Criminal Law Newsletters

Cellmate Informants

There are many different types of informants; one of the types of informant includes a cellmate informant. A cellmate informant is an informant that is incarcerated at the same time as a suspect and becomes friendly with the suspect in order to obtain information pertaining to the suspect's criminal activity.

Counterfeiting Trademark Violations

Counterfeiting trademarked goods is a growing problem in the United States. Counterfeiting of trademarked goods constitutes a felony offense. The offense involves the secret manufacture and distribution of imitation items. The counterfeited items consist of imitations of well-known products such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and Coach. Both the Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 and the Anticounterfeiting Consumer Protection Act of 1996 address the issues of counterfeiting of trademarked goods.

JURY INSTRUCTIONS ON APPLICATION OF THE LAW TO THE FACTS

A jury's role in a criminal case is to determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant. In accordance with this role, the jury must also judge the facts of the case. In order to make its factual determination, the jury is instructed on the law by a trial court. The trial court sets forth the law in written instructions that are delivered to the jury before the prosecution and the defense make their closing arguments. The jury is not permitted to receive the law from any source other than the trial court.

SEARCH & SEIZURE - ARREST WARRANTS

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. It provides that warrants for an arrest or for a search shall be based on probable cause, shall be supported by an oath or an affirmation, and shall describe with particularity the place to be searched or the person or thing to be seized.

Tax Fraud and Corporate Criminal Liability

A corporation may be potentially criminally liable for tax fraud committed by a director, officer, or employee. Basically, the general concept for corporate criminal liability is that a corporation may be found liable for committing criminal offenses when an employee, officer, or director of the corporation commits the criminal offense. Some jurisdictions still apply the common law theory that a corporation cannot be liable for a crime because it is unable to commit a crime in its corporate capacity.