Cyber Crimes
A crime that occurs online, in the virtual community of the internet as opposed to the physical world
Crime
an act committed in violation of public (criminal) law and punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment
Preponderance of Evidence
The standard of proof in a civil case in which a judge or jury must believe the plaintiff's story and evidence is stronger than the defendant's version.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
the burden of proof in a criminal case. In a criminal case, the prosecution must convince the jury to the point that they have no doubts the person on trial committed the crime.
Criminal Liability
(1) the performance of a prohibited act and (2) a specified state of mind, or intent on the part of the actor. They must occur together
Act of Commission
Doing the wrong thing
Actus Reus
a guilty (prohibited) act. The commission of a prohibited act is one of the two essential elements required for criminal liability, the other element being the intent to commit a crime.
Mens Rea
Mental state, or intent. A wrongful mental state is as necessary as a wrongful act to establish criminal liability. What constitutes a mental state varies according to the wrongful action. Thus, for murder, the mens rea is the intent to take a life.
Criminal Negligence
(law) recklessly acting without reasonable caution and putting another person at risk of injury or death (or failing to do something with the same consequences)
Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine
a corporate officer may be criminally liable even if she did not participate in, direct, or even know of the criminal violation.
Types of Crime
violent crime, crime against property, public order crime (victimless crime), white-collar crime, organized crime
Violent Crime
a crime that involves threat or uses force, including assault, murder, rape or robbery.
Robbery
wrongful taking of another's property from their person or presence by threat of force of violence
Aggravated Robbery
robbery with the use of a deadly weapon - is the most serious form of theft.
Property Crime
burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson as reported in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, Involves the taking of money or property, without the use of force or violence; Examples - Burglary, Larceny, Car Theft; 10x more common than violent
Burglary
breaking and entering for the purpose of committing a crime
Aggravated Burglary
unauthorized entry of any inhabited dwelling, structure, where persons is present and the suspect is armed with a dangerous weapon.
Larceny
unlawful taking or removing of another's personal property with the intent of permanently depriving the owner; theft
Grand Larceny
larceny of property having a value greater than some amount (the amount varies by locale)
Petit Larceny
larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)
Obtaining goods by false pretenses
buying goods with a check and knowing the check is not good.
Receiving Stolen Goods
All that is necessary is that the recipient knows or should have known that the goods are stolen, which implies intent.
Arson
intentional burning of another's building or property or of one's own building or property for a malicious or illegal purpose
Forgery
The fraudulent making or altering of any writing in a way that changes the legal rights and liabilities of another.
White Collar Crime
Nonviolent crime committed by individuals or corporations to obtain a personal or business advantage
Embezzlement
the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else
Mail and Wire Fraud
(1) mailing or causing someone else to mail a writing -- something written, printed, or photocopied -- for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud and (2) contemplating or organizing a scheme to defraud by false pretenses
Bribery
unlawfully offering or giving anything of value to influence performance of an official
Bankruptcy Fraud
Knowingly attempting to evade the effect of rights and responsibilities arising under federal bankruptcy law.
Economic Espionage Act
1996, theft of trade secrets is a federal crime
Forfeiture
the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.
Insider Trading
the purchase or sale of securities on the basis of information that has not been made available to the public.
Organized Crime
a framework for the perpetuation of criminal acts-usually in fields such as gambling, drugs, and prostitution-providing illegal services that are in great demand
Loan Sharking
lending money at high, often illegal, interest rates.
Money Laundering
falsely reporting income that has been obtained through criminal activity as income obtained through a legitimate business enterprise-in effect, "laundering" the "dirty money.
RICO
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act it is a federal crime to
1. use income obtained from racketeering activity to purchase any interest in an enterprise
2. acquire or maintain an interest in an enterprise through racketeering activity
3
Treble Damages
penalties awarded to the injured party equal to three times the value of the injury. (16)
Felony
major crime, such as murder, rape, arson, or burglary, for which the penalty ranges from execution to imprisonment of more than a year
Misdemeanor
an offense less serious than a felony and which may be punished by a fine or sentence to a local prison for less than one year
Petty Offense
In criminal law, the least serious kind of criminal offense, such as a traffic or building-code violation.
Defenses to Criminal Liability
Infancy, intoxication, insanity, mistake, consent, duress, justifiable use of force, necessity, entrapment, statute of limitations, immunity
Infant
one who has not reached the age of majority; a minor
Insanity
A legal status indicating that a person cannot be held responsible for his or her actions because of mental illness.
Mistake
1. the law was not published or reasonably made known to the public
2. the defendant relied on an official statement of the law that was erroneous
Consent
Voluntary agreement to a proposition or an act of another, a concurrence of wills
Duress
Unlawful pressure brought to bear on a person, causing the person to perform an act she/he would not otherwise perform
Justifiable Use of Force
Ex. People can use the amount of non deadly force that seems necessary to protect themselves, their dwellings, or other property or to prevent the commission of a crime.
Self Defense
are allowed to use reasonable force to defense yourself and your property. Only can use deadly force if you are in fear of losing your life or the - life of someone else.
Entrapment
In criminal law, a defense in which the defendant claims that he or she was induced by a public official�usually an undercover agent or police officer�to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed.
Fourth Amendment Protections
Search warrants and probable cause
Search and seizures
Probable Cause
reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion
Fifth Amendment Protections
Due Process of Law
Double Jeopardy
Self-Incrimination
Due Process of Law
principle in the 5th Amendment stating that the government must follow proper constitutional procedures in trials and in other actions it takes against individuals
Sixth Amendment Protections
right to a speedy trial, jury trial, public trial, confront a witness, and counsel. Includes Miranda rule
Eighth Amendment Protections
Prohibits excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
Exclusionary Rule
the rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained. The rule prohibits use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure.
Miranda Rule
the rule that police (when interrogating you after an arrest) are obliged to warn you that anything you say may be used as evidence and to read you your constitutional rights (the right to a lawyer and the right to remain silent until advised by a lawyer)
Indictment
a grand jury's formal charge or accusation of criminal action
Three phases of the criminal process
arrest, indictment (or information), and trial
Grand Jury
A group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime.
Information
A formal accusation or complaint (without an indictment) issued in certain types of actions (usually criminal actions involving lesser crimes) by a government prosecuter
Computer Crime
any act that is directed against computers and computer parts, that uses computers as instruments of crime, or that involves computers and constitutes abuse.
Identity Theft
The act of stealing another's identifying information�such as a name, date of birth, or Social Security number�and using that information to access the victim's financial resources.
Cyberterrorists
A hacker whose purpose is to exploit a target computer for a serious impact, such as corrupting a program to sabotage a business.
Hacker
A person who uses one computer to break into another. Professional computer programmers refer to such persons as "crackers
Cyberterrorist
A hacker whose purpose is to exploit a target computer for a serious impact, such as corrupting a program to sabotage a business.