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The U.S. justice system has been divided into to two distinct branches: Civil Law and Criminal Law.

 

The behavior of citizens in the United States is governed by state laws found in the state criminal codes and federal laws found in the federal penal code. When a person commits a crime, he or she violates one of these laws and criminal charges are filed. In some cases, a single act may violate both federal and state law. In such cases, whether a defendant is prosecuted in federal court or state court is at the discretion of the United States district attorney.

 

Felony v. Misdemeanor

 

Crimes are generally categorized as felonies or misdemeanors based on their nature and the maximum punishment that can be imposed. A felony, sometimes called a "high crime," involves serious misconduct that is punishable by death or by imprisonment of over one year (although the punishment can be less than one year at the judge's discretion). Most state criminal laws subdivide felonies into classes with varying degrees of punishment. Examples of felonies include murder, manslaughter, rape, fraud, robbery, racketeering, arson and white-collar crime.

 

Lesser crimes are classified as misdemeanors. A misdemeanor is misconduct punishable by up to one year in prison and/or a fine. Examples of misdemeanors include traffic violations, petty theft, simple assault and battery, trespass and public intoxication.

 

What Does a Criminal Lawyer Do?

 

A criminal lawyer, also known as a criminal defense lawyer, helps to defend persons and entities under investigation or accused of a crime. Under the United States Constitution, defendants are innocent until proven guilty. A criminal lawyer investigates the case and helps identify ways to introduce doubt into the question of a defendant's guilt. Based on the facts and evidence, the lawyer will develop a strategy, build a case and identify defenses to help prove the client's innocence or mitigate his sentence.

Why is Criminal Law Growing?

 

New laws are continually enacted. In recent years, U.S. lawmakers have significantly expanded the authority and reach of the justice system; in the last decade, hundreds of thousands of Americans have been charged and convicted under criminal laws. Federal laws, in particular, are expanding. According to a recent article:

 

"As federal criminal statutes have ballooned, it has become increasingly easy for Americans to end up on the wrong side of the law. Many of the new federal laws also set a lower bar for conviction than in the past: Prosecutors don't necessarily need to show that the defendant had criminal intent. By the turn of the 20th century, the number of criminal statutes numbered in the dozens. Today, there are an estimated 4,500 crimes in federal statutes. There are also thousands of regulations that carry criminal penalties."

 

"There are many reasons for the rising tide of laws. It's partly due to lawmakers responding to hot-button issues--environmental messes, financial machinations, child kidnappings, consumer protection--with calls for federal criminal penalties. Federal regulations can also carry the force of federal criminal law, adding to the legal complexity."

 

Some of these new federal statutes don't require prosecutors to prove criminal intent, eroding a bedrock principle in English and American law. The absence of this provision, known as mens rea, makes prosecution easier, critics argue.

 

Types of Crimes

 

Criminal statutes are annotated on about 27,000 pages of the federal code. Each State of the Union has its own criminal law statutes. The outline below is not a comprehensive list of all crimes but it is a sampling of some of the more common practice areas of a criminal lawyer.

 

Sex Crimes

Theft Crimes

Drug Crimes

Embezzlement

Domestic Violence

Violent Crimes

Gun Crimes

Juvenile Crimes

Murder

Criminal Traffic Offenses/ Suspended Licenses

Appeals

Probation/Community Control Violations

Traffic Citations/Tickets

DUI Defense

 

White Collar Crimes

 

Anti-trust violations

Bank fraud

Bribery of public officials

Embezzlement

Environmental law violations

FDA violations

Health care fraud

Honest services fraud

Insider trading

Kickback schemes

Mail fraud

Money laundering

Mortgage fraud

Public corruption

Securities fraud

Tax evasion / tax fraud

Tax return fraud

Telemarketing fraud

Workers compensation fraud

Wire fraud

Federal Crimes

Aggravated identity theft

Alien smuggling

Asset forfeiture

Bank fraud

Bomb offenses

Child pornography

Currency smuggling

Credit card fraud

Environmental violations

 

Firearm offenses

Gambling offenses

Immigration offenses

Internet gambling

Internet enticement of a minor

Possession with intent to distribute

Money laundering

Racketeering / RICO / Organized crime

Tax evasion / Tax fraud

Unemployment compensation fraud

Wire fraud

Workers compensation fraud

 

Sex Crimes

 

Child pornography

Internet enticement of minors

Sex tourism

 

State Offenses

 

Aggravated assault

Aggravated battery

Battery

Burglary

Child abuse

DUI / DUI Manslaughter

Domestic violence

Extortion

Grand theft

Murder/ Manslaughter

Possession of fraudulent ID

Robbery

Stalking

 

Drug Offenses

 

Manufacturing

Marijuana grow houses

Possession

Trafficking

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