Презентация на тему Law for Business. The Nature of Crimes

acts prohibited by the state or federal government.

Prosecutions are

brought by the prosecutors in the name of the government.

Forms of punishments: fines, imprisonment and prosecution.

arson
May result in disenfranchisement (loss of the right

to vote) and bar a person from practicing some professions: law or medicine
Misdemeanors – lesser crime: traffic offences or disorderly conduct.

Results in fines or confinement in a city or country jail. The convinced must bear the stigma as well – social condemnation

committing a crime, the state must:

Demonstrate a prior statutory

prohibition of the act

Prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed every element of the criminal offence prohibited by the statute

Prove that the defendant had the capacity to form a criminal intent

YES
the requisite criminal intent?

Did the prosecutor prove
each of these
YES elements beyond
a reasonable doubt?
Vas the statute constitutionally valid? YES

YES Conviction.

Did the defendant violate the statute?

NO NO NO NO
No criminal conviction.

criminal, the legislature must have passed a statute making

it criminal.
Ex post facto laws - Constitution protects against being accused of smth back in time after it became a crime.

Behavior can’t be accepted as criminal if it is protected by the Constitution (1st Amendment – right to freedom of speech and expression).

The Prohibited behavior must be clearly defined for an ordinary person to understand it (5th & 14th Amendments).

strong limits on the power of the state to

convict a person on a crime:

Criminal defendants are presumed innocent.

To overcome the presumption, the state must prove every element of the charged offence beyond reasonable doubt.

The state must prove a case within a framework of procedural safeguards to protect the accused.

of most serious crimes. Conscious intent: not intoxication, infancy,

insanity.
Voluntary intoxication – not a complete defense to criminal liability. (no premeditation – a conscious desire to commit a crime (as to kill)
Infancy - the children under 7 are incapable of forming an intent; of 7-14 are presumed incapable; 14-21 are presumed capable.
Insanity – at the moment of trial (the trial is delayed); after trial but before sentencing – is not sentenced until regains sanity; at the time of criminal act – absolves of criminal liability.
Some states have instituted “guilty but mentally ill” verdict.

by businesspersons and organizations, primarily harm people outside the

corporation. (bribery, fraud, price fixing)

Responsible corporate officer doctrine – (a category of liability) – official tried for crimes if their actions (or lack of actions) lead to accidents.

Personal liability for corporate executives is necessary to deter them from violating laws and viewing any fines on corporations as merely a cost of doing business.

knowingly alter or destroy documents with the intent to

obstruct or influence a government investigation (no eating!)
It is a felony to defraud shareholders of a publicly traded company
Procedures for whistleblowing, including anonymous reporting, must be established. Employees who “blow the whistle” on their employers for fraud are offered legal protection.
Do you approve of the last point?

the entry of organized crime into legitimate business enterprises.

Passed by the Congress in 1970 as a part of Organized Crime Control Act.
Effective and much-needed weapon against unethical business practices.

racketeering activity” to acquire an interest in an enterprise
Acquiring

or maintaining an interest in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity
Conducting or participating in the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity
Conspiring to do the preceding.
Racketeering activity – includes the commission of any of over 30 federal or state crimes include bribery, mail, wire, and securities fraud; and extortion.
To show a pattern of activity, the prosecution must prove, at a minimum, the commission of 2 offences within a 10-year period.

to 20 years
forfeiture (confiscation)
Civil:
In government suit:
Divestiture (deprive)
Dissolution
Other

forfeiture
In private suit:
Treble damages (big ones)
Attorneys’ fees

traditionally involved organizations:
securities and commodities brokers; travel agencies; dealers

in precious metals or jewels; car, boat, airplane dealers; etc
must report suspicious activity, including large cash transactions.

national borders) Crime for any American firm is to

offer, promise or make payments or gifts to foreign officials and certain others.
For violation of FCPA:
Individual - $100 000 fine and/or up to 5 years prison.
Corporation – up to $2 000 000 fine.

Convention Against Corruption. Initiated by the Organization for American

States (23 members). It criminalizes transitional bribery in the Western Hemisphere.
Convention on Combating Bribery of Officials in International Business Transactions. Requires from 35 members to make it a crime to bribe foreign officials, designate appropriate punishments and extradite charged.
WTO, the World Bank, the IMF implemented anti-corruption policies & procedures.

financi`ere. (GAFI)
Created by G7 in 1989 to combat money

laundering and terrorism financing, 36 members.
Groups of 40 recommendations:
Policy and coordination
Money laundering and confiscation
Terrorism financing
Prevention measures
International cooperation

state law a computer crime is:
To access or use

a computer without authorization
To access the services of commercial service providers without paying their fees
To alter or destroy data stored in another person’s computer.
A range of online activities:
Theft
Distribution of obscene materials
Destruction of property
Tresspass

Communication Privacy Act

Wiretap Act
Protects against unauthorized interception of electronic

communications. (providers)

Stored Communication Act
Protects against unauthorized access and disclosure of electronic communication. (third parties)
Covers 1/3 senders.

certain access to computers:
Bars an unauthorized person from

knowingly transmitting a program, information, code, command with the intent of causing damage to a computer

Prohibits interference with computers used by, or for the benefit of, the government or financial institutions

Prohibits acts of sabotage or vandalism to protected computers or networks

“Convention on Cybercrimes” aims to:
Harmonize computer crime laws around

the world to outlaw computer intrusion, child pornography, commercial copyright infringement, online fraud.

Permit the government to search and seize e-mail and computer records, perform internet surveillance, etc.

G-8 developed the task forces to address high-tech crime.

NGOs and private corporations fight cybercrime.

or property.
Injury in tort can include:

indicate either the wrongdoer’s conscious desire to cause harm

or the wrongdoer’s knowledge such harm was substantially certain to result.

Physical injury. Plus result – loss of pay and medical benefits.
Loss of privacy
Emotional distress
Injury to reputation
Punitive damages – in excess of plaintiff’s actual injures

Injured may file a civil suit for actual (compensatory) damages to compensate

Civil (tort)

Criminal
Assault, battery,
false imprisonment,
Intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Smtimes are not filed because defendants unable to pay.

or offensive.
It produces injury or would be considered

offensive to a person of ordinary sensibilities.
It is sufficient to touch anything connected to the plaintiff’s body: to snatch a bag, to kick a dog on a leash, etc.
This makes many problems.

to his or her physical safety. No contact is

necessary. A gesture is enough.

for an appreciable time (2 minutes is enough) without

the person’s consent.
Protects physical and mental interests.
Confinement – a person substantially restricts another person’s freedom of movement.
A person must know that he is confined, and any consent to confinement must be freely given.
Partial obstruction – is not false imprisonment: you stand on the path or lock smb inside leaving the back door open.
Some states passed statutes giving the shop owners a conditional privilege to stop persons reasonably believed to be shoplifters. (but not to exceed the privilege)

such injuries became more provable.
Some courts require physical manifestation

of the emotional distress (tic or ulcer), before they allow a suit to be brought.
The defendant’s conduct must be outrageous – certain to produce severe emotional distress in a person of ordinary sensibilities.

(written defamation)
The torts of slander (oral defamation)
The basis for

the torts – publication (to at least 1 person) of an untrue statement that injures a person’s reputation or character. Jury decides if a statement is defamatory.
Concerns only a person (not a group or one of the group).
Corporations or other business entities have a limited right to protect their reputation.
Truth is the complete defense to a defamation suit.