Criminal Offenses and Defenses

In one of my "let's pretend to be intelligent" movie nights, I decided to nitpick on The Godfather. Tough luck, I just got confused. Heck, I didn't even know that local or what you call state crimes are a wee bit different from federal crimes in as far as court procedures go.

What's a state or local crime? Simply put, if you do something that goes against the law of the state you're in, then you're considered to have committed a state or local crime. Take note that not all violations against the law are considered as a crime, but you'd still be accounted for it with a corresponding charge. Follow up question; how would you know if it's already a crime? Duh..! Go to the FBI (I'm kidding). Generally a lot of state crimes are the same in concept in most states. They mostly differ in penalties and punishments.

There are 2 main classifications of crimes; felony and misdemeanor. Samples of felony include homicide (someone got killed), kidnapping, serious assaults, theft, and damage to property and computer crimes (hackers beware...). Don't practice yet holding two iron bars while pressing your face against them jail bars as most of these charges are eligible for you to get bail which is in essence a bond that you will show up in court? How much? Depends on the gravity of the charge and the state it was committed in.

The other classification of crimes is misdemeanor. Samples of which are harassment (you got caught stalking), 3rd degree assault (you hit your neighbor while daydreaming), telephone obstruction (you kept on calling your ex because you can), assault and battery (you attacked your neighbor and bit his ear), possession of drugs (or even just drug paraphernalia), false imprisonment (you told your boss that he cannot leave his office because wife and mistress are outside looking for him when actually they're not), theft (you banged on the vending machine and took the soda that popped out without paying), and destruction of property (you banged on the vending machine, period). What will happen if you get charged with a misdemeanor? You'll most likely be slapped with probation, probably made to pay fines, and or complete classes or treatments, and sometimes serve jail time.

How do you defend yourself when charged with a crime? There are more than a couple of tried and tested defenses. Alibi, self defense, mistaken identity, insanity, wrong facts, and intoxication are just some of the defenses that have been used by lawyers in court. A good criminal lawyer is what you need. If your lawyer knows what the King Kong defense is, you're in good hands. See you in court!