Facebook
Home Criminal Page 30

Criminal

Wanted Posters

Wanted Posters

Using Wanted Posters


A wanted poster is a poster circulated throughout the public to let the citizens know about an alleged criminal whom law enforcement and other authorities want to apprehend.
Some information that is found on a wanted poster includes:
• Basic personal information such as name and birth date
• Aliases
• Physical description including height, weight, build, hair, eyes, race, and sex
• Other remarks on the description
• Photos
• Details of crime
• Reward
A wanted posted will often include a photograph of the alleged criminal if a picture is available. If one is not, a drawing or facial composite image drawn by a police artist is used instead.
The wanted poster will usually also include a physical description of the person in question along with the details of the crime that they have allegedly committed. Wanted posters can be made and distributed by police departments on different levels of government or other public government agencies such as the FBI. 
Wanted Posters are often put on display in an area that is public so that a large amount of individuals can see the picture. This can be in a post office lobby or a physical bulletin board. Historically, railway security, vigilante groups, express companies, and other private agencies have also used wanted posters in an attempt to apprehend an individual.
Wanted posters for an especially notorious fugitive often include an offer for a reward or bounty for the capture of the fugitive, or a reward for information that can lead to the capture. Wanted posters used in a more modern age can also include an image of the fugitive’s fingerprints.
The FBI started using wanted posters in December 15, 1919. At the time, it was not meant to be a wanted poster, but rather a piece of paper with all the information known about an alleged criminal. It was titled the Identification Order Number 1 and since then, over 5,400 identification orders have been put out. These wanted posters were also the foundation of the list of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, which was created in 1950.
While wanted papers started out on paper, recent technological advances have provided other means of distributing wanted posters. The FBI started posting wanted posters on electronic billboards in 2007, initially putting posters in 23 different cities. Because of these electronic billboards, there have been at least 30 cases solved in direct response to the publicity received by these billboards.

Cosa Nostra

Cosa Nostra

La Cosa Nostra in the United States


La Cosa Nostra, or the Mafia is the most organized criminal threat In America. The name is literally translated as “this thing of ours.” The organization relies on a national alliance of criminals that are either linked by familial ties or by conspiracy. Unlike organized crime in Italy, La Cosa Nostra is an Italian organization that is founded in the United States. This quality is shared with the Neapolitan Mafia, Calabrian Mafia, and the United Sacred Crown.
According to the FBI, La Cosa Nostra consists of several different groups or families that are most commonly arranged by location who are engaged in organized racketeering actions. La Cosa Nostra has a strong presence throughout the United States, particularly in New York, Philadelphia, along with southern New Jersey. However, they are also active in other areas of New England, Detroit, Chicago, as well as other locations internationally.
Organized crime families such as La Cosa Nostra evolved over thousands of years due to different periods of exploitation and invasions of Italy. Throughout these events, Sicilians soon became much more clan based and began to rely heavily on family and other strong ties for protection, safety, justice, and survival. They created groups that that initially acted as resistance fighters who would exact vigilante justice and profit at the expense of the oppressor. 
These groups eventually developed into the Mafia. In the beginning of the 20th century, many of these head figures of organized crime groups illegally immigrated to the United States where they established the American Mafia, or La Cosa Nostra. This began with Charles Luciano, who was a Sicilian Mafioso. He came to the United States and is credited for structuring La Cosa Nostra, which was based off the structure of the Sicilian Mafia
Some of the most historically influential actions of La Cosa Nostra involved labor racketeering, which was manipulating, controlling, or dominating the labor movement in order to somehow affect the industries and businesses related, potential resulting in economic losses by the insurer, consumer, business, or workers, as well as the potential loss of worker’s rights. Some examples of La Cosa Nostra’s involvement in labor racketeering include: 
• Members of La Cosa Nostra falsely listing their employment as labor or labor-related at the 1957 Apalachin conference in New York.
• Systematic racketeering in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as well as the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union.
• Exposure in 1986 by the President’s Council on Organized Crime dinficating that five major unions being dominated by La Cosa Nostra.
• Paul Castellano, the former Gambino family boss saying the job of La Cosa Nostra was to run the unions.

Cartels

CartelsCartels and Their Role in the Market



A cartel is an explicit or formal agreement among firms that are in competition with each other. By creating a cartel, it sets up a formal organization of manufacturers and produces that decide and agree on fixed prices, production, and marketing to increase the profits of the participants. This allows the participating producers to constrain other competing companies outside of the cartel and potentially create a monopoly of the product in the market.
Topics discussed on in a cartel agreement can include:
• Price Fixing
• Bid rigging
• Market Shares
• Total industry output
• Allocation of territories
• Allocation of customers
• Establishment of sales agencies
• Division of profits among participants.
Cartels can often be found in markets that have a smaller number of sellers and in turn, less competition. It also applies to a product that is relatively homogenous and has few variations between sellers. 
Because of antitrust laws (specifically the Sherman Antitrust Act which passed in 1890), cartels are no longer legal in the United States and creating one is considered a federal crime. However, many European countries do allow cartels to operate. These cartels influence the prices of imported goods that come into the United States. Drug cartels in other countries also affect the United States, as many illegal narcotics are smuggled into the United States.
Cartels can be classified as being either private or public.
• Public: The government is involved in order to regulate and enforce the cartel agreements made. The sovereignty of the government protects the cartels from any legal actions made against them.
• Private: These cartels can be legally liable under whatever antitrust laws are in placed in the country of question.
Most competition laws and antitrust laws forbid private cartel agreements. It is important to spot and break up these private cartels because of competition policy that are found in most countries, although it is rarely an easy task to prove the existence of a cartel agreement since many of the involved parties are extremely careful not to leave physical evidence of such a thing.
Many different legal decisions and economic studies of antitrust authorities have concluded that the median increase in price accomplished by these cartels was about 25% in the last 200 years. Private cartels with participants from two or more countries created an average increase of price of 28%, whereas private domestic cartels averaged 18%. Less than 10% of all cartels used in the sample did not raise the market price of their product.
One example of a cartel is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. This cartel is between the governments of The United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Iran, Angola, Ecuador, and Algeria.
OPEC represents countries that produce major sources of oil in the Middle East, South America, and Africa. While not as powerful as they once were, they have some control of gas prices and cannot be held accountable for being in a cartel due to public international law giving them doctrine of state immunity.

Prison Reentry

Prison Reentry

What do Prison Reentry Programs Do?
Prison reentry programs are designed to promote effective reintegration of prisoners and offenders back into their communities after being released from jail or prison. Many of these prison reentry programs require a very comprehensive approach to the case and works to help offenders in receiving the proper skills needed to become citizens that follow the law. By creating prison reentry programs, it helps reduce recidivism rates.
There are many different prison reentry programs, such as vocational training, work programs, and prerelease programs. One particular initiative is supported by the United States Department of Justice, and is known as the Prisoner Reentry Initiative. It is also supported by the Office of Justice Programs, as well as other federal programs such as the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development.
This initiative is a complete effort that looks at both adult and juvenile groups of very high-risk offenders. It provides resources to create, set up, improve, and evaluate many reentry strategies used to ensure the safety of the community by reducing serious, violent crimes.
This is done through preparation of the selected offenders in order to successfully integrate them into their communities after having served a long period of secure confinement in an adult or juvenile correctional facility, a state training school, or other secure institution.
In these prison reentry initiatives, some goals include providing education, job training, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, mentoring, and risk assessment. The initiative then works to proper monitoring and training as well as other assessment to help transition the individual into society. 
Long term programs are also included to help provide various social services and community based groups to provide continuing services and mentor relationships if necessary. These programs are often implemented are often implemented the first year and a half after release from jail or prison.
Another approach to prison reentry is through reentry courts. These courts offer the chance for even more extensive treatment and management of offenders at the beginning of the sentencing phase. The goal is to promote accountability of the offender while giving services and treatment during the prison reentry phase.
These programs can be very helpful because annually, almost 650,000 individuals are released from federal and state prison doorsteps. Even more come out of local jails and have often been in and out of jail more than once. For example, The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that in a study consisting of 15 states, over 67% of the released state prisoners were rearrested, over half of them returning to prison within three years.

Verbal Abuse

Verbal Abuse

What Counts as Verbal Abuse?


Verbal abuse is best thought of as an emotional environment that is ongoing that is created by an abuser to the abused, most often for the point of maintaining control. One of the primary underlying factors in the dynamics of a relationship with verbal abuse is the fact that the abuser has low self-esteem or opinions for him or herself. Because of this, the abuser tries to put their victim in a lowered position to make them believe similar things through a warped projection.
Verbal abuse can include:
• accusing
• berating
• blaming
• blocking
• bullying
• countering
• defaming
• defining
• discounting
• diverting
• harassing
• insulting
• interrogating
• lying
• name-calling
• putting down
• raging
• taunting
• threatening
• trivializing
• withholding
• yelling
Some examples of verbal abuse include:
• Control by telling a victim how to feel and what to think while refusing to understand the victim’s perspective. The abuser may object verbally in a violent way to the victim’s desires or inions. 
• Withholding support, affection, information or money and denying it when the abuser is confronted.
• Isolating a victim by blocking outside relationships to family and friends. The abuser works tries to convince the victim that the only person who truly cares about the victim or likes the victim is the abuser. Occasionally, the verbal abuser may be willing to admit to this behavior, and agrees to end it, but the behavior tends to quickly restart.
 Verbal abuse can happen to any person of any race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, size or age. It is seen most often in is especially prevalent in marital relationships. Most often, the intensity of verbal abuse will increase over time and can even escalate to a point where it becomes physical abuse as well.
Often in a relationship with intense verbal abuse, the victim often suffers from very low self-esteem along with low self-worth. Because of the verbal abuse, a victim can easily fall into post-traumatic stress disorder or even clinical depression.
Despite verbal abuse being one of the more common forms of abuse, it is normally not considered to be as seriously as other forms of abuse, since no visible proof comes out of verbal abuse. However, verbal abuse can sometimes be more harmful to the individual’s well-being than physical abuse.
If verbal abuse starts at a young age, it can contribute greatly to borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, codependency, and many other psychological disorders that often continue on into adulthood.
Individuals who feel they are being verbally attacked by an abuser regularly should try to get professional counsel and get out of the hurtful environment as much as possible. Staying in an environment with a verbal abuser is extremely damaging for a person’s well-being.

Most Wanted

Most Wanted

Most Wanted in the United States


There are many different most wanted lists based on the level of government and the government or law enforcement agency involved. The most commonly known one in the United States is the Federal Bureau of Investigations most wanted list that started in the middle of the 20th century.
The Ten Most Wanted List is one of the most well know FBI list that have been in existence since March of 1950. The list was designed by the FBI with the country’s new media in order to publicize dangerous fugitives in order to receive more public assistance in tracking these fugitives. These names are chosen by the 56 field offices of the FBI who submit their candidates for the list to the Criminal Investigative Division. Selected candidates are approved by the Assistant director and then the FBI’s director.

Different FBI Wanted Lists
The FBI has different lists based on the crimes.
• Ten Most Wanted
• Parental Kidnappings
• Most Wanted Terrorists
• Crime Alerts
• Crimes Against Children
In order to be on the list, an individual must have a long record of committing crimes or be a very dangerous menace to society. The case must also benefit from public awareness. The first person to be put on the list was Thomas James Holden, who had murdered his wife and two of her relatives. Since then 949 fugitives have been put on the list, while 464 of them have been located or apprehended.

Currently the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives are:
• Jason Derek Brown
• Victor Manuel Gerena
• James J. Bulger
• Eduardo Ravelo
• Robert William Fisher
• Joe Luis Saenz
• Alexis Flores
Semion Mogilevich
• Glen Stewart Godwin
• Osama Bin Laden (who is now deceased)

Other Most Wanted Lists Kept by Government or Law Enforcement Agencies
• U.S. Marshal’s Most Wanted list consists of those with a history of many violent crimes who are possibly armed and dangerous.
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service has a list for those who have committed robbery, mail fraud, harming postal employees, and other crimes.
• Secret Service Most wanted Fugitives
• Interpol International Police Organization
• The Drug Enforcement Administration maintains their own lists of most wanted fugitives based on Field Division. They also keep a list of major international fugitives as well.
• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and firearms has a wanted list.
• Environmental Protection Agency’s list of fugitives includes those who have broken the EPA’s rules.
Many states jurisdictions also have their own most wanted lists. For example, California’s most wanted list is kept by the Department of Justice, while New York’s list is kept by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. 

Execution

Execution

Execution in the United States


Lawful execution through the death penalty or capital punishment is the death sentence upon an individual through the judicial process as punishment for an offence by the individual. Crimes that can result in being sentenced to execution are considered capital offenses or capital crimes.
Capital is a term that originates from capitalis, a Latin word, that literally means “regarding the head”. The idea originated from the fact that originally, a capital crime was punishable by severing the body from the head.
Capital punishment has existed and been practiced by the majority of societies, while only 58 countries currently actively practice it. 95 countries have abolished execution while the countries remaining have not used it for over a decade or only have used in in extreme circumstances such as during wartime.
In the United States, capital punishment is practically applied to only aggravated murder, although occasionally it is applied to felony murder. Prior to the Declaration of Independence, executions were an enforced penalty for many felonies. After the American Revolution, execution was still maintained with the United States common law system.
Execution is a very controversial idea in many different states and countries and positions often rely on or are based off of a political or cultural ideology or a religious belief. In the United States, Capital punishment has constantly been a contentious social issue. Historically, the majority of the public favors it in murder cases, yet this support has changed over time.
The procedures of execution and the crimes that can warrant it vary by state by state and jurisdiction by jurisdiction and have done so throughout American history. Currently, 34 four jurisdictions have banned execution by law, while others have simply suspended its use. Meanwhile there are a few that are attempting to increase its applicability. In 2008 there were 37 executions in the United States and 46 executions in 2010, where all but two lethal injection.
In the 37 states as well as the federal government that have execution statutes, only five methods of execution are prescribed:
• Lethal Injection
• Lethal Gas
• Electrocution
Firing Squad
• Hanging. 
Most of the executions performed in the United States are by lethal injection. However, more than half the jurisdictions also provide for alternative methods. The choice of method can be based off of:
• The Inmate’s choice
• Date of sentence or execution
• Change of method being unconstitutional
Currently, Nebraska is the only state that does not have lethal injection as the main choice of execution. It also does not provide other options besides electrocution as the only method of execution. Currently, none of the states provide hanging, lethal gas, or a firing squad for the only method of execution.
Since the death penalty laws were reinstatement in 1976, New Jersey became the first state to repeal its laws in 2007. The Nebraska Supreme Court also repealed the laws in 2008 by saying the electric chair was not constitutional as a method of execution. Since there are no alternative methods, Nebraska in practice does not have a death penalty.

Rape Statistics

Rape Statistics

United States Rape Statistics


Rape is not just a women’s problem, but rather a societal problem. Here are some rape statistics to help show to provide more information on the issue. 


Rape Statistics on the Victims
• 1 out of 6 American women have been through either an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
• Over 17.7 million women in America are currently the victims of completed or attempted rape.
• In 2003, 90% of rape victims were women.
• 80% of rape victims are white, but minorities are more likely to experience an attack.
• 1 in 33 American men have been the victim of an attempted rape or completed rape.
• In 2003, 10% of rape victims were men
• Over 2.5 million American men  have been the victims of rape or sexual assault.
• 80% of rape and sexual assault victims are less than 30 years old, while 33% are less than 18 and 15 are less than 12.
• Young women ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be victims or attempted rape, rape, or sexual assault in comparison to the general population.

Rape Statistics: Frequency
• Attempted rape, rape, or sexual assault occurred to individuals 12 or older 248,300 times according to 2007 rape statistics.
• Someone is sexually assaulted in the United States every 2 minutes.
• Thankfully, the rate of sexual assault has fallen over 60% since 1993.

Rape Statistics: Reporting the Crime
• At least 60% of sexual assaults and rapes are not reported to law enforcement authorities, meaning only approximately 6% of rapists experience jail time.
• This means approximately 15/16 rapists are not held accountable for their crimes.
Rape Statistics: The Offenders
• About 67% of rapes and sexual assaults are done by someone the victim has met as opposed to a stranger.
• 38% are an acquaintance or friend, 28% are someone who is considered intimate, and 7% is a family member or relative.
• Over half of all sexual assaults and rape incidents happen within a mile of the home of either the offender or the victim.
• According to rape statistics, approximately 40% occur in the victim’s home and 20% happen in a friend, relative’s, or neighbors home.
• 43% of all rapes happen between 6PM and 12AM, 24% happen from 12AM to 6AM, while 33% happen between 6AM and 6PM.
• The average age of the offender is 31 years old.
• About half of the offenders are white.
• 22% of rapists that are imprisoned are married.
• In about 1/3 of all sexual assaults, the offender is under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.
• 84% of rapes use only physical force according to victims.
• More than 1/10 of the rapes in 2001 used a weapon such as a knife, gun, or other form.
• Almost half of rapists released from prison committed another crime and was arrested for it within 3 years.

Joseph King: Aggressive, Innovative and Committed Defense Attorney

Joseph King: Aggressive, Innovative and Committed Defense Attorney

Alexandria, VA—Recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of the top criminal defense attorneys in the Washington DC metro, Joseph King knows trials.

“I feel mitigation plays a big part in this job,” King told laws.com in a recent interview. “Therefore, it is very important to be prepared and get to know your client.”

(More on News at LAWS.com, Contact Alberto for interviews “support@laws.com”)

After graduating from law school in 2003, criminal law piqued King’s interest most. “When I interned as a public defender, I gained a great deal of experience and knew that I wanted to practice criminal law,” he says.

King worked nearly five years in a public defender's office before going into private practice, honing his skills by attending the Trial Practice Institute at the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia and handling hundreds of cases. His skills have won him many accolades, and for the last four years he's been lauded as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by The National Trial Lawyers.

With his experience in public defense, King knows better than most attorneys that poorer defendants face an uphill battle in court. “The biggest challenge criminal defendants face today is when they lack resources to pay for an attorney but do not qualify for court-appointed appointed counsel.  If the defendant does qualify for court-appointed counsel, the quality of representation can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Sometimes public defenders are among the best criminal defense attorneys in their jurisdictions, if not the best—but some offices are underfunded and overworked—leading to defendants being underrepresented.”

Even when a client is able to spend some money on an attorney, the most inexpensive lawyers may overpromise and underdeliver, according to King. “Many of these criminal defense attorneys do not take their cases seriously enough, or do not put in the time to file motions.”

While many criminal defense attorneys advise that young attorneys cut their teeth at the prosecutor's office before moving on to private defense practice, King believes that new lawyers are better served by learning how indigent defendants are represented and working to defend clients who can't afford private lawyers.

“If someone is serious about becoming a criminal defense attorney, they should definitely take courses in criminal law and criminal procedure,” King says. “I also recommend that law students should, if they have the opportunity, take the chance to intern at the public defender's office. Keep in mind that criminal defense is not for everyone.”

More cases than ever are resolved by plea bargains rather than trials in the United States, and King says that deciding what path to take depends completely on the circumstances of the case. “Every case is different. Many things have to be taken into consideration, such as the jury, sentencing guidelines, and the theory of the case. Also, if I feel the outcome of going to trial is going to be worse than the plea deal, I feel it's best to take the plea deal.”

King believes that new defense attorneys should take time to continue educating themselves—and know their limits. “Some of the biggest challenges criminal defense attorneys face today have to do with keeping up with the law and being able to say 'no' to cases they can't reasonably represent.”
To learn more about Joseph King and King, Campbell & Poretz PLLC click here.

Sodomy

Sodomy

A Brief History of Sodomy Laws in the United States
Until the 21st century, sodomy laws prevailed in the United States legal system. In a 6-3 ruling of the landmark United States Supreme Court case Lawrence V Texas (2003), sodomy laws in Texas were considered unconstitutional, effectively deeming all state laws against sodomy unconstitutional as well. This not only applied to homosexual sex, but hetero sexual as well.
Sodomy laws were first derived from religious references, which throughout history have seen sodomy and homosexual behavior as sinful. When King Henry VIII separated Britain form the Catholic church, the Church was integrated into law, making sodomy illegal. As the 13 American colonies were established, the same laws were put into place and were continued as America became independent from Britain.
These sodomy laws were kept in place until the second half of the 20th century. Before 2003, they were still effective in 14 states, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
Sodomy laws had already been stuck down in 11 states from 1989 to 2002 and 24 more between 1970 to 1989. Illinois was the only state to have stuck down sodomy laws before 1970.
In 1986, the case Bowers V Hardwick was taken up the United States Supreme Court. In this case, Hardwick had been found with a male companion while engaging in consensual oral sex, which violated a Georgia law that classified homosexual sex as illegal since it was not protected by the Constitution. The United States Supreme Court upheld this law, saying that the right to privacy from the due process clause of the 14th amendment did not extend to homosexual sexual activity.
This precedent was not upheld by Lawrence V Texas (2003), which was a case involving a weapons disturbance in a private residence in Houston, Texas. When Police entered petitioner Lawrence’s apartment, they found Lawrence taking engaging is a consensual Sexual act with another man, Garner. Both were arrested and convicted of deviate sexual intercourse, which violated a Texas sodomy statute forbidding homosexual sexual conduct.
The 2003 case reevaluated the constitutionality and majority opinion found that the actions were appropriate as long as consenting adults were participating in a private setting.
Despite this ruling, there has still been some unwillingness on from certain states to fully comply. For instance, in April 2011, the Texas state legislature debated whether to repeal the state’s ban on homosexual conduct. Despite Lawrence V Texas, the state has not removed the law from the books. Meanwhile, 14 other states have not removed the laws outlawing consensual anal sex between adults.
Currently only Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia have laws outlawing all sodomy. Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, and Texas still have laws on the books that outlaw only outlaw homosexual sodomy.
The 2003 decision is also applied limitedly to the United State Military. While the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces have stated that the ruling narrows the former ban on sodomy via Article 125, there are certain circumstances unique to the military that can uphold Article 125, such as public sexual behavior or rape.
1...293031...38Page 30 of 38
Facebook

EVEN MORE NEWS

POPULAR CATEGORY

©

Attorneys, Get Listed

Let's Do It
X