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.
107
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Can illegally obtained evidence be used in favor of the defendant in a criminal case?
Regarding US law, my general understanding is that if evidence was obtained in an illegitimate way (e.g. under false pretenses), then it may be inadmissible as evidence to support a conviction in a ...
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Can prosecutors delay an indictment to hinder the defense?
Suppose a crime were committed with a very long (or no) statute of limitations, like murder.
The prosecutor has enough physical evidence to charge someone with the crime. However, they know that this ...
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When bounties are offered for information leading to a conviction, how is it decided who gets it?
Inspired by this article, how exactly is it determined who gets the bounty? Surely the police get many tips, do all informants get paid? Is the bounty split or do they all get the full amount? If ...
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Under what circumstances could laying hacker "traps" cause civil or criminal liability for non-law enforcement civilians?
The answer to If a hacker is infected as a result of their actions, is the victim liable? that explained laying a trap to injure someone could go either way depending on the severity of the injury and ...
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What exactly is "Bodily Harm" and (how) does it differ from actual bodily harm?
I'm trying to understand the following statement (which is section 53 of the Crimes Act 1961 in New Zealand, bolding mine) -
"Every one in peaceable possession of any movable thing under a claim
...
- 3,470
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291
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Can BAC (blood alcohol content) be interpolated for DUI/DWI criminal prosecution?
It is common for a statutory BAC (blood alcohol content) level to determine whether the operator of a motor vehicle is guilty of Driving Under the Influence (DUI, which in some states is called DWI ...
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What could I be charged with if I went around uprooting "<X> for public office" signs?
This is not something I'm actually doing or thinking about doing; I'm just curious about this slightly absurd hypothetical scenario.
Suppose that I get really mad at those signs people stick in their ...
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410
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Legal to share malware code/sell malware products?
I program / rewrite (from security analysis / reverse engineering) different kinds of malware software as a hobby.
Those include some pretty malicious things like ransomware extortion viruses, banking ...
- 163
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Does U.S. law require reporting of suspected child abuse by unrelated citizens?
I happened to notice someone commenting that there is a legal requirement to report suspected child abuse for a non-guardian relative of a child suspected of abuse. I obviously would encourage the ...
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Cannabis laws in Northern Cyprus
How strict are Cannabis laws in North Cyprus, i.e. if you caught with 150 grams of Cannabis? What would the punishment be, and is it usually easy to get bail with that sort of crime?
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Can evidence produced in a civil action be excluded from a criminal trial?
Following this question, which is part of a chain of interesting posts exploring the use of civil actions to force liability insurers to pay for unintentional torts of their insureds: Suppose a ...
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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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Is threatening to share copies of an online discussion with an employer, in order to stifle opposition, illegal in any way?
Some political groups use the practice of threatening people with sharing screenshots of an online discussion to the debate opponent's employer, to get the debate opponent fired. This seems like an ...
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Secret Service Protection for Former U.S. Presidents During Incarceration
Under the provisions of the Former Presidents Act (FPA), is there any legal precedent or relevant existing laws that address the issue of Secret Service protection for a former U.S. president during a ...
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What acts constitute crimes with respect to "criminal intent" upscaling of crimes?
Some acts are prohibited by law and punished one way if the person does the act, but if a certain intent is proven, the punishment can be increased. For example, arson may be one level of crime, but ...
- 211k
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Can a squatter exclude a subsequent trespasser from a property?
Meet Bob. Bob is occupying a property as a squatter and is awaiting his hearing date for the interim possession claim. In the meantime, he is organising private underground music events in the ...
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Are there examples of successful prosecution under the Espionage Act for non-classified materials (after that system was adopted)?
As discussed in the NYT regarding the FBI warrant executed on Mar-a-Lago
In particular, a third law the warrant references was Section 793, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison per ...
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What does the law say if I push the fat man off the bridge in a trolley problem?
The original Trolley Problem is stated as:
There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed ...
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Can one intimidate court appointed lawyers into quitting to exhaust the full list?
This question is based on a real case in a country in Eastern Europe. The defendant being accused of running an organized crime group, seems to be intimidating all the court appointed attorneys into ...
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Could a cell phone carrier sell this privacy plan?
Suppose Verizon offered a "privacy plan" (e.g., for $50 extra per month) in which they intentionally delete any location/ping/connection/dialing history data from their servers/towers such ...
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For the purposes of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, is being ordered to and appearing before a court "detention" under any charges?
As a criminally charged person before the court, are you detained or are you free to go while before the court per the order of the court to be present in a criminal hearing?
International Law
1963 ...
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Legality of intentionally sending patches with security vulnerabilities to open source projects
Referring to no one and no incident in particular, imagine that some individuals, interested in performing a social/technical experiment, designed some changes to an open source project, knowing that ...
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Thailand; relationship between defamation lawsuit and criminal defamation procedure
Bangkok Post's
The Sea View Resort released a five-page statement on Saturday after news of its legal action against Wesley Barnes attracted widespread attention. The statement was posted on the ...
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Why are in-house counsels not allowed to defend a defendant?
In the last John Gotti trial, the prosecutors successfully argued Bruce Cutler was an in-house counselor for John Gotti. The result was Cutler was not allowed to defend John Gotti at trial.
Why are ...
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Does US federal law prohibit the possession of an uncontrolled prescription drug without a prescription, and if so, according to which provision?
What specific provision in US federal law, if any, prohibits the possession of an uncontrolled prescription drug without a prescription? I've had a lot of trouble finding the answer to this question, ...
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misdemeanor complaint, state requested release conditions, discovery evidence
I was charged with a misdemeanor, but the court messed up and sent the misdemeanor complaint to a wrong address. Never receiving it, never appearing at the court, they then created a warrant for my ...
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Is there anything I can do legally when my daughter lets her boyfriend in our home without our permission?
My daughter is 16, and my wife and I just found she's been sneaking her boyfriend (who is 17) into our house while we're not home. His parents don't seem to be doing anything about it.
Does this ...
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Can a local police officer (or local DA) charge someone with breaking a federal law?
Can a local police officer (or local DA) charge someone with breaking a federal law or can they only charge suspects with violating state laws?
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Is recording of other people in a work context without permission legal in Romania?
I am shortly going to Romania to perform an IT Audit.
As an auditor, we often have to deal with people who become hostile towards us. For my own protection, in the United Kingdom I always video ...
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Is this a criminal threat?
I am involved in a nasty domestic dispute with a family member.
This domestic dispute involves my knowledge of criminal activity by persons X, Y and Z. I reported this criminal activity to my local ...
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Is port scanning illegal?
"A port scan or portscan is a process that sends client requests to a range of server port addresses on a host, with the goal of finding an active port; this is not a nefarious process in and of ...
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Call I legally receive mail addressed to my roommate that requires a signature?
Say if I share a room or a house and I receive a mail which may need signature because my roommate is out. Is it regarded to be illegal? (the US)
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What if you follow the kidnappers' instructions to not talk to police?
Suppose your child is kidnapped. The kidnappers call you, give you "proof of life" (i.e., irrefutable evidence that they have your child in their custody and that the child is unharmed), and tell you ...
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when is order of protection included in one's records?
In doing a background check on a person when will an old order of protection be discovered, and when will it not be? Perhaps it is based upon the reason generating it or some formal wording inside ...
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Under Irish law can the Gardaí give a person's statement to a 3rd party government department?
I have an Irish law question. I have tried to get a few solicitors to answer it but they seem unable to give me a concrete answer. I'm hoping someone on here can help or point me in the right ...
- 21
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Inciting fear in the public
On a recent foreign prank show the following scenario took place.
A group are dressed in realistic Hazmat suits.
The group are scanning an area with fake radiation detectors.
The detectors are set ...
- 490
2
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1
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What is the threshold of disruption caused necessary to establish an aggravated trespass?
Section 68 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 creates the offence of aggravated trespass turning the act into a crime from a mere civil tort.
But the line seems rather fuzzy. So which ...
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If proven, would collusion with Russia to interfere with election meet criteria for charge of treason?
If a President-elect was proven to have colluded with Foreign operatives to interfere with our presidential election, could he or she be charged with treason?
What we know:
TREASON. Whoever, ...
Lynn
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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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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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0
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What are the typical stages / processes of a criminal trial?
In a criminal trial in the United States, there are stages or processes which are followed by every case heard by the courts. I understand some states may vary in procedure but what are the stages ...
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Spanish law and IP address as evidence
I have more or less a sense of what the answer is, but I'd rather explore some sides of the question I might not be aware of.
In short, a friend of mine (Spanish, living in Spain) has been contacted ...
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How could the Russian government (legally) send Griner to prison even if she is acquitted?
According to the BBC
Ms Griner has been held in Russia since her 17 February arrest at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport after cannabis oil was allegedly found in her luggage.
She is currently on trial ...
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What rights do minors have in Indiana
I am 20 years old and my younger brother, still a minor at 16, is battling with our parents over them seizing his property without any real cause, and refusing to return any of it, clearly outlining ...
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0
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Is there any jurisdiction where this booby trap is legal?
It's been well established through other discussions here that booby-trappping one's property is both tortious and illegal in the United States.
My question is whether it's known to be legal in any ...
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Validity of Sec 309 of IPC (criminalization of suicide)
Section 309 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) criminalizes suicide as following —
Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the
commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple ...
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Intention to commit violent domestic abuse but failing?
This is not US-specific, I'm in Europe, but more general for all Western legal systems.
I just read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_violence_against_men and something struck me - intention is ...
- 411
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How do sexting laws work in the Netherlands?
I've noticed that in some countries the definition of child pornography varies. For example, in Canada, where if a conversation is private between people of a very small age gap and there is never any ...
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Impersonation/False portrayal of character - maximum punishment?
There are 2 individuals, Person A and Person B.
Let's say that A is hellbent on ruining B's life, but not in the way some/most people would think.
A has stolen pretty much all of B's personal ...
- 137
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Did Cliff Booth commit crime by killing Tex and Katie?
In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Cliff Booth defends himself and his friends from intruders Tex, Sadie and Katie (the Manson Family killers).
First, Tex fails to shoot Cliff as Cliff's dog takes Tex ...
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