into culpability standards 5. Concurrence of Elements B. Mens Rea 1. Common Law Standard 2. MPC Culpability Standard 3. Specific Intent 4. Transferred Intent 5. Strict Liability Crimes 6. Role of Mistake a. Mistake of Fact b. Mistake of Law C. Concurrence of Elements III. Homicide A. Common Law 1. Murder a. 1st Degree Murder b. 2nd Degree Murder 2. Manslaughter a. Adequate Provocation b. Criminal Negligence c. Misdemeanor-Mansalguther B. MPC 1. Murder 2. Manslaughter 3. Criminal Negligence C. Felony Murder Rule 1. Limitations a. Inherently...
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...From: Brittani Herring To: Reader Date: July 24, 2013 Re: Status Punishment Facts In the case of Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962), the Supreme Court ruled that a law may not punish a status; i.e., one may not be punished to being an alcoholic or for being addicted to drugs. However, of course, one may be punished for actions such as abusing drugs. The question becomes; What if the status “forces” the action? What if a person, because of his/her addiction to drugs, is “forced” by the addiction to purchase and abuse the illegal drugs? Would punishing that person be unfairly punishing a status? Issue The issue in this case is whether or not punishing a person that is addicted to drugs to be unfairly punishing a status? Applicable Law La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 40:962 provides in part: A. It is unlawful for any person to manufacture, possess, have under his control, sell, give, deliver, transport, prescribe, administer dispense, or compound any narcotic drug, except as provided in this sub-part or to become an addict as defined in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 40:961. Section 40:961(1) provides that "addict" means a person who habitually uses one or more of the narcotic drugs defined in § 40:961 to such an extent as to create a tolerance for such drug, or drugs, and who does not have a medical need for the use of such drug, or drugs. In the case of State v. Bruno, 253 La. 669 (La. 1969), the defendant claimed that La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 40:961, 40:962 upon which he...
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...Criminal Law Jordan Miller CJA 354 September 24, 2012 Kristin Mildenberger Criminal Law Former Chief Justice and President of the United States from 1909 to 1913, William Howard Taft once stated “Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.” That statement currently remains to hold true. The first Supreme Court was called to assemble on February 1, 1790, at which time the powers and duties of the Supreme Court were established. The United States Supreme Court currently has one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices and is the highest judicial body in the United States. In the 2009 case of the Supreme Court vs. Joel Tenenbaum, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued former Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum for file sharing 30 songs he illegally downloaded from the Internet. According to Bloomberg (2012): The court, without comment, refused to hear Tenenbaums challenge to a law that let the recording industry collect thousands of dollars from individuals for such downloading. The jury was told to impose damages, set by US copyright law, of between $750 and $150,000 per violation. Jurors set a rate of $22,500 for each of 30 songs he downloaded. (para. 2) A jury subsequently ordered Tenenbaum to pay $675,000 in fines directly associated with each of the 30 illegally downloaded and shared songs. "I find it hard to believe that the legal system would uphold a six-figure sum against someone just for downloading music," Tenenbaum...
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...Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner [1969] (DC) | Actus Reus/ Mens Rea | Continuing act theory- Actus reus continuing for the whole time the car was on foot, mens rea at the point of realisation and not willing to move. | R v Miller [1983] (HL) | Coincidence of MR/AR | When D creates a dangerous Situation, they have a duty to act- failure to act amounts to AR (MR= recklessness). | R v Church [1966] (CA) | Coincidence of MR/AR | D will be liable for murder if entire incident can be viewed as a ‘series of events’ designed to cause GBH/ Murder. MR/AR will be established when they occur at some point during single transaction. | R v White [1910] | ‘But for’ test, Factual Causation | Not factual cause of death if mother would have died ‘but for’ D’s actions. | R v Pagett (1983) (CA) | Legal Causation, Multiple causes | D’s act need not be the sole or main cause, only a cause that ‘contributed significantly’ to the result. | R v Roberts (1972) (CA) | Intervening acts, victim’s reaction | The chain of causation will only be broken if the victim’s reactions were ‘so daft’ as to be unforeseeable. | R v Blaue [1975] (CA) | The ‘Thin Skull’ rule | Held the ‘thin skull’ rule also applies to individual psychological make up and beliefs, not just physical conditions. | R v Pittwood (1902) | Duty to act, Contract | A person under contract will be liable for harmful consequences of his failure to perform contractual obligations. | Gibbins v Proctor [1919] | Actus reus, omissions-...
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...LS-03 Introduction to Law and the Legal Profession Unit 6: Criminal Law: Summary What constitutes discipline? What constitutes abuse? Different cultures – different cultural connotations – difficult to universalize Punishment in Schools: 31 states do not allow corporal punishment in schools; southern states allow teachers to discipline children. Now there is a tremendous emphasis in our culture on abuse/neglect of children. Death Penalty: there are many cases where people are exonerated after many years. At least they can get out and have freedom. They got rid of Apartheid – people who took a stand, i.e. Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela “committed” civil disobedience – yet were the catalyst for new/better laws to evolve. Bullies in school is a problem – if teachers hit a child, it adds to corporal punishment. Does corporal punishment in schools have a positive affect? The evidence shows that countries an states that do not have a death penalty – murder rates are lower. Criminologists believe that having a death penalty in place – creates a cycle of violence. Are the shootings in the schools a result of corporal punishment? We must look at Colorado to explore this question. Identifying Criminal Law: Elements of a Crime – criminal law is straight forward. Every crime has 3 elements: GUILTY MIND: to punish intentionally wrong conduct OJ Simpson case – he was charged with murdering his wife and waiter on Goldman. The prosecutor had the burden of proof. OJs attorneys...
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... WATCH OUT IF THE CRIME IS “ATTEMPTED …” - THEN INTENT IS NEEDED CRIMINAL LAW MURDER • Murder: To be guilty of murder, one must unlawfully kill another human being with malice aforethought which may be (i) intent to kill; (ii) intent to inflict great bodily injury; (iii) reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (depraved heart); or (iv) the intent to commit a felony. • At common law, the crime of attempted murder requires both a specific intent by the actor to kill the victim and an act that puts the D in close proximity to completing the crime (For MPC, it must be a “substantial step” rather than close proximity). • If you intend to kill A but kill B instead, you cannot be guilty of the ATTEMPTED murder of B. • If you want to kill A, but shoot at B thinking it is A, and you wound C, you are guilty of the attempted murder of B (MBE 1992) • You are liable for murder if your act was not only the “but for” cause, but also a natural and foreseeable result – the “proximate” cause. • Accidental killing committed during the course of a felony is common law murder. • Common law murder is wanton and reckless. • No crime if you systematically deprive child of food, don’t call doctor, child would have died from malnutrition in a few months, but child’s cause of death is cancer. • Russian roulette is a killing with “abandoned and malignant heart” b/c it exhibits a recklessness indifference to the “very high” risk of death or serious injury. • Depraved...
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...Criminal Law CJA/354 January 28, 2015 Pamela Collinshill Criminal Law While searching for a recent Supreme Court criminal case, I came across a recent Supreme Court ruling of a case that involved the decision of whether or not it is unconstitutional to impose a mandatory life-without-parole sentence on someone who is under the age of 18 at the time the crime is committed. The case that was brought to the Supreme Court, and that ultimately led to the decision that, yes, imposing mandatory life-without-parole onto a juvenile is unconstitutional, was the case of Miller v. Alabama. In the case of Miller v. Alabama, on the night of July 15, 2003, 14 year old Evan Miller committed a murder and then preceded to set the home on fire of where the murder was committed. He was charged with and convicted of capital murder in the course of arson and given the mandatory sentence of life without parole. What interested me about this case as well as the resulting Supreme Court ruling due to this case, is the fact that it deals with the issue of giving juveniles adult sentences. I personally do not believe that anyone who commits a crime whilst under the age of 18 should receive mandatory life without parole or death sentences, so I am in favor of the new Supreme Court ruling. However I am not saying that just because you are under the age of 18 that you should be let off easy. I still think that some harsh punishment and strict supervision is in order,...
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...CJ230: Criminal Law for Criminal Justice 06/29/13 The Case I chose for my scenario is the Elizabeth Smart case from Salt Lake City, Idaho. Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her home around 1 a.m. on June 5, 2002, a man with a knife entered the bedroom of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart and her nine-year-old sister Mary Katherine and forced Elizabeth to leave the house and walk into the woods four miles behind her Salt Lake City home to a secluded campsite. Nine months later, Elizabeth Smart was found in nearby Sandy, Utah after spending months at the campsite, traveling to California, and returning to Utah with her captors. Brain David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, were charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated burglary. The giving rise to the criminal prosecution in Elizabeth Smart case was that she testified step by step what she went through, in nine month of hell, she was taking across Stateline to California and all of the evidence that was collected while police investigation was going on, like the link of cable, the knife, the wig that was purchased to disguise Elizabeth Smart, sunglasses, etc. The legal definition of "kidnapping" under federal law is when someone unlawfully and willfully seizes, kidnaps, or abducts another person over state lines. Carrying someone away and holding him/her for ransom also qualifies as kidnapping. If the kidnapping never crosses state lines or affects interstate commerce, then it's not a federal...
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...Criminal Law Paper July 18, 2016 The criminal U.S. Supreme Court case that I choose is Ohio v. Clark from June 18th, 2015. This is a case about child abuse, and the proper people in the education system doing what they are taught to do when a possible child being abused is found in the school system. This case interested me because I wanted to learn about how schools handle child abuse situations. In the case Ohio v. Clark a little boy named L.P. went to school with a bloodshot eye and scratch marks on his face and body. The teacher notified the supervisor of the problem, and the supervisor took it from there. When asked by the supervisor L.P. claimed that he had fallen and gotten hurt on his eye. The Supervisor knew best, and continued to ask L.P. what was going on at home, and who was the one who hurt his eye. L.P. of course did not want to tell on anyone who was hurting him because he did not want to be in trouble. He finally said the name of the person was Dee and police went to arrest her for abuse of a child. The teacher who discovered the marks on the child’s body did the right thing by waiting for the Supervisor to look at it and diagnose it, because then there is documentation that the proper chains of command were in order. No child should have to suffer through that abuse. It should be a criminal act for an educational professional to see signs of child abuse and not report it to the proper officials. Accomplice liability allows the court to charge someone...
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...murder] VOLUNTARY ACTS: Definition: The D’s act must be voluntary in the sense that it must be a conscious exercise of the will. Rationale: An involuntary act will not be deterred by punishment. Not voluntary // not liable: Conduct that is not the product of the actor’s determination. E.g. A shoves B into C w/ result that C falls to death. Reflexive or convulsive acts Acts performed while the D was either unconscious or asleep UNLESS the D knew that he might fall asleep or become unconscious and engaged in the dangerous behavior. MARTIN V. STATE: Police arrested drunk Martin at home and brought him to highway – convicted of being drunk on highway Criminal liability must be based on conduct which includes a voluntary act or omission to act which was physically possible to be performed. Rationale: Law rests on premise that wrongful act must be chosen Volition separates an act from a bodily movement. My arm went up v. I raised my arm – you will your body to move PEOPLE V. DECINA: Epileptic suffered a seizure while driving;...
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