Law Notes 3 CH 10 11 15 2013 The criminal law is currently primarily made up of statues passed by Congress and state legislatures There is a federal criminal code and a criminal code in each state Crime may be a positive or negative act that violates a penal law A crime is any act done in violation of those duties which an individual owes to the community and for the breach of which the law has provided that the offender shall make satisfaction to the public Civil law concerns civil and private rights and remedies Felony is a serious crime Misdemeanors are less serious crimes often called petty offenses that are grouped into class A B and C Violent crimes are ones where physical force is use ex Murder rape Crimes against property include burglary and theft White collar crimes are nonviolent crimes committed by corporations or individuals such as embezzlement bribery fraud There is often politics in the criminal law process To be convicted of a crime the government must prove beyond a reasonable The accused committed the illegal act That there was necessary intent or state of mind to commit the act Actus reus pefomring a wrongful deed Mens rea criminal intent that must be established showing the guilty doubt that mind Criminal negligence is a degree of carelessness amounting to a culpable disregard of rights and safety of others Businesses can be convicted of crimes When arrested the suspect must be read Miranda rights Right to silence Right to attorney Statements may be used against them It is inferred that there is corporate liability Commonwealth v Angelo Todesca Restrictions on prosecution 1 If a crime is not prosecuted within the time set by the statue of limitations 2 Statue of limitations may toll that is the clock stops running under certain circumstance ex Suspect flees country 3 Criminal can attempt to convince jury with alibi 4 Affirmative defense that is even if true there should be no crime charged such as self defense or insanity 5 Entrapment when traps are sprang on people Chain of custody The state gatherers or gatherers of evidence must show that the evidence was gathered handled and presented properly Fruit of a poisonous tree evidence gathered improperly By the exclusionary rule evidence gathered improperly may not be used in trial A warrant must be obtained unless the police are in hot pursuit A warrant is issued by a judge or appointed magistrate who in the name of the state authorizes an officer to search for and seize any property that may To obtain a warrant the officers must show probable cause to the judge be evidence of a crime United States v Young determine probable cause fulfilled Sometimes a grand jury is used to review potential felony cases and Typically if a prosecutor requests a indictment from a grand jury it is In non violent matters the suspect has a date in which they must surrender in violent matters typically the suspect is arrested There is a court appearance called an arraignment after suspects turn This arraignment is where the district attorney gives the accused a copy of themselves in criminal charges This meeting is before a judge or magistrate and the defendant may plead guilty no contest nolo contendere or innocent Depending on the severity of the crime after the arraignment the suspect is either Let go until trial Kept until trial Have to set bail to be let go until trial with each other evidence guilty defense lawyers defense to a moral certainty innocent A plea bargain is typically attempted at near arraignment to save time money and the uncertainty of trial In civil discovery phase both sides have to exchange all relevant information In a criminal trial each side is entrusted with doing their own investigating Under the constitution the prosecution must disclose any exculpatory Exculpatory evidence is evidence that might show that the defendant is not The lack of civil discovery tools can be a serious handicap for criminal The defense can keep its strategy of defense a secret Prosecutors can not interview or question the accused prior to trial The prosecution is much more structuralized for rules compared to the Beyond a reasonable doubt means that the evidence fully satisfied the court If the jury finds the accused not guilty that is the end of the criminal matter Those found that are acquitted are found not guilty it is not called Double jeopardy prevents a defendant from being tried a second time for the same crime Mistrial is when the jury can not decide White collar crimes used to refer to crimes made by people of high statue hence the white collars on business people shirts Blue collar refers to blue collars wore by everyday people White collar in the modern sense means criminal activity that is done for The FBI estimates that such crimes cause economic losses of at least a 1 3 financial gain trillion a year Antitrust Anticompetitive conduct and price fixing Bankruptcy Fraud This is committed when a person or corporation hides or lies about assets in bankruptcy proceedings Bribery The offer of or taking of money goods services or other things of value to influence official actions or decisions may be bribery Counterfeiting The copying of a genuine item without authorization especially when it is passed off for the genuine item Ex Currency designer clothes computers Credit Card Fraud The unauthorized use of a credit card to obtain goods services or cash Ex Using trash receipts making extra charges as a clerk Computer and Internet Fraud Using account numbers found in trash unauthorized use of computers and computer files along with sabotage of Economic Espionage The theft or misappropriation of valuable business information such as a trade secret is generally called economic espionage Penalties are harsh when it involves foreign businesses Embezzlement When someone is in a position of trust with money or other valued property and they take it for their use Environmental Law Violation Causing environmental harm by breaking a federal or state statue EPA has large enforcement and its goal is to force additional private sector spending on new pollution reduction methods Financial Fraud is the ability of federal regulatory agencies to oversee banks and other financial institutions to insure those firms are not involved in fraud in loans financial documents mortgages and other abuses Government Fraud insures that public agencies are using contracts legally which can be violated with double billing etc Also deals with federal