Kinds of Criminal Law Crimes
Criminal Law is a body of rules and statutes that defines conduct prohibited by the government because it threatens and harms public safety and welfare and that establishes punishment to be imposed for the commission of such acts.
In criminal law, three major classifications that crimes may fall under: felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions. Click the link to know more about this. Every state has a different body of criminal laws which vary from state to state, it is significant to know what every category requires and will mean for you or loved one.
Felonies are usually divided according to people or property in danger with a minimum imprisonment for more than a one year. Felonies can be personal crimes and property crimes
Personal crimes are crimes that are perpetrated against an individual.Personal crimes usually involve bodily harm, the threat of bodily harm, or other actions committed against the will of an individual .
Under personal crimes are
Stabbing
Illegal detention
Abduction
Murder
Molestation
Property crimes are common crimes relating to theft or destruction of someone else's property
Property crimes are:
Theft
On purpose of setting up fires on properties
Making fake documents
Misdemeanors are less serious crimes that usually result in a small fine and/or jail time of less than one year in a jail facility rather than a prison facility. Indigent defendants charged with misdemeanors are usually entitled to legal representation at government expense.
Crimes under misdemeanors are:
Shoplifting
Vandalism
Hustling
Although misdemeanor has a less punishment, you still have a criminal record.
Misdemeanor cases can last for many months and uncommon cases will end more than a year, because of the seriousness and the case are complicated.
Three levels of demeanor
The first stage is called an arraignment. At arraignment, the court asks the defendant to enter a plea of "guilty" or "not guilty. If you want more information, go to the site at http://edition.cnn.com/CRIME/archive/.
The second stage is pretrial. At the pretrial, the prosecuting attorney and defense attorney discuss the case. Defense can request for info and evidence from prosecution, called discovery.
The last level is the trial. Almost of the cases do not go on to trial, they solved by plea bargain. Although, every suspect in a misdemeanor case has the right to have trial by the jury.
If a case cannot be resolved at the pretrial stage, the defense attorney may make a last-ditch effort to settle the case on the day of trial.
Infractions sometimes called violations are petty offenses that are typically punishable by fines, but not jail time. The reason an infraction is not considered "criminal" is because it does not appear on your Department Of Justice criminal records. Common infractions are seat belt violations, simple speeding tickets, littering citations, running a red light, and failure to stop properly at a stop sign. Infraction also include without proper business or improper throwing of garbage or trash can. If you want to know more, click here to get started.
