Chapter 10: Criminal Law and Cyber Crime

Arthur is arrested for the crime of murder. Arthur denies that he committed the crime and is planning a vigorous defense. The state will be required to show evidence to prove its case:

beyond a reasonable doubt (in a criminal case, the state must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt)

Jonas is arrested for the criminal offense of attacking and injuring a neighbor in the neighbor's front yard. After the arrest, he is concerned about potential civil liability. Which of the following should he be concerned about in regards to both criminal and civil liability in this case?

assault and battery (assault can be both a criminal offense and a tort)

Joseph, a sixteen-year-old honor student, calls 911 from a pay phone to report a possible bomb in the town square. He has no evidence of any bomb, does not have a bomb or any materials to make a bomb, and has no intention of placing one in the town square. He is arrested for making a terrorist threat and claims that he has not committed a criminal offense. A court will likely:

find Joseph guilty of making a terrorist threat based on criminal recklessness

Henry is distressed after losing his job, so he visits a local tavern and has seven drinks. While driving home at a high rate of speed, Henry collides with Irene's car, killing her. Henry has likely committed:

involuntary manslaughter (a homicide is classified as involuntary manslaughter when it results from an act of criminal negligence and there is no intent to kill)

Starla was killed when her car struck a horse that was roaming on the highway with several other horses. The Sea Horse Ranch owned the horses, which were property of the corporation that owned the ranch. The horses frequently escaped through poorly maintained fences surrounding the ranch. Shipley, the ranch's owner and president of the corporation, had been cited by the police and the humane society for allowing his horses to run free on the highway. The state sought to prosecute both the Sea Horse Ranch and Shipley for involuntary manslaughter. Can the Sea Horse Ranch corporation be held liable for the crime?

Yes, because a corporation can be held liable for the criminal actions of its officers (under criminal law, a corp can be held vicariously [indirectly] liable for crimes committed by its agents. Although the corp cannot be imprisoned, it can be punished by fines or the withholding of privileges.)

April owns a diamond ring that she often takes off and places on her desk while she works. She is usually careful to put it back on whenever she leaves her desk. One day, she went to lunch and forgot to take the ring. Olivia picked up the ring and did not return it to April. Olivia has probably committed the crime of:

larceny (Olivia probs committed larceny when she took April's ring. Larceny is the crime of wrongfully or fraudulently taking and carrying away someone's personal property.)

Morris owns a bicycle store. He often leaves Daniel in charge of the store. One Saturday evening, after Daniel leaves the store, Morris discovers that he is missing $900 from the register. If Daniel took the cash, he could be found guilty of the crime of:

embezzlement (If leaving Daniel in charge of the store involved entrusting him with the store's funds, he could be guilty of embezzlement. Embezzlement occurs when a person wrongfully appropriates property that has been entrusted to him or her by another. Note the importance of the entrustment, knowingly giving the property to another, which differentiates embezzlement from other crimes involving the taking of property.)

Chloe advertises on the radio that she is selling a car guaranteed to get thirty-five miles per gallon. Chloe knows that the car will not do what she claims it will. Chloe may be successfully prosecuted:

for the federal crime of wire fraud (Chloe has used the wires (radio waves) to defraud the public, which is a federal crime. If convicted, Chloe may be fined up to $1,000, imprisoned for up to 20 years, or both. Wire fraud might be a crime in Chloe's state, and she may be prosecuted at the state level as well.)

Glenn gives Senator Smith $100,000 so that Senator Smith will make sure the federal government buys all its paper clips from Glenn's company. Glenn has:

committed the crime of bribery (Glenn has committed the crime of bribery. Bribery requires giving something to another to obtain a private benefit. It may be done to a private person (such as a corporate officer for contractual approval or a college professor for a better grade). In this case, assuming that Glenn had the requisite intent, he committed bribery of a public official.)

Gavin runs an illegal gambling operation out of the back of a store that he owns. The store shows increasing profits because Gavin reports the profits of his gambling operation as legitimate store income on his tax returns. Gavin is engaged in:

money laundering (Gavin is engaged in money laundering. Money laundering is the channeling of illegally gained profits through a legitimate business to give the funds the appearance of legitimacy.)

Justin is the accountant for a trucking company. A driver, Andrew, holds a gun to Justin's head and forces him to steal from the company. Justin falsifies records, obtains cash, and gives it to Andrew. If criminal charges are brought against Justin, he can assert the defense of:

duress (Justin can assert the defense of duress. Duress is when the wrongful threat of one person induces another person to perform an act that he or she would not otherwise have performed. Andrew induced Justin to commit a crime by threatening him.)

Undercover agents of the Greenville Police invite Mack to purchase a stolen truck. Mack refuses initially, but the agents repeatedly visit Mack's home and businesses over a period of weeks, and eventually Mack agrees. In addition, they send someone to damage Mack's current vehicle so his need for the truck is greatly increased. If criminal charges are brought against Mack, he can assert the defense of:

entrapment (Entrapment is a defense designed to prevent police officers or other government agents from enticing persons to commit crimes so that they can later be prosecuted for criminal acts. In the typical entrapment case, an undercover agent suggests that a crime be committed and pressures or induces an individual to commit it. The agent then arrests the individual for the crime.)

Gage and his brother Richard have robbed several stores. When they attempt to rob Al's Deli, Al shoots Richard in the foot. Richard is caught and arrested. Gage continues committing crimes, and Richard is offered immunity in return for testifying against his brother. If Richard accepts,

his testimony will not be used against him (The grant of immunity protects Richard from having his testimony used against him.)

The Department of Justice wants access to the telephone records of a major newspaper. The requirement for a search warrant, an order from a judge authorizing the search of the records, would be required under the:

fourth amendment (The Fourth Amendment requires a warrant for a search.)

Officer Pinkerton has an intuition that Jason's car contains illegal narcotics. Based on that intuition, he stops Jason's car and searches it. The search will be considered:

invalid because officer pinkerton does not have probable cause to search the vehicle (An intuition is not sufficient evidence to show probable cause. Probable cause requires officers to have trustworthy evidence, which would convince a reasonable person that the proposed search or seizure is more likely justified than not.)

A police officer notices the presence of a stolen car in Elena's driveway, seizes the car, and arrests her. Elena expected that her driveway was a private space. The Fourth Amendment's protection against searches and seizures would:

not apply because Elena's expectation of privacy is not one that society would consider legitimate

Vince relies on his computer skills to have enough money to attend college. He breaks into computer systems to transfer funds to his own accounts. He occasionally gets paid by other students for breaking into the university's computers to alter their grades. Vince is what is commonly referred to as a:

hacker (A person who uses one computer to break into another is commonly referred to as a hacker.)

Gunther posted an expensive item on an online auction site. Dominic offers the highest bid and sends payment to Gunther. Gunther then refuses to send the product to Dominic. Gunther has committed:

online auction fraud (Online auction fraud occurs when a person puts up an expensive item for auction, on either a legitimate or a fake auction site, and then refuses to send the product after receiving payment.)