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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1 answer
66 views

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 ...
0 votes
1 answer
88 views

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 ...
0 votes
1 answer
75 views

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 ...
0 votes
4 answers
183 views

What crimes can one person cause another to commit?

Some kind of crime, like maybe those around receiving or possessing things it is illegal to have, might be able to be "committed" by someone without them actually doing anything. If Ash ...
1 vote
1 answer
113 views

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 ...
1 vote
1 answer
35 views

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 ...
-1 votes
1 answer
80 views

Can I sue a ADA for filing a false criminal complaint in WI

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?
2 votes
2 answers
610 views

Can you sue the prosecutor in a criminal proceeding?

If someone went to a job interview, and the job was offered to said person immediately after the interview, but upon arriving at home the person receives a phone call from their potential future ...
2 votes
0 answers
160 views

My son is in jail and his hearing was vacated to a different date. Does he stay in jail?

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?
1 vote
2 answers
236 views

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 ...
1 vote
2 answers
173 views

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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0 answers
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Used personal history against u by everyone even the police [closed]

Ok ten years ago a app was used to place someone on it using there personal history without permission that caused this person to have everything took from him while his ex girlfriend says it's only ...
12 votes
1 answer
5k views

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 ...
0 votes
1 answer
153 views

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. ...
1 vote
1 answer
242 views

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, ...
1 vote
0 answers
78 views

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 ...
4 votes
1 answer
168 views

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 ...
2 votes
2 answers
209 views

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 ...
0 votes
2 answers
110 views

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 ...
2 votes
2 answers
211 views

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 &...
4 votes
1 answer
759 views

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 ...
10 votes
1 answer
2k views

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 ...
0 votes
0 answers
73 views

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, ...
30 votes
4 answers
5k views

Can a prosecutor hold back charges so they can try again?

Assume I was alleged to have been involved in a bank robbery gone wrong - guns were fired, people were killed and injured, some robbers were arrested at the scene, some escaped etc. Obviously, there ...
-1 votes
1 answer
596 views

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 ...
1 vote
2 answers
91 views

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 ...
0 votes
1 answer
129 views

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 ...
-4 votes
2 answers
236 views

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 ...
17 votes
4 answers
10k views

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 ...
1 vote
1 answer
75 views

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?
9 votes
3 answers
5k views

Why are jurors asked if each element of a crime is proved, rather than the crime as a whole

After seeing the State of Washington Jury instructions for manslaughter as quoted in this answer https://law.stackexchange.com/a/96079/388, I'm wondering why the instruction is "if... each of ...
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

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?
1 vote
0 answers
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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 ...
18 votes
4 answers
7k views

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 ...
3 votes
1 answer
238 views

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 - ...
2 votes
2 answers
250 views

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 ...
0 votes
4 answers
181 views

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 ...
-3 votes
1 answer
120 views

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 ...
1 vote
1 answer
604 views

Are vigilantes actions on DDoSing child porn sites illegal?

There still exist many illegitimate child porn sites on the web. Some vigilantes organized and DDoS those child porn sites, typically because they think the government is inadequate to seize the ...
-4 votes
0 answers
33 views

What materials from R v E [2023] NZDC 14864 are publicly available?

Are any materials from the case R v E [2023] NZDC 14864 publicly available, and if so, which and how? For reference, these were the first instance proceedings of the rape case that resulted in and are ...
-4 votes
2 answers
194 views

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 ...
2 votes
1 answer
61 views

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, ...
-4 votes
1 answer
442 views

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.
50 votes
4 answers
13k views

Course of action in a criminal case when there is no conceivable defense

I am not a lawyer or a law student; my work is in mathematics, but I like to learn about criminal law as a hobby. I have spent some time googling and searching to find an answer to my question but ...
-5 votes
1 answer
76 views

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? ...
19 votes
1 answer
3k views

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?
-3 votes
1 answer
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Does an assault given rise to by a criminal provocation of violence still constitute an offence?

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.” ...
6 votes
2 answers
4k views

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 ...
-2 votes
2 answers
44 views

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 ...
3 votes
1 answer
122 views

Powell Plea Deal Consequences

Given Sidney Powell's plea deal: https://apnews.com/article/sidney-powell-plea-deal-georgia-election-indictment-ec7dc601ad78d756643aa2544028e9f5 The article indicates consequences: As part of the ...

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