Questions tagged [criminal-law]
For questions about laws related to crime. Please add a location tag if the question is specific to a particular jurisdiction.
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Is reasonable doubt that of >=9.1% probability? [duplicate]
The criminal burden of proof (ie beyondA reasonable doubt) is famously attributed to “Blackstone’s Ratio”:
It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.
I’m not sure if ...
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Is TfL a public body as under s17(6)(d) POA1985?
Section 17(6)(d) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 lays out certain criteria which render an organisation subject to the prosecution rules for a public body:
d)any other authority or body whose ...
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Is drunk driving a malum prohibitum or malum in se?
In common-law jurisdictions where driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol is illegal (presumably all of them?), is drunk driving considered malum prohibitum or malum in se?
I am aware ...
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What is it called when a public body that does not primarily exist to prosecute crimes brings a prosecution?
Some offences may be prosecuted by, in addition to the CPS, other public bodies, like local authorities or transportation authorities. Even while these are public and not private bodies, would one ...
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How may one go about finding a definite reference to one or more examples of specific criminal cases that were prosecuted by or on behalf of TfL?
According to TfL’s official prosecutions policy, it seems as though they may do some of the prosecutions themselves. How could one go about finding examples of such cases that have been prosecuted in ...
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Where can I read detailed sequence of events in court cases?
I am a graduate student but not a lawyer, so I have access to databases that might be needed for this through the university library website.
I am looking for fun reading, mostly. I was once told that ...
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Why are US convicts sent to prison with a public "rap sheet" detailing the charges against them?
I watched a documentary where it was stated that US convicts would be sent to prison with a piece of paper detailing what they have been convicted of. Many other inmates would try to steal this ...
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Could my son get in legal trouble for a poor taste joke he made on social media?
My son is 16 and runs a meme page on Instagram. A couple of hours ago, he posted a photograph of Lord Mountbatten with the caption "hey British people, the IRA made Lord Mountbatten go boom, how ...
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I was asked to leave a store for no reason,then employee snatched item out my hand that belonged to me, I was the ordered out of the store,legal?
I went to the store to return a item but I didn't have the correct receipt,so continued into the store to purchase other items.The Mgr came up to me and told me to leave the store, I asked him why?He ...
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Can psychiatric illness factor into the question of guilt?
Imagine a patient suffers from Tourette’s, which causes them to involuntarily swear and shout epithets (for example, sexist or racist slurs such as the n-word). In the U.K., this is very likely to be ...
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Spending overpaid stipend instalments
Bob was a student and received a stipend grant for his living expenses whilst doing research at an academic institution for post-graduate studies. He came to rely on these for his monthly living ...
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If a former witness was found guilty of a crime or deemed otherwise unreliable, does it retroactively discredit their former cases?
Let's say, for example, a person previously testified in a criminal case that they saw someone murder someone else. Based largely on this testimony, a jury convicts the defendant.
Later on, the ...
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Are all sums includable in a criminal compensation order in principle also recoverable privately via civil claims?
Alice was assaulted by Bob, but suffered no injuries (thus incurred no medical expenses) or other damages or loss. She complains to police, who eventually charge Bob. Bob is convicted, and sentenced ...
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Can you be retried if you appeal a partial acquittal?
I know that in the US Double Jeopardy protection means that if you are acquitted the prosecution cannot attempt to appeal or retry you (except for very narrow exceptions). However, a defendant is ...
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Can I sue a ADA for filing a false criminal complaint in WI [duplicate]
The Assistant District Attorney (ADA) filed a false criminal complaint by referring to someone else's crime and representing it as mine to the courts in Wisconsin. Can I sue the ADA for that conduct?
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My son is in jail and his hearing was vacated to a different date. Does he stay in jail? [closed]
My son is in jail. I went to court today and he wasn't on the docket
The clerks office told me his hearing was vacated till December 19. I'm not understanding whats going on. Does he remain in jail?
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Can it be an offence simply to attend a demonstration against the wish of the official organisers?
A report about Tommy Robinson states the following:
In an earlier statement, the force said organisers had "been clear
about their concerns that the man's attendance, and that of those who
were ...
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If a U.S. state legalized murder in a discriminatory way, how could the courts remedy that?
This is apparently very hypothethal question. According to the answers to the question "Could a state legalize murder?", theoretically, a U.S. state could legalize murder (of course, it ...
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Is it illegal to give false information about a person to a foreign-based telemarketer?
I have always wondered if there is anything illegal with an American citizen giving false information about another American citizen to a foreign-based telemarketer, such as someone who by their ...
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What sentences are faced for vandalism (and more) in New Hampshire?
Assume that people covered the front of a building with red paint, smashed windows, locked the main lobby doors with a bicycle lock, and destroyed HVAC equipment, interrupting operation of a business.
...
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What would be required to establish probable cause for an arrest and charge for obstruction of justice?
This question asked is it legal to pretend to be drunk?
A potential charge of obstruction of justice was suggested in one of the answers.
What would be required to meet a reasonable standard of ...
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Is it legal to pretend to be drunk?
There is a famous joke that goes like this:
There is a huge crowd drinking in a pub in the outskirts of a small town. A police car waits in hiding nearby, to catch anyone who tries to drive away ...
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If one person's illegal act causes another person to unintentionally commit an infraction punished by a fine, can the second person sue the first?
Suppose that Bob steals Alice's wallet, which contains her driver license, from her purse. She does not notice that he did this.
Alice, thinking that her wallet is still in her purse (she has no ...
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At what point does a DUI begin?
(Based on a scene from TV show - 'The Rookie')
A woman who is clearly drunk is walking across the road towards her car. One officer sees and says "DUI" and the other correctly points out &...
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In Canada, at what point can not pressing charges fail to prevent prosecution?
If one person commits a crime with another person as the victim, I can imagine certain scenarios where the crime goes unreported and therefore the perpetrator avoids prosecution. However, I can also ...
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Has any acquitted defendant ever lost a defamation case, accused of committing the crime?
Trevor the truth teller witnesses Craig the criminal commit a crime.
The police speaks to Trevor and charges Craig.
At the trial, the jury for whatever reason does not find Trevor's testimony reliable ...
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EU member extradition
Pretend that a country within the European Union (EU) has refused to extradite somebody, after an extradition request from another country, following a court ruling in the extraditee's favour.
If the, ...
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Why do the police announce the time when they arrest somebody?
In the U.K. when police arrest someone, they seem to first announce the current time in military/24 hour format, and then they declare the reason or grounds for the arrest. Declaring the grounds for ...
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Is it illegal to threaten harm to yourself?
If Bob goes up to Alice with a knife and threatens to cut her, obviously that's illegal. But what if Bob points the knife at himself, and threatens to hurt/kill himself? Assuming he's subdued before ...
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What is the term for the idea that a law should never "cover all the possibilities" for being guilty?
I have never formally studied law, but I intuitively feel that a "good law" should only ever cover one side of a conditional and never both. For example, if they legislate walking on both ...
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Driver’s License loss [closed]
My bank kept my TX driver’s license by accident. Before I had a chance to pick it up, they threw it away. Their excuse was that they didn’t think I was coming back to pick it up.
I am a customer of ...
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What is the threshold for reasonable force when one is being mugged or assaulted?
Bob was mugged and assaulted by a gang of three youths, and when later standing on the side of the street chatting with a stranger about the incident they said that what they would have done if faced ...
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If 2 people are charged with the same charge and only one gets a bond what is the reasoning
Friends house got raided and they didn't find much but the little bit they did find they charged 2 people for it and only one got a bond why?
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Can the president of the United States be impeached on the basis of felonies committed prior to their presidency?
Under the Articles of the Constitution, can the president of the United States be impeached on the basis of felonies he or she committed prior to being sworn in as president?
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Why is it tradition that a motion to re-open a case occur before filing any other motion in said case?
I've been contemplating the filing a motion to expunge in multiple cases that I'm dealing with. However, I'm under the presumption that it might be necessary for me to file a motion to re-open any ...
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Does the Israeli military have a legal right to shoot at anyone within the Gaza Strip that they suspect of being a member of Hamas?
In regard to the ground incursion of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military, I would like to know if it is stated somewhere in either international law, or in Israel law, or in the Geneva Convention, ...
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Are statutory or other defences to be considered at every state of enforcement to preclude the act’s status as a crime?
Are statutory or other defences to be considered at every state of enforcement to preclude the act’s status as a crime?
For one example, criminal Justice act 1988 makes it an offence to carry a weapon ...
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Is homosexuality illegal in Gaza?
Wikipedia claims that Section 152 of the law imposes a 10-year penalty, citing an Amnesty report. However, the current version of that link does not contain the claim: Amnesty International report - ...
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If someone commits a crime, but suffers brain damage and has no memory of the crime, will they get punished?
Say that Bob is a horrible person who commits murder, theft, and a bunch of other bad stuff. Before getting caught, he shoots himself in the head. Miraculously, he survives, but with a severe case of ...
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Can a person legally consent to being killed by someone else? [duplicate]
I am referring to rare instances of 'mercy killing.' For example, a family member in the hospital, stricken with a terminal illness, asking a loved one to administer a lethal dose of morphine, or an ...
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It is a crime not to report a crime in some parts of the world. Wouldn't everyone who fails to whistle-blow be guilty of a crime?
In some parts of the world, it is a crime not to report a crime. If that is the case, wouldn't everyone who fails to whistle-blow be guilty of a crime?
To quote an example, here is what Section 202 of ...
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Does Posse Comitatus Apply To Errant Military Personnel?
There is currently a manhunt underway for an Army Reservist who is suspected of having perpetrated a mass shooting in Maine.
To avoid the fine details of reservist status v. active duty military, ...
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Would Mr. E still have been guilty of rape if he’d mistakenly penetrated his stepdaughter while instead intending to penetrate his partner?
A recent case resulted in a rape conviction of a man who apparently made an error in judgment in deciding to have intercourse with his stepdaughter who had been sleeping with him in his bed, along ...
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Was Wayne Hsiung acquitted or convicted this week? [closed]
Or has the jury not yet returned a verdict? Note: as stated in title, this question is asking about the case that hit a jury this week.
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Implications of subversive harassment [closed]
What are the implications of causing someone distress in some subversive fasion to the extent that they quit their job, get a divorce, run away, leave my establishment, or begin to cause defimation?
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If I use stolen money to gamble, do I get to keep the winnings?
If a person were to steal $10,000 from a convenience store and gamble with it, winning $500,000.
And later they were caught, would the government only claw back the $10,000 or also the $500,000?
Would ...
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What is the significance of “moral turpitude”?
Ellis, Chesebro and Powell have all asked the court to state their crimes were not ones of “moral turpitude”. What is the significance of that expression and why is it so important to them?
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Does an assault given rise to by a criminal provocation of violence still constitute an offence? [duplicate]
A person A commits a s4 public order act 1986 offences against another B, for example by getting right up into his face and then saying to him “go ahead, why don’t you try and hit me, I dare you.” ...
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Is there any further aggravated designation for assault that is not based on the harm caused to the victim’s body?
Common assault can be elevated from summary only to an either way offence like actual or grievous bodily harm if the assault actually occasions actually some definite bodily harm.
But are there any ...
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Now that 4 have pled guilty, is there a legal reason the trial of the others can't be scheduled asap?
In the Georgia election interference RICO trial, the fourth of the nineteen defendants has now pled guilty. Two of them were due to stand trial and this was holding up the trial of the others. Now ...
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