ALTERNATE CASE PROBLEM ANSWERS
CHAPTER 10
CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIME
10-1A. Criminal liability
The state intermediate appellate court vacated the order of the lower court and remanded the
case with instructions to dismiss it. The state intermediate appellate court pointed out that
under California law, “to be found guilty of a criminal assault, one must have either the intent to
batter, hit, strike, or wrongfully touch a victim; or one must have a general criminal intent to do
10-2A. Fifth Amendment
The court held that “the act of testimonial [production] on behalf of a person who is no longer
with the corporation is self-incrimination in its classic sense of the word, and the Constitution
does not permit it.” The government appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit, which affirmed the holding of the lower court. The appellate court acknowledged that “a
10-3A. Computer fraud
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the sentence. The court
stated that Bae’s “approach misconceives the probabilistic nature of the lottery ticket.” The court
B-2 APPENDIX B: ALTERNATE CASE PROBLEM ANSWERS—CHAPTER 10
noted, “[T]he value of the ticket is the value of a chance to win.” The court reasoned that lottery
“[t]ickets are indistinguishable—and each has an equal probability of winning—until the drawing
determines the winner(s). Prior to that time, all tickets have the same market value because
10-4A. Theft of trade secrets
A jury found the defendants guilty. They appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit, which affirmed the lower court’s judgment. The appellate court held that the government
was not required to prove the information the defendants attempted to steal were in fact trade
secrets. To prove “attempt to commit a crime,” or to prove any other crime, the government
10-5A. Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment provides a defendant who is facing possible jail time with the right to
counsel at all critical stages of the process. In many states, if a person has two prior
misdemeanor convictions for certain offenses, such as drunk driving or petty theft, and commits
the same offense again, that third offense may be charged as a felony because of the prior
convictions. That was the situation facing Tovar, who pleaded guilty to the first drunk driving
offense without being advised by an attorney that the conviction could be used against him if he
10-6A. Larceny
A Georgia state statute provides that “[a] person commits the offense of theft by taking [larceny]
when he unlawfully takes or, being in lawful possession thereof, unlawfully appropriates any
property of another with the intention of depriving him of the property, regardless of the manner
in which the property is taken or appropriated.” A jury found Smith guilty of this crime. Smith ap–
pealed to a state intermediate appellate court, which affirmed his conviction. The court
myriad and even yet-to–be–concocted schemes for depriving people of their property.”
10-7A. Trial
After a jury trial, Michels was convicted. He appealed to a Virginia state intermediate appellate
court, arguing that the certified documents were “testimonial in nature and, therefore, their
admission in his criminal trial violated his Sixth Amendment rights.” The state intermediate
appellate court affirmed Michels’s conviction, concluding that the documents certified by the
Delaware state official were not testimonial. The court provided two reasons for its conclusion.
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10–8A. White-collar crime
Walsh’s acts fit the definition of embezzlement and may fall within the definitions of other theft
crimes. Walsh was convicted in an Ohio state court of “theft by deception,” a term that
encompasses embezzlement and other crimes, and sentenced to a term of incarceration and
ordered to pay $186,276.84 in restitution to Helm. Walsh appealed to a state intermediate
appellate court, which affirmed the conviction. The court “reiterate[d] that appellant was in a
10–9A. Searches and seizures
Under the Fourth Amendment, a police officer must obtain a search warrant to search private
property. In a traffic stop, however, it seems unreasonable to require an officer to obtain a
warrant to search one of the vehicle’s occupants. But it seems reasonable to apply some
standard to prevent police misconduct. An officer might be held to a standard of probable cause,
which consists of reasonable grounds to believe that a person should be searched.
10–10A. A QUESTION OF ETHICS
1. Omole’s conduct can be perceived as arrogant—a display of a feeling of superiority—
and lacking empathy for others, particularly those victims to whom he sent the e-mail. There is
no indication that he had any sense of what it takes to live in society without cheating, stealing
from, and victimizing others. To behave ethically requires at least a willingness to refrain from
APPENDIX B: ALTERNATE CASE PROBLEM ANSWERS—CHAPTER 10 B-5
2. Omole’s sentence was too lenient. He perpetrated a sophisticated scheme that
involved planning, execution, and avoidance of detection. He defrauded more than 100
individuals out of $90,000—which could be described as their “hard–earned money”—and would