Crimes are statutory offences paper . What is meant by the phrase “crimes are statutory offences”? Explain Criminal Intent. Choose one of the Constitutional Safeguards and explain how it works. Can a person be prosecuted twice for the same act? Explain fully all issues. What is RICO?
Business Law
Crimes Are Statutory Offenses
Statutory offenses are basically delinquencies that can be punished, and often are passed by a given legislative body under the rule of law. Depending on different states and countries, statutes differ since the ruling of misconduct is entirely founded on pre-existing law. This enforces citizens to adhere to the law, with or without the knowledge of the punishment at hand, if they happen to break a certain law. Looking at the nature of an action to be categorized as a crime, there has to be a parallel punishment that follows suit. In that, major crimes like murder attract intense punishments than a crime like theft. This makes all crimes eligible to a certain punishment, hence the term, “Crimes are Statutory Offenses”, (Martens, 2017).
Crime Intent
Crime intent is the deliberate choice of one engaging in knowing, neglectful, reckless, and purposeful acts. According to the Legal Dictionary (2016), criminal intent can also be defined as a mental state, often described as “men’s rea”, leading an individual’s action to commit unlawful acts. An example is malice aforethought; scheming murder, which attracts severe punishment. Within the definition of criminal intent, there is an uncommon type of act called scienter, whereby the person being charged has undisputable knowledge of a certain act being illegal and ends up committing it anyway. An example is paying for services with a cheque that fails to reflect the amount the person has from the bank, (Legal Dictionary, 2016).
Constitutional Safeguards
Constitutional safeguards as highlighted by the US Constitution, are amendments within the criminal justice system that protect citizens against unfair execution by the law. They were put in place as the 4th, 5th, and 6th Constitutional Amendments. The 4th Amendment to start with protects individuals against unannounced searches, a sole pillar to safeguard privacy not unless there is a legal warrant to conduct the search, (Waldo. et al, 2007)
The 5th Amendment, on the other hand, protects individuals from self-incrimination, where one cannot answer for a crime unless indicted by the grand jury. The double Jeopardy Clause is also elaborated in the amendment, where a perpetrator can only be prosecuted once for the same crime in a federal court. The section also protects one from being deprived of life, freedom, or possessions without the due procedure of law, (HG Organization, 2019).
Lastly, the 6th Amendment protects the defendant from a prompt and public trial, should be aware of the accusation, should be challenged with the witness against him/her, have a duty to bring forth his/her witness, have the help of counsel for his/her defense and have unbiased jury on the crime scene, (Pittman, 2019). Crimes are statutory offences paper
RICO
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law, is a federal law, structured to contest organized crime like murder, kidnapping, laundering, drug trafficking, bribery, counterfeits among others. Initially, the law was passed in 1970 aiming at the mafias, gangs, and corrupt organizations. According to Justia Website (2019), RICO cases can be categorized into two, criminal or civic RICO. Criminal RICO indicates that one has to engage in a racketeering act linked to the enterprise. However, for the offense to be termed as a criminal RICO, it has to be committed at least twice through the enterprise, in the last ten years. Civic RICO, considers cases where individuals file for a civic offense after being exposed or bruised by a RICO defilement, (Justia Website, 2019).
References
Martens, 2017. What Is a Statutory Offense? Statutes vs. Common Law. Retrieved from; https://www.tulare-kings-attorney.com/blog/2017/april/what-is-a-statutory-offense-/
Legal Dictionary, 2016. Criminal Intent. Types of Criminal Intent. Retrieved from; https://legaldictionary.net/criminal-intent/
Waldo. Et al, 2007. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in A Digital Age. The Legal Landscape in the United States. National Research Council of The National Academies. Pg. 122. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/11896/chapter/6
HG Organization, 2019. What Does the Fifth Amendment Protect? Retrieved from; https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/what-does-the-fifth-amendment-protect-34257
Pittman, 2019. The Safeguards of the Sixth Amendment. Retrieved from; http://rcarterpittman.org/essays/Bill_of_Rights/Sixth_Amendment.html
Justia Website, 2019. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Law. Retrieved from; https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/rico/
Crimes are statutory offenses Paper