Criminal Law
| Criminal Liability Associated with Violating the Clean Water Act |
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| The Clean Water Act governs the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters. Navigable waters have been defined as any waters in which one is able to navigate through, including streams or creeks that in turn feed navigable bodies of water. The Act requires any individual or corporation seeking to discharge pollutants to obtain a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The permit establishes the maximum amount of particular pollutants that may be discharged from facilities such as industrial and sewage treatment plants over a set period of time. The place or facility where the pollutants are discharged from is known as the point source. More... |
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| Mail Fraud |
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| Mail fraud involves the use of the mail system to defraud other individuals. To be found guilty of mail fraud the following elements must be proved: The defendant's intent to defraud another individual; the defendant's scheme to defraud another individual; the defendant actually mailed the materials in question.
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| Check Kiting, Improper Personal Loans to Banking Officers, and Overdrafts |
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| Check kiting is a crime that involves one or more individuals who utilize checking accounts at two or more financial institutions. The purpose of using two or more institutions is for the systematic exchange of checks written in similar amounts. The individual uses the lag time that it takes to clear checks through the Federal Reserve System to use and collect the money. More... |
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| Production Immunity |
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| Although the concept of production immunity is relatively new, in 1886 the United States Supreme Court held that the compulsory production of private papers containing incriminating information violated the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court has since found that as long as the subpoenaed papers were prepared voluntarily, the documents themselves cannot be said to contain compelled testimonial evidence. The documents therefore may not always be withheld on Fifth Amendment grounds. More... |
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| JURY INSTRUCTIONS ON DEFENSE THEORIES |
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| If requested by a defendant, a trial court is required to instruct a jury on any defense theories that are raised by the evidence. The defendant may raise those theories by his or her testimony alone. Also, the defendant is entitled to jury instructions on his or her affirmative defenses. The defendant's affirmative defenses do not need to be strong or to be uncontradicted in order for the defendant to be entitled to jury instructions on his or her affirmative defenses. The trial court is required to instruct the jury on the defendant's affirmative defenses, even if the trial court does not find that the affirmative defenses are credible or believable. More... |
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