Categories of Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Categories of Crime - Essay Example As stated previously, criminal law differs from civil law in that it requires an agent of the government, whether state or federal, to charge someone accused of a crime and prove that they are guilty of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Except in cases where the accused has foregone, or waived, his right to a trial by a jury, the decision of guilt or innocence must be determined by a jury of his or her peers, usually a twelve-person group of randomly selected citizens that have no knowledge of the crime that the defendant has committed (American Bar Association, 2011). This is to help protect the accused by forcing the jury to make a decision of guilt or innocence based on what they hear in the courtroom, not what they have read, heard, or seen somewhere else (American Bar Association, 2011). The two most common types of crimes prosecuted in state courts involve felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies are the more serious of the two, and usually come with a penalty of no less than 12 months in prison, and can be punishable by death in some states (Cornell University Law School, 2010). ... After the War for Independence, a push was made for less of a harsh legal system, and through the years certain crimes have undergone evolution. For example, murder was split into two categories, and a bill was duly passed by the 1794 Pennsylvania legislature to include felony murder in the category of first-degree murders (McClain, and Kahan, 2002). Other crimes as well, such as the actions that constitute a misdemeanor, have seen their own evolution through the legal system since colonial times (McClain, and Kahan, 2002). Espionage and treason differ from felonies and misdemeanor crimes in that they are most often considered federal crimes, and as such are usually tried in a federal court, not by state courts. As per the Federal Judiciary System, the federal courts are involved because the United States is quite often the party in the case. Even in cases of industrial espionage, or trade secrets, it is a federal crime made so by the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, in which two sect ions, according to the House of Representatives and Title 18 of the United States Code, criminalized the act of both foreign economic espionage, and commercial economic espionage. Espionage, according to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as â€Å"the practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities especially of a foreign government or competing company†, while according to the Constitution, treason is an act of war against levied one’s own country (U.S. Government Printing). More specifically, it is defined in modern times by the U.S. Code, Title 18, which states, in part, that whoever has allegiance to the United

Research on Proliferation Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

On Proliferation - Research Paper Example According to the research findings it can therefore be said that despite the fact that every country agrees that zero tolerance on nuclear weapons is the way to keep international security, there has been a continued spread of the weapons. This leaves a question on how the terrorists groups still manage to get the weapons and what the role of the government has been in the failure of Non-Proliferation Treaty. It also leaves a question on the role of international community in regulating government-sharing weapons with the terrorist groups. Terrorists are a small number of people â€Å"who act outside the normal boundaries of morality, compassion and humanity†. With a continued nuclear technology growth, the highest possibility stands at there could be a high circulation of nuclear weapons internationally. This has lead to the government yielding to external pressures instilled by the desire to compete with other international states as far as state protection is concerned. As a means of protecting the states interests, nuclear proliferation becomes inevitable since no state like being uncertain of their security. They therefore end up involving the terrorist groups by issuing them with weapons to help in states survival. However, there are instances when terrorist groups get weapons illegally for their own reasons. They purchase them on the grounds of performing terrorist attacks to their rival groups that end up harming innocent people in the fight. Failures that have made it hard to end terrorism The issue of proliferation has remained a mystery for decades now. This has made a thorough approach more difficult to the countries seeking solutions. Its definition of it being a puzzle for many years has made a gap in the definition of its cause and effects hence making every theoretical debate not to arrive at a conclusion (Ogilvie-White 1996, 43). Having politicians at the forefront in perpetrating the phenomenon has contributed to making it difficult to determine how weapon proliferation can be without international processes. The way out is to do a thorough investigation to eliminate these perpetrators so that solutions could be arrived at. Lack of official documentation on the past nuclear proliferation has made it difficult to establish reliable sources of evidence to use against the crimes. This has led to abstractness in every debate that has been done on the same hence resulting to doubts on reliability of the information gathered (Ogilvie-White 1996, 43). Criticism has emerged making it hard to obtain valid information on causes and consequences of weapon proliferation in the international political circle. Some countries are feared to have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty but may not follow the regulations. This has become one of the huddles facing Non-Proliferation Treaty since such countries cannot expose the terrorist groups existing within their borders. Such failures ensure that terrorism continues under the cover o f the individual government. What the role of the government has been in the failure of Non-Proliferation Treaty The government has contributed highly to having distorted evidence on proliferation through its failure to document any such occurrence as it happen. This has led to lack of reliable sources to serve as evidence in the cases against weapon proliferation. With a high foreign secrecy and small number of weapon proliferation cases, politics has proved to be more influential in the causes of proliferation. Nuclear technology funded by the government has been the force behind the production of the nuclear weapons (Ogilvie-White 1996, 44). The speculation as at now is there could be future spread in