CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL PROCEDURE OUR CRIMINAL LAWS CHAPTER 5

CRIMINAL VS. CIVIL Criminal Crimes against society Police and prosecutors Reasonable doubt (99%) Punishable by jail, death, or fine Civil Crimes against individuals Issues of liability (legal responsibility) Preponderance of evidence (51%) Monetary punishment to compensate for the injury

ELEMENTS OF A CRIME Duty Actual law or statute written i.e. Battery Violation of the duty Breaking the law i.e. Witness saw the defendant punch the victim Criminal intent Defendant intended to commit the act Intended to do evil i.e. got in a fight versus tripping over a box and hitting someone as you fell

CRIMINAL CONDUCT Criminal conduct may be classified as follows: Crimes against a person Crimes against property Crimes against the government and administration of justice Crimes against public peace and order Crimes against realty Crimes against consumers Crimes against decency

CRIMES AGAINST A PERSON Assault threat to physically or offensively injure another Battery Harmful or offensive touching Kidnapping Murder Rape

VIOLENT CRIME STATISTICS Total 1,246,248

VIOLENT CRIME STATISTICS

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY Embezzlement Larceny (theft) Robbery – taking of property from another person against their will, by force or by causing fear Burglary – entering a building without permission when intending to commit a crime Shoplifting Pickpocketing Purse snatching

PROPERTY CRIME STATISTICS Total 9,082,887

PROPERTY CRIME STATISTICS Loss of $15.7 Billion

CRIMES AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE Perjury Tax evasion Treason

CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC PEACE AND ORDER Disorderly conduct Illegal speeding Rioting

CRIMES AGAINST REALTY Arson Burglary Criminal trespass

CRIMES AGAINST CONSUMERS Fraudulent sale of securities Violation of pure food and drug laws

CRIMES AGAINST DECENCY Bigamy Obscenity Prostitution

CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES Felony Misdemeanor

FELONY A felony is a crime punishable by confinement for more than a year in a state prison or by a fine of more than $1,000, or bothor even death. Arson Burglary Embezzlement Forgery Kidnapping Murder Perjury Rape Robbery Theft of large sums

FELONIES IN TEXAS Capital Felony Most severely punished crime intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual i.e. murdering a police officer, judge, child < 6, multiple people, etc. Punishable by death or life imprisonment 1 st Degree Felony Aggravated assault, burglary, kidnapping, murder, soliciting of capital murder Punishable by prison; 5 – 99 years/life and/or fine <$10,000 2 nd Degree Felony Manslaughter, sexual assault, robbery, improper relations b/w educator and student Punishable by prison; 2 – 20 years and/or fine <$10,000 3 rd Degree Felony Deadly conduct with a firearm, intoxication assault, stalking, DWI (3 rd offense) Punishable by prison; 2 – 10 years and/or fine <$10,000 State Felony Check forgery, fake IDs, credit card abuse Punishable by prison; 180 days 2 years and/or fine <$10,000 Crime and Punishment in Texas

MISDEMEANOR A misdemeanor is a less serious crime. It is usually punishable by confinement in a county or city jail for less than one year, by fine, or both. Examples of misdemeanors include disorderly conduct and speeding

MISDEMEANORS IN TEXAS Class A Assault, obscenity, perjury, DWI (2 nd offense), evading arrest on foot Up to one year in the county jail and/or a fine < $4,000 Up to 2-3 years of community supervision Class B Criminal trespass, possession < 2 oz, DWI, harassment Up to 180 days in the county jail and/or fine < $2,000 Up to 2-3 years of community supervision Class C Disorderly conduct, MIP, public intoxication, alcohol in car Fine < $500 Crime and Punishment in Texas

INFRACTION Some states classify lesser misdemeanors as infractions. A person convicted of an infraction can only be fined. Because there is no risk of being jailed, the defendant is not entitled to a jury trial. Examples include littering and parking violations.

WHITE COLLAR CRIMES Offenses committed in the business world Do not involve force or violence Do not cause injury Do not cause physical damage to property Examples: Tax evasion Defrauding consumers Cheating with weighing machines Price fixing Forgery False advertising Making false insurance claims Bribery Political corruption Embezzlement Computer crime

ENRON Energy trading business Grew very quickly Revenues grew from $20.2B to $100.1B from 1997 – 2000 Or did they? Accounting Schemes Lowered tax payments Inflated income & profits Increased stock price & credit rating Hid losses Misrepresented financial condition in public reports Bankruptcy December, 2001 Shareholders lost $11B

ENRON PLAYERS Chief Financial Officer – Andrew Fastow and wife Lea Initially charged with 98 counts of fraud, money laundering, insider trading, and conspiracy, among other crimes Pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy and was sentenced to ten years with no parole in a plea bargain to testify against Lay, Skilling, and Causey Lea was indicted on six felony counts, but prosecutors later dropped them in favor of a single misdemeanor tax charge. Lea was sentenced to one year for helping her husband hide income from the government

ENRON PLAYERS Chief Executive Officers – Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling 53-counts of financial crimes, including bank fraud, making false statements to banks and auditors, securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and insider trading Skilling was convicted of 19 of 28 counts of securities fraud and wire fraud. He was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in prison Lay pleaded not guilty to the eleven criminal charges, and claimed that he was misled by those around him. He attributed the main cause for the company's fall to Fastow. Lay was convicted of all six counts of securities and wire fraud for which he had been tried, and he faced a total sentence of up to 45 years in prison. However, before sentencing was scheduled, Lay died on July 5, 2006.

ENRON PLAYERS Chief Accounting Officer – Rick Causey indicted with six felony charges for disguising Enron's financial shape during his tenure. After pleading not guilty, he later switched to guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Arthur Anderson Consulting Firm charged with and found guilty of obstruction of justice for shredding the thousands of documents and deleting s and company files that tied the firm to its audit of Enron The firm surrendered its CPA license on August 31, 2002, and 85,000 employees lost their jobs conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court due to the jury not being properly instructed on the charge against Andersen

KNOW THE RIGHTS A PERSON HAS WHEN ARRESTED RECOGNIZE A PERSONS POTENTIAL CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR THE ACTIONS OF OTHERS UNDERSTAND THE JUSTIFIABILITY OF THE COMMON DEFENSES TO CRIMINAL CHARGES CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Rights when arrested Due process Representation by a lawyer Responsibility for the criminal conduct of others Planning crime but not participating Look out for burglary Accomplices Corporations liable for conduct of employees

DEFENSES TO CRIMINAL CHARGES Procedural defenses Problems with the way evidence is obtained or way accused is handled (i.e. coerced confession) Ignorance of the Law does not count as a Procedural defense (i.e. not seeing a No Parking sign is not a defense) Substantive defenses Disprove, justify, or excuse the alleged crime Most common – going to trial and discrediting the facts the state sought to establish (i.e. alibi) Other defenses: Self-defense, insanity, immunity

PUNISHMENTS FOR CRIMES A penalty provided by law and imposed by a court is called a punishment. The purpose is not to remedy the wrong but rather to discipline the wrongdoer.

PLEA BARGAINING Plea bargaining is when an accused person agrees to plead guilty to a less serious crime in exchange for having a more serious charge dropped. When plea bargaining the accused gives up the right to a public trial to avoid the risk of greater penalty if convicted. 95% of guilty pleas for felony charges do not go to trial – they are plead down for a lesser charge!