Crime News
Criminal Defense Articles
Traffic Offenses
Traffic control is an issue of immense proportions. The first traffic laws and regulations began to appear in the 1920s and they now constitute a large part of most state statutes. More than ninety percent of the people in this country over the age of sixteen are licensed to drive, and there is more than one car registered for each one of them. This translates into trillions of miles driven each year with millions of traffic infractions. The criminal justice system would quickly be overwhelmed if each infraction required full criminal trials. Therefore, traffic violations have been divided into three categories: felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions or violations.
Searches & Seizures: The Limitations of the Police
Although people in the United States are entitled to privacy and freedom from government intrusion, there is a limit to that privacy. State or federal police officers are allowed, where justified, to search your premises, car, or other property in order to look for and take illegal items, stolen goods or evidence of a crime. What rules must the police follow when engaging in these searches and seizures? What can they do in upholding the laws, and what can't they do?
White Collar Crime Case Summaries
[08/26] US v. Prince
Conviction of defendant for conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of money laundering, in connection with fraudulent claims for payment for physical therapy services provided to Medicare beneficiaries, is affirmed where: 1) the evidence at trial was sufficient to establish that the defendant committed, or conspired to commit, money laundering by conducting, or aiding and abetting another in conducting, the specified financial transactions knowing that they involved the proceeds of Medicare fraud; 2) a reasonable person would not question the judge's impartiality toward defendant because a government witness was represented by an attorney who previously represented the judge in a prior unrelated matter; and 3) district court did no abuse its discretion by refusing to require the government to provide a pretrial disclosure of its exhibit list.
[08/19] US v. Kottwitz
Defendants' convictions for tax fraud-related charges are affirmed in part where the circumstantial evidence was sufficient for the jury to have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that defendants entered into the charged conspiracy. However, the convictions are vacated in part where: 1) the district court erred in refusing to give defendants' requested special instruction to the jury on their good faith reliance on their accountant's advice; and 2) the evidence was insufficient for a properly instructed jury to convict on the charge of aiding and assisting in the filing of a materially false corporate tax return.
[08/18] US v. Holstein
Conviction of defendant for bankruptcy fraud and making false statements in bankruptcy petitions, based on providing bankruptcy services at his law firm while on suspension for professional conduct, is affirmed as the evidence was sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt the essential elements of both 18 U.S.C. section 157(1) and 18 U.S.C. section 1519.
[08/12] US v. Kumar
Defendants' convictions and sentences for conspiracy, securities and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and perjury are affirmed in part where: 1) regardless of whether defendant's false testimony violated 18 U.S.C. section 1512(c)(2), it plainly violated section 1503(a), and the indictment charged at least that offense; 2) the Fifth Amendment did not protect false testimony; and 3) application of the 2005 Guidelines to defendants' fraud offenses, which were completed in 2000, did not violate the Ex Post Facto clause. However, one defendant's sentence is vacated where the district court erroneously failed to award defendant a two-point reduction for acceptance of responsibility that he should have received.
Criminal Defense Frequently Asked Questions
Are there special crimes to control children's behavior?
What is the difference between probation and parole?
How does a district attorney decide which criminals to go after?
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