Unit 6 Assignment Question 1
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unit_vi_presentationoverview.docx
Now more than ever, persons have an abundance of property to protect. Criminal statutes include property crimes such as theft, burglary, arson, and computer crimes. Although the elements of the offenses vary, each involves the unauthorized taking of real, tangible, or intangible property. The various property crimes and variations of crimes include lesser or aggravated offenses.
Introduction
The crime of theft is characterized by several different terms, including acquisitive offenses, wrongful acquisition, and misrepresentation. To increase your understanding of theft offense, it is important to understand the elements of larceny and the different types of property.
Defining Theft
Theft is conduct that unlawfully deprives someone of their property. Let's examine the different terms that describe the types of conduct constituting theft.
· Wrongful acquisition crimes
· Crimes of misrepresentation
Larceny is the common law crime of theft. Today’s state criminal statutes have particularized the crime of theft in various ways. The common law elements of larceny are as follows:
· Mens Rea:
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· The intentional and unlawful
· Actus Reus:
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· Taking of another’s personal property with intent to keep it
Larceny generally consists of garden variety theft. If, for example, the defendant sees a wallet in an unsupervised purse and takes it, the person is guilty of larceny.
Elements of Larceny
Today’s criminal statutes generally codify four elements for larceny:
· Intentionally and unlawfully (or wrongfully)
· Taking (or carrying away)
· The property of another
· With the intent to keep (as opposed to borrow)
Let's examine three types of property:
Property of Another: Grand Larceny (felony) is differentiated from petit larceny (misdemeanor) by the market value or special characteristic of the object taken. Example: the theft of firearms constitutes grand larceny.
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Unlawful Taking
For the crime of larceny, the person must intentionally and unlawfully take the property of another. Let’s examine the element of unlawful taking or trespassory taking .
Trespassory taking is “taking without consent.” The scope of consent is examined, and if it is determined that the defendant's conduct went outside the boundaries of consent, then the defendant may be guilty of larceny.
The word taking, or asportation , means the carrying away of an object. The element of asportation in criminal larceny statutes incorporates the loss of the value or access caused by the defendant's conduct.
If a bailee is entrusted with goods that are intentionally destroyed or sold for profit without consent, that individual is guilty of larceny. To be considered intentional, the act or conduct must include the intent to steal; therefore warehouse attendants who accidentally, recklessly, or negligently destroy or lose the bailer’s items are not guilty of a criminal crime. However, they may be held civilly responsible for repayment of monetary losses to the owner.
Theft, also known as larceny, involves the intentional and unlawful taking of another’s personal property with the intent to keep it. The three types of property are tangible, intangible, and real. You should now be able to provide examples of each type of property. You should also be able to define trespassory taking and asportation.
OBJECIVES
Define theft Review
Theft, also known as larceny, involves the intentional and unlawful taking of another’s personal property with the intent to keep it. The three types of property are tangible, intangible, and real. You should now be able to provide examples of each type of property. You should also be able to define trespassory taking and asportation.
OBJECTIVES
· Define theft
· Identify wrongful acquisition crimes
· Summarize the definitions and principles of crimes of theft
SEQUENCE
Introduction
The crime of larceny generally holds that a person cannot be charged with theft of his or her own property. Analyzing the concepts of intent to steal, embezzlement, and conversion of personal property is important.
Property of Another
For the crime of larceny, generally, a person cannot be held liable for the theft of his or her own property. However, consider the following fact scenario:
A tow truck company is called by the owner of the property, Jan, to come and remove a car that is illegally parked on her property. The towing company arrives and tows the car from the lot. The property manager does not realize he has given the wrong license plate number to the towing company. The car they towed actually was parked legally.
The owner of the car, Jack, contacts the towing company. The representative of the company explains that they were told to tow the car because Jack failed to purchase a parking pass.
Jack explains that he has the receipt for the pass. The towing company explains that he will have to discuss that with the owner of the property. In the meantime, in order to have his car released, he must pay the cost for the towing and fines. Jack is furious; he has a friend take him to where his car is located. He drives onto the property of the towing company and realizes he could easily get into his car and drive away.
Jack gets into his car and drives away without paying for the tow.
The towing company calls the police. Has Jack committed the crime of larceny?
Intent to Steal
Let's examine the last element of larceny, the intent to steal. This element requires the district attorney to prove that the defendant intentionally and wrongfully deprived someone of an item who lawfully has possession of it, even if he or she is not the owner.
In the previous hypothetical towing case, would Jack be guilty of depriving the tow company of his car? The answer could be yes in that his dispute is with the owner of the parking lot, not with the towing company. The towing company was authorized to tow the car.
Would Jack be able to assert the claim of ri ght defense?
ght defense?
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Embezzlement
The crime of embezzlement is the unlawful conversion of someone else’s personal property to one’s own. Here the defendant has been entrusted with the personal property. The consent is given for the original possession but the defendant’s fraudulent conversion constitutes the crime of embezzlement.
Review
The crime of larceny requires the intent to steal, which is the knowing and intentional act of depriving someone of a possession. You should now understand the elements of theft and the definition of embezzlement.
Introduction
Property crimes encompass a variety of criminal acts, ranging from those involving fraud and deceit, to accepting stolen goods, and even crimes against persons. To increase your understanding of property crimes, it is important to analyze the crime of false pretenses, the elements of forgery, and receiving stolen property.
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False Pretenses
The crime of false pretenses has the same elements as embezzlement, only here the defendant obtained the original consent for possession through misrepresentation or false pretenses.
A common scenario is that of the door-to-door salesperson who convinces an elderly couple that he/she is selling them real property in Alaska. The real property, of course, does not exist, and the salesperson is guilty of obtaining property (in this case, money for land in Alaska that he/she does not own) by false pretenses.
Forgery
The forgery and uttering of a written instrument is the crime of altering a legal document with the intent to unlawfully obtain property. The uttering element refers to the passing or use of the forged document. This crime involves intangible property .
Payday loans and check cashing companies in some jurisdictions have begun to use these types of statutes to discourage parties from either forging checks or attempting to utter forged documents. However, many of these companies are using these statutes to attempt to obtain civil remedies through criminal avenues.
Many of the participants in the payday loan cycle find themselves unable to pay the high interest rate of these modern-day loan sharks. Those who fall helplessly behind can find themselves charged with criminal check fraud.
Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 03: Property Related Crimes
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Receiving Stolen Property
The defendant must know that the property is stolen at the time of receipt and then must intentionally keep the property.
The greatest challenge to prosecuting this type of crime is proving that the defendant knew the property was stolen. The more rare and valuable the item, the less likely it is that the defendant did not know he or she was receiving stolen goods.
This crime is named appropriately- receiving stolen property , and has the following elements:
Select each item to learn more.
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Mens rea: Knowingly and intentionally |
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Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 03: Property Related Crimes
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Receiving Stolen Property
The defendant must know that the property is stolen at the time of receipt and then must intentionally keep the property.
The greatest challenge to prosecuting this type of crime is proving that the defendant knew the property was stolen. The more rare and valuable the item, the less likely it is that the defendant did not know he or she was receiving stolen goods.
This crime is named appropriately- receiving stolen property , and has the following elements:
Select each item to learn more.
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Mens rea: Knowingly and intentionally |
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Actus reus: Accepts |
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Added Facts: Stolen property
Study Guide Property and Computer Crimes Topic 03: Property Related Crimes
22 of 43 Robbery Now let’s switch our focus a bit. We have just examined theft crimes as crimes against property. The crime of robbery can be said to be both a crime against property and persons. The crime of robbery requires that the property be taken from the presence of someone by threat or force. Robbery is a combination of larceny and assault. Unlike with pickpockets or cases of larceny, where the victim is not aware of the theft at the time, with robbery, there is a threat to the victim. Aggravated robbery is a higher class offense than robbery as discussed with aggravated assault and battery. The crime of robbery is aggravated when (1) a weapon is used or (2) serious bodily injury occurs. Robbery is a common law felony whereby, if a death occurs, felony murder applies instead.
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The defendant
SEQExtortion
When you hear the word extortion , generally, its synonym bribery is not far behind. In early times, the crime of extortion was defined as an attempt to collect an unlawful fee as a public officer; bribery (both then and now) was the payment of a fee or a reward to a public officer in order to gain influence with that person. Today, the crime of extortion has been expanded to include any person who uses the threat of future force or exposure to obtain property from another.
Let’s examine two additional types of extortion crimes:
· Blackmail: This type of extortion crime involves the threat of exposing one’s criminal past or one's private acts to public shame.
· Compounding a crime: The defendant threatens to report the victim for a crime the victim has committed.
UIntroduction
Real property consists of land and fixtures, such as a car, a house, or a garage. Consequently, real property offenses are committed in violation of one or more of these items. Common crimes against real property include burglary, looting, and arson.
EIdentity Theft
Recently there have been publicized raids on American corporations that employ illegal immigrants. Sometimes, these illegal immigrants have used stolen identification documents to validate their employment.
The crime of identity theft is quickly evolving. With advances in computer technology, a potential thief can gain access to personal information more easily.
NStudy Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 04: Crimes Against Real Property
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Burglary
Now let’s examine crimes against real property. Burglary is commonly known as the breaking and entering into a dwelling or residence with intent to commit a felony. The crime includes the breaking and entering of cars, motor homes, boats and so on.
Some argue that breaking and entering simply means entering without permission, and as a result, many jurisdictions have removed the requirement of a locked facility or car. The defendant still must force his way in; otherwise he is guilty of criminal trespass , a lesser offense of burglary.
Select each item to learn more.
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Mens rea: Intending to commit a felony |
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Actus reus: Breaking and entering |
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Added Facts: Dwellings, businesses, automobiles, etc. |
CELooting
The defendant must force his or her way into a structure to commit burglary. Where a defendant uses a robot or mechanism to enter and commit the crime, this is called constructive entry . The actus reus of the robot is impugned to the defendant.
Looting is the crime of taking personal property from a geographical area that has been declared to be in a state of emergency.
Looting crimes generally involve the entry into damaged structures and stealing of goods from identifiable stores, unlike an armored truck accident, where cash falls into the street and hundreds of people dive for dollars.
Arson
The modern day crime of arson incorporates the destruction of property through the lighting of a fire.
Mens rea : Maliciously and intentionally
Actus reus : BurningIntroduction
With the advent of the Internet and increased access to computers, law enforcement officers have become increasingly involved in enforcing computer crimes, including fraud, trespass, and several other offenses. Early on, the law did not adequately describe computer crimes. However, beginning in the 1980s, legislators began to keep current with technology.
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Intellectual Property
Criminal statutes that codify crimes committed with computers are evolving at an ever increasing rate.
Law enforcement agencies are aggressively providing computer technology training for their officers. To control computer crime , officers have to become familiar with intellectual property terminology and methodology.
Intellectual property refers to the information owned by a company that can be protected by patent, copyright, or other legal means.
Judges and lawyers are also finding the need to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of computer crime.
The next screen examines early cases and the legal challenges posed by computer crimes.
Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 05: Computer Crimes
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History of Prosecution of Computer Crimes
Initially, states struggled with how to classify the theft of computer services or intangible property.
District attorneys began to become creative within the criminal statutes. They prosecuted computer crimes under mail fraud, wire fraud, embezzlement, and the like.
Let’s review the facts and holding of three 1972 computer crime cases:
Select each item to learn more.
Lund v. Commonwealth
This case held that the graduate student could not be held liable for unauthorized use of the computer at his university under the larceny statutes.
Ward v. Superior Court
Here the business executive unlawfully copied a program and used it to make money. The court held that he was culpable under trade secret and copyright criminal statutes.
People v. Weg
This case involved the unauthorized use of a computer; again the court refused to hold the defendant liable.
Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 05: Computer Crimes
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Computer Crime Laws
Select each item to learn more.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984
CSEA 2002
The Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999
Communication Decency Act (CDA) of 1996
Communication Decency Act of 1996. This act attempted to make illegal the display of pornography or submission of pornography to minors. The attempt to criminalize this conduct could not overcome First Amendment protections and was not implemented.
Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 05: Computer Crimes
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Computer Crime Laws
Select each item to learn more.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984
CSEA 2002
The Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999
Communication Decency Act (CDA) of 1996
Increased the amount of damages that can be awarded to victims of computer crime.
Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 05: Computer Crimes
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Computer Crime Laws
Select each item to learn more.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984
CSEA 2002
The Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999
Communication Decency Act (CDA) of 1996
This federal act provided sentencing guidelines for computer crimes, including life imprisonment where human life was threatened.
Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 05: Computer Crimes
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Computer Crime Laws
Select each item to learn more.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984
CSEA 2002
The Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999
Communication Decency Act (CDA) of 1996
This federal statute codified elements for computer crimes.
Study Guide
Property and Computer Crimes
Topic 05: Computer Crimes
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Types of Cybercrimes
Select each item to learn more.
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Computer fraud Computer fraud is the crime of larceny, embezzlement, or false pretenses to obtain property through the use of a computer. |
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Computer trespass Computer trespass is a statute that criminalizes any attempt to take, alter, erase or unlawfully use information from a computer. |
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Theft of computer services Theft of computer services is a statute that punishes unauthorized use of computers. |
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Personal trespass by computer Personal trespass by computer is an offense in which a person uses a computer or computer network without authorization and with the intent to cause physical injury to an individual. |
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Computer tampering Computer tampering is a statute that criminalizes the use of dangerous viruses etc. to destroy computers and their data. |
Added Facts: Some statutorily recognized property.
Burning refers to the destruction of property through any element: fire, smoke, flames, etc. Criminal statutes also define degrees of arson. For example, recklessly setting fire to a structure is a lesser degree of arson.
