New answers tagged criminal-law
11
This is known as Judicial notice and is used in many jurisdictions. It is normally supposed to be used only for facts about which there could be no possible controversy. The Wikipedia article linked above mentions such examples as "which day of the week corresponded to a particular calendar date or the approximate time at sunset." It can also be ...
1
In a comment, you clarify your question thus:
I am wondering if and how it would be possible for someone who did have a legitimate reason to access content that would otherwise be illegal.
In another comment:
say someone has a method that avoids that, and also has a legitimate reason to access illegal material. Does the law you linked to mean that it is ...
3
The relevant law in England and Wales is the Protection of Children Act 1978. Under section 1 of the Act, it’s a defense to distributing, showing, or possessing indecent images of children if you had a “legitimate reason” to distribute, show, or possess them. It’s also a defense if you had not seen the images, didn’t know they were indecent, and didn’t have ...
1
Under 18 U.S. Code § 798, leaking classified information is a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
That makes it a more serious offense than publishing legally obtained classified information, which is not a crime at all.
The Supreme Court laid down this rule in Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001), where it held that an individual's rights to ...
0
Simply "writing an article about a document" isn't any sort of crime in the US, whether the document is or is not leaked, or is or is not classified. However, "disclosing classified information without authorization" can be a crime in some circumstances. If the article discloses classified information from the document, then that might ...
2
In the United States, if someone who has requested a lawyer is questioned by police despite their desire not to do so, in violation of their Miranda rights under the 6th Amendment, this is a "civil rights violation".
There are several remedies for this civil rights violation.
It can trigger the exclusionary rule to exclude any statement obtained in ...
2
Who is legally accountable for the action of the internal audit of a
company in the U.S.? If the internal audit of a company doesn't do due
diligence by not properly auditing the financial documents of the
company who is legally accountable for the lack of oversight of the
internal audit? The CEO and the CFO or just the CFO?
This answer is prefaced with a ...
2
In the United States, at least, there isn't a special term to capture this.
If the suspect has requested a lawyer, but the police continue questioning, you could call that a "Miranda violation," but tthat phrase could also refer to several other actions, such as failing to notify the suspect of his Miranda rights, or questioning him when he has not ...
1
england-and-wales
I know it is illegal for authorities to question a suspect when their lawyer isn’t present.
This is not really true, at least in England and Wales.
The right to free and independent legal advice (FILA) is defined by s.58 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), but it is not an absolute right. It may be delayed - but not totally ...
8
(US)
"I know is it illegal for authorities to question a suspect when their lawyer isn’t present"
This is not really true, at least in the US. The suspect must explicitly ask for a lawyer. Even saying "Maybe I should talk to a lawyer" (ie Davis v. U.S. (512 U.S. 453 (1994)) isn't enough, they have to say "I want a lawyer". ...
0
Your question seems to be asking about the question above. This calls for you to print the date of the Will and to print the names of the witnesses to the Will as you discern from looking at the Will document itself (there are usually two witnesses, the notary is not a witness in most cases). These are not signature lines in this portion of the form.
I have ...
1
This question and many related ones are analysed in detail by Eugene Volokh, in a long paper that is worth reading in its entirety if you are interested in the topic.
The [Supreme] Court has offered “speech integral to [illegal] conduct”
as one of the “well-defined and narrowly limited classes of
speech” excluded from First Amendment ...
1
A conviction for witness tampering generally requires something more than simply giving advice.
Under federal law, witness tampering requires the use or threat of force to prevent a witness from cooperating with the police. Pure advice against cooperating cannot be a crime.
Under New York law, a conviction requires that the defendant induces the witness to ...
1
At what point does advising a person not to talk to the police become "witness tampering"?
When the brother's advice includes actual or threatened physical force.
Witness tampering is defined by 18 U.S. Code § 1512 to include:
(2) Whoever uses physical force or the threat of physical force against any person, or attempts to do so, with intent to —
...
1
In England and Wales, if a solicitor knows that a statement they are making is false or misleading (e.g. the client has admitted to them that he did something but wants the solicitor to tell the court that he didn't) then they are obliged to stop acting for their client. This is because of a conflict between the following rules in the SRA code of conduct:
1....
0
Can the court just change the date without accused being present?
Yes.
Is there something goofy going on in here or is this normal in
Ukraine?
This is not goofy or suspicious. This has become normal in almost every court system in the developed or developing world during the COVID pandemic.
Most court systems in the world transitioned to doing more of ...
2
In closing arguments, an attorney should only refer to evidence that was admitted at trial.
In opening arguments, an attorney may refer to evidence that the attorney reasonably believes will be admitted at trial, and if the attorney has grounds to admit the transcript as an exhibit, could do so. If not, the attorney could still reasonable state:
the ...
4
The link involves a New Zealand case, and I don't know what the ethical rules there say about this practice.
In Colorado, where I practice, which is also a common law jurisdiction, it is categorically prohibited, at a matter of attorney ethics, for an attorney in a trial to express a personal opinion as to whether or not a crime was committed or whether or ...
1
A defense lawyer may in fact believe that the accused is in fact innocent, even if the lawyer does not have solid proof of that fact.
But what a lawyer says during an opening argument need not be what the lawyer in fact thinks, nor what the lawyer can surely prove. It will be what the lawyer wants the jury to conclude from the evidence to be presented. It ...
6
In the case you link, this was given as an opening statement by the defense. Opening statements do not contain evidence. The defendant may or may not testify on their own behalf during the trial - this testimony, if given, counts as evidence, even if it is somewhat self-serving. And anything which tends to casts doubt as to the defendant's guilt is evidence ...
2
The value of items stolen is determined as a factual matter at trial based upon the evidence presented at trial (unless the prosecution and defense stipulate to a value). Usually, the exact value isn't material, only which statutory range of values of several possible choices, the good in question belongs in according to the trier of fact.
This could include ...
1
Some context is allowed to help the jury determine what is reasonable. The details of what comes in and what does not to provide context is very fact specific. Realistically, the defendant, at a minimum, gets to discuss his own thought process about what he feels made his actions reasonable which can provide some context of other incidents of which he was ...
2
(Lots of digging)
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.341
The above is a series of definitions for the purposes of criminal statues.
Way down (noting that the page notes that this section was amended in 2021, so almost certainly in response to this case, given the amount of attention it has received), as subdivision 22, we have the definition:
Subd....
4
Section 42-A of the POCSO Act, lays down two important principles. Firstly, that this Act is not in derogation of any other Act which was legislated by a competent legislator and secondly this Act has an overriding effect.
If any other law or any other provision of law comes in conflict with the POCSO Act with the provisions of POCSO Act will have an ...
1
...likely no indication that items were subject to “interstate” commerce.
In addition to cpast's answer I'll just address this bit. The "interstate commerce" is in reference to the Commerce Clause in the US constitution. This has been interpreted very broadly, so pretty much any activity which has an economic effect will be held to have a knock-on ...
6
Barela was convicted of robbery affecting interstate commerce and faces a sentence of up to 20 years and $250,000 in fines.
I assume your issue is that you think this is too high (although I don't see what it has to do with the 14th or 6th Amendments). Fortunately, it's also almost completely unrelated to the actual sentence. The number that was quoted is ...
1
What are the subjects labeled as? Enemy soldier combatants? Common criminal?
The wording of the charges, taken from the Department of Justice's press release, suggests they are both common criminals and terrorists (allegedly):
Kotey and Elsheikh are each charged with:
conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in death
four counts of hostage taking ...
2
Unlikely, but specific facts may change this.
The fact a vehicle gets the approval of the NHTSA and/or other safety regulatory bodies will probably mean that it already passed a certain level of safety testing, and any reasons for a recall will only surface after orders of magnitude greater sample and/or testing time. Therefore, the probability of causing ...
1
Permission does not have an expiration data. Permission can be withdrawn at any time. Permission as granted can be a bit ambiguous, so if I ask my neighbor if I can use their garden hose to wash a window, it's not reasonable to think that the permission was to use the garden hose at any time for anything, unless he says that, but that result might be ...
1
This is a clear example of a legal fiction. Which is to say that it is a situation in which de jure and de facto views are entirely different.
The de jure view is that bail is not a punishment, but rather it is a partial benefit. It allows a person to await a trial outside of a confinement of a jail, but it does mitigate the risk of their not showing up ...
16
For the purposes of “citizen’s arrest” statutes, the use of the word “citizen” is interpreted broader than a citizen of a State or a national of the U.S..
It may still, however, exclude certain categories: Staff of a consular post or diplomatic mission would probably be excluded from engaging in such activity and the same probably applies for members of ...
40
Yes.
The meaning of "citizen" in "citizen's arrest" has nothing to do with citizenship. It just means "ordinary person" or "member of the public" — as opposed to "a law enforcement officer".
2
In the US, there are limits on judicial sentencing discretion, which differ from state to state. For example, mandatory minimum sentences are common for certain crimes. Sentences may also be computed based on a statutory point system considering the nature of the crime and the person convicted (first-offender; multiple offender), so the judge looks the ...
21
The concept of "innocent until proven guilty" is inherent in our constitutional protections for due process.
As far as I know, the Supreme Court first formally recognized it as a rule in Coffin v. United States, 156 U.S. 432, 458-59 (1895):
Now the presumption of innocence is a conclusion drawn by the law in favor of the citizen, by virtue whereof,...
8
Innocence and guilt has nothing to do with remand or bail
The common law presumption of innocence and the right not to be incarcerated without due process are not at all incompatible.
The Constitution prescribes imprisonment in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments respectively:
No person shall [...] be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due ...
-2
Notionally, bail isn’t about guilt, it’s about showing up for the trial. That is why accused murders can get bail. What isn’t covered in any way is the disproportionate impact it has on the poor and how it can be abused.
For instance, Joel Rosenberg a 2nd amendment activist, was arrested a month after his supposed crime was witnessed by a cop in a court ...
2
If such accusations are reported to the police or some other law enforcement authority, the authorities are likely to investigate. They are not required to investigate, but it is probable that they will chose to do so.
They may use whatever methods they think proper to investigate, subject to the limits of permitted procedure in the jurisdiction involved. (...
4
How does the law reconcile the "innocent until proven guilty" principle with the treatment of those awaiting trial on criminal charges?
Bail is all about a proportionate response to risk management—not guilt or innocence.
The higher the risk the more severe the conditions, culminating with it being denied and the suspect remanded to custody.
For ...
2
What are the laws for trespassing in Austria?
§ 109 StGB relates to trespass with force and/or violence:
(1) Anyone who forces entry into the home of another person or threatens to use force is to be punished with imprisonment of up to one year or with a fine of up to 720 daily rates.
(2) The perpetrator may only be prosecuted with the authorization of the ...
3
What laws and precedent are applicable for willful trespass or similar actions in Germany?
It will depend on Bobbi's intentions and justification for not leaving.
Trespass is defined by § 123 StGB (non-binding translation on the official site) as:
(1) Whoever unlawfully enters the private premises, business premises or other enclosed property of another, or ...
1
This is called "Hausfriedensbruch" in Germany, here is a small summary from Wikipedia (Google-translation):
The offense of trespassing is regulated in Germany in §§ 123 f. StGB and, in addition to the basic offense (§ 123 StGB), also includes the qualification of serious trespassing (§ 124 StGB).
For trespassing within the meaning of Section 123 ...
1
Find below the condictions for the house arrest from the webpage of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice, (Google translation). I think this might be helpful to put together a realistic case.
The electronically monitored house arrest (eüH) is the most recent form of execution in Austria, it was introduced in autumn 2010. Basically, people who are ...
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