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Our Criminal Law Chapter 5.

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Presentation on theme: "Our Criminal Law Chapter 5."— Presentation transcript:

1 Our Criminal Law Chapter 5

2 Criminal Law Lesson 5-1

3 Goals Define the elements present in all crimes
Describe crimes that commonly occur in the business environment

4 What are crimes? Punishable offense against society
Defined by statutes (laws enacted by state or federal legislatures) Society (through police/prosecutors) attempt to identify, arrest, prosecute, and punish the criminal Criminal and civil offenses are not the same Civil - against just the victim (not society)

5 Elements of a Crime Before anyone can be convicted of a crime, 3 elements must be proved at trial a duty to do or not to do a certain thing an act or omission in violation of that duty criminal intent

6 Duty State statutes usually describe duty
Less frequent - federal statutes or city ordinances To establish duty in trial, the prosecutor cites a statute to the judge

7 Violation of the Duty The specific conduct that violates the statute is the criminal act All states have statutes that makes battery a crime “the intentional causing of bodily harm to another person” Prove? Testimony of a witness

8 Criminal Intent Means the defendant: Deliberately punch someone
intended to commit the act and intended to do evil Deliberately punch someone Accidentally fall and hit someone

9 Criminal Intent (cont)
Can Corporations form criminal intent like humans can? YES If the criminal act benefits the organization, most courts will find criminal intent When a corporate employee commits a crime, can officers be held criminally responsible? Liable under the doctrine of vicarious criminal liability

10 Criminal Intent (cont)
Vicarious Criminal Liability Substituted criminal liability The criminal intent of the employee is used as a substitute for the requirements of criminal intent for an officer The president knows of dangerous working conditions but does not report them Homicide

11 Criminal Intent (cont)
Related to age (early common law) Under 10 – below the age of reason Incapable of having the criminal intent necessary Over 14 – know the difference between right and wrong Accountable as adults Ages 7-14 criminal intent has to be proved Today, most states fix the age to 18 (range from 16-19)

12 Criminal Intent (cont)
One must have sufficient mental capacity to know the difference between right and wrong Insane person Not held responsible Voluntary intoxication or use of drugs does not relieve a person

13 Criminal Intent (cont)
Not all crimes require criminal intent Less serious crimes where being sentenced to jail is unlikely Traffic offenses Exception – extreme carelessness 80mph through a neighborhood drunk and kill someone You may not have intended to speed or do evil So careless it could be treated as criminal intent Vehicular homicide

14 Criminal Intent (cont)
Embezzlement Taking of another person’s property or money by a person to whom it has been entrusted

15 Criminal Conduct Crimes against:
A person (assault and battery, kidnapping, rape, murder) Property (theft, robbery embezzlement) The government and administration of justice (treason, tax invasion, perjury) Public peace and order (rioting, disorderly conduct, illegal speeding) Realty (burglary, arson, criminal trespass) Consumers (fraudulent sale of securities, violation of pure food and drug laws) Decency (bigamy, obscenity, prostitution)

16 Classification of Crimes
Felonies Crime punishable by confinement for more than a year in a state prison or by a fine or more than $1,000, or both – or even death Murder, kidnapping, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, embezzlement, forgery, theft of large sums, and perjury Perjury Crime of lying under oath

17 Classification of Crimes (cont)
Misdemeanor Less serious crime Punishable by confinement in a county or city jail for less than one year, by fine, or both Disorderly conduct and speeding Infractions Minor misdemeanor Can only be fined (no risk of jail) Parking violations and littering

18 Business-Related Crimes
White-collar crimes Offenses committed in the business world No not involve force or violence Do not cause injury to people or cause physical damage to property Examples Evading income taxes, defrauding consumers, cheating with false weighing machines, conspiring to fix prices, false insurance claims, false advertising, committing bribery, engaging in political corruption, and embezzling Fines and short prison sentences because no physical violence

19 Business-Related Crimes (cont)
Antitrust Laws Laws that prohibit competing companies from price fixing or dividing up sales regions

20 Business-Related Crimes (cont)
Larceny (theft) The wrongful taking of money or personal property belonging to someone else, with the intent to deprive the owner of possession Shoplifting, pickpocketing, and purse snatching Felony or Misdemeanor (determined by value of property) Robbery (variation of larceny) The taking of property from another’s person or immediate presence, against the victim’s will, by force or by causing fear Burglary (variation of larceny) Entering a building without permission when intending to commit a crime FELONIES

21 Business-Related Crimes (cont)
Receiving stolen property the one who receives stolen property is known as a fence False Pretense – One who obtains money or other property by lying about a past or existing fact (type of fraud) Forgery – falsely making or materially altering a writing to defraud another (felony) Bribery – unlawfully offering or giving anything of value to influence performance of an official (accepting a bribe is also criminal activity)

22 Business-Related Crimes (cont)
Computer crime Extortion (blackmail) – obtaining money or other property from a person by wrongful use of force, fear, or the power of office Conspiracy – an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime The conspiracy is a separate crime from the crime that the parties plan to commit Arson – The willful and illegal burning of a building


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