Business Law Chapter 9 Homework For Larceny For Example The Required Act

CHAPTER 9: CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIMES 213

police denied a suspect’s request to consult with an attorney before interrogation, but the denial was a factor for a

court to consider, along with all the other circumstances, in determining whether a suspect’s statement was voluntary.

During the 1960s, disillusionment with the voluntariness test converged with other events to create pressure for a

more concrete approach to confession law. This period witnessed renewed interest in a suspect’s right to be

represented by counsel and a heightened sensitivity to the plight of the poor in the criminal justice system. In 1963, for

example, the United States Supreme Court held for the first time that the states had to provide lawyers for indigents in

felony trials. Before this decision, many defendants who could not afford lawyers had to defend themselves. In

Escobedo v. Illinois,a the Supreme Court held that the police violated a defendant’s right to counsel when they

prevented him from seeing his attorney, who was at the police station, until the interrogation was over. The 1960s also

saw the Supreme Court apply to the states most of the provisions of the Bill of Rights—protections in the Constitution

that originally applied only against the federal government. In 1964, the Supreme Court held for the first time that the

Fifth Amendment protection against compulsory self-incrimination applied to the states as well as the federal

government.b

Informing Suspects of Their Rights. In Miranda, the United States Supreme Court relied on the Fifth Amendment

prohibition against compulsory self-incrimination, which it had applied to the states just two years earlier. Reviewing

the practices of police interrogation, the Supreme Court concluded that certain inherent pressures undermine a

suspect’s ability to exercise free choice in deciding whether to make a statement. For example, the Supreme Court

observed that a suspect is taken from familiar surroundings to the isolated setting of a police interrogation room,

Questions and Effects. Although more certain than the old voluntariness test, the Miranda rule created problems

of its own. A person must be advised of his or her rights only if the person is in custody. When is a person in custody?

The United States Supreme Court has held that a person in a friend’s home and not under arrest is not in custody and

thus the person does not have to be informed of his or her rights before being interrogated. The person’s statements

are admissible if they satisfy the old voluntariness test. Defining interrogation has also been a difficult issue. Is it

interrogation if no questions are asked—for example, is it interrogation if the police simply tell a suspect that her fin-

gerprints were found at the scene of the crime? Suspects can waive their rights, but when is a waiver valid, and for

how long? Can a suspect change his or her mind? Can the police keep trying to get a suspect to talk until he or she

agrees to do so without a lawyer?

significance of the rights and seem unable to understand that the object of a police officer’s questions is to gather

214 INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BUSINESS LAW, TWELFTH EDITION

evidence that could put the suspect in jail.

D. EXCEPTIONS TO THE MIRANDA RULE

The United States Supreme Court has recognized a “public safety” exception for such statements as the location

of a weapon. These statements are admissible even if a suspect was not advised of his or her rights. Also, a

suspect must assertively state that he or she wants to see a lawyer to exercise that right (not “maybe I should talk

to a lawyer”).

E. CRIMINAL PROCESS

1. Arrest

2. Indictment or Information

3. Trial

At trial, guilt must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. “Not guilty” does not mean “innocent”; it means

that the court had insufficient evidence to enter a “guilty” verdict.

F. FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES

Federal sentencing guidelines establish a range of penalties for each federal crime.

2. Increased Penalties for Certain Criminal Violations

For criminal violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Chapter 5) and securities laws (Chapter 42), and white-

collar crime (discussed above), judges must consider certain factors (listed in the text) to determine

CHAPTER 9: CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIMES 215

A. CYBER FRAUD

Fraud (a misrepresentation knowingly made with the intent to deceive another and on which a reasonable person

relies to his or her detriment) has occurred online via e–mail by false promises of funds or notices of a relative’s

distress.

1. Online Auction Fraud

2. Online Retail Fraud

This occurs when a consumer pays for, but does not receive, an item, which can in any event be nonexistent

1. Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when a form of identification is stolen and used to access the victim’s financial

resources. Criminal methods are noted in the text.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND—

Identity Theft

18 U.S.C. Section 1028

Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information

(a) Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (c) of this section—

(1) knowingly and without lawful authority produces an identification document, authentication feature, or a false

identification document;

(2) knowingly transfers an identification document, authentication feature, or a false identification document knowing

(3) knowingly possesses with intent to use unlawfully or transfer unlawfully five or more identification documents

216 INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BUSINESS LAW, TWELFTH EDITION

(other than those issued lawfully for the use of the possessor), authentication features, or false identification

documents;

(4) knowingly possesses an identification document (other than one issued lawfully for the use of the possessor),

(5) knowingly produces, transfers, or possesses a document-making implement or authentication feature with the

(6) knowingly possesses an identification document or authentication feature that is or appears to be an identification

(7) knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with

(8) knowingly traffics in false or actual authentication features for use in false identification documents, document-

making implements, or means of identification;

(1) except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or

both, if the offense is—

(A) the production or transfer of an identification document, authentication feature, or false identification document

that is or appears to be—

identification documents;

(2) except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or

both, if the offense is—

(3) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both, if the offense is committed—

(A) to facilitate a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 929(a)(2));

(4) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 30 years, or both, if the offense is committed to facilitate

(5) in the case of any offense under subsection (a), forfeiture to the United States of any personal property used or

intended to be used to commit the offense; and

(6) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.

(c) The circumstance referred to in subsection (a) of this section is that—

(1) the identification document, authentication feature, or false identification document is or appears to be issued by

(2) the offense is an offense under subsection (a) (4) of this section; or

(3) either—

(A) the production, transfer, possession, or use prohibited by this section is in or affects interstate or foreign

(d) In this section and section 1028A—

(1) the term “authentication feature” means any hologram, watermark, certification, symbol, code, image, sequence of

(2) the term “document–making implement” means any implement, impression, template, computer file, computer

(A) name, social security number, date of birth, official State or government issued driver’s license or identification

(3) the term “identification document” means a document made or issued by or under the authority of the United

States Government, a State, political subdivision of a State, a sponsoring entity of an event designated as a special

(4) the term “false identification document” means a document of a type intended or commonly accepted for the

purposes of identification of individuals that—

(A) is not issued by or under the authority of a governmental entity or was issued under the authority of a

(5) the term “false authentication feature” means an authentication feature that—

(A) is genuine in origin, but, without the authorization of the issuing authority, has been tampered with or altered for

purposes of deceit;

(C) appears to be genuine, but is not;

(6) the term “issuing authority”—

(A) means any governmental entity or agency that is authorized to issue identification documents, means of

(7) the term “means of identification” means any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any

other information, to identify a specific individual, including any—

CHAPTER 9: CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIMES 219

(D) telecommunication identifying information or access device (as defined in section 1029(e));

(9) the term “produce” includes alter, authenticate, or assemble;

(10) the term “transfer” includes selecting an identification document, false identification document, or document-

(12) the term “traffic” means—

(A) to transport, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, to another, as consideration for anything of value; or

(B) to make or obtain control of with intent to so transport, transfer, or otherwise dispose of.

(e) This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law

2. Phishing

3. Vishing

4. Employment Fraud

5. Credit-Card Crime on the Web

Stolen credit cards are more likely to hurt merchants and issuers because consumers whose cards are stolen

are not liable for the costs of subsequent purchases made with the cards. Businesses take further risks by

electronically storing customers’ credit account numbers, which can be stolen.

C. HACKING

A hacker uses one computer to break into another, often without the knowledge of either computer’s owner. A

hacker might appropriate a number of computers by secretly installing a program on each to operate as a robot,

or bot, and forward a transmission to more computers, creating a botnet.

1. Malware

2. New Service-Based Hacking Available at Low Cost

3. Cyberterrorism

A cyberterrorist exploits a computer for a serious impact, such as the exploding of an internal data “bomb”

to shut down a central computer or spreading a virus to cripple a computer network. A business might be

targeted to steal a customer list or business plans, to sabotage products or services, or to disrupt

operations.

D. PROSECUTION OF CYBER CRIME

Jurisdictional issues and the anonymous nature of technology can hamper the investigation and prosecution of

cyber crimes. For example, a person who commits an act that constitutes a crime in one jurisdiction may have

acted from a different jurisdiction, where the act is not a crime. If the act is committed via e-mail, there may not

be “sufficient contacts” to support a prosecution.

E. THE COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT

The Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984 prohibits cyber theft. The crime con–

sists of (1) accessing a computer without authority and (2) taking data. Penalties include fines and imprisonment

for up to twenty years (and civil suits).

ENHANCING YOUR LECTURE—

 HOW CAN YOU PROTECT AGAINST CYBER CRIME?  

In addition to protecting their physical property, business owners today also are concerned about protecting their

intangible property—such as computer data or files—from unauthorized access. U.S. business firms lose millions of

CHAPTER 9: CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIMES 221

dollars to industrial espionage and sabotage every year. Once a computer system has been corrupted, it can be

difficult to recover. To prevent losses through computer systems, some firms hire experts to improve the security of

the systems.

COMPUTER SYSTEM SAFEGUARDS

Many sources of software offer security programs that can easily be used to protect computers that are connected

to an internal network or to the Internet. For example, most word processing programs include a “password” function.

To gain access to information within the program, a user must know the password. A document that can be unlocked

only with the password can be e-mailed as an attachment, providing some security.

EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

Although outside hackers are a threat, employees, former employees, and other “insiders” are responsible for

most computer abuse, including breaches of information security. Generally, employees should be given access only to

information that they need to know. Additionally, employees and other insiders should be instructed in what

constitutes proper and improper use of your company’s computer systems. They should also be told that any form of

computer abuse is against company policy, is illegal, and will be the basis for termination of employment.

Another safeguard is to have employees agree, in a written confidentiality agreement, not to disclose confidential

CHECKLIST FOR THE BUSINESS OWNER

1. Consider protecting your computer security and documents through the use of passwords, encryption, and

firewalls.

3. Consider using confidentiality agreements, monitoring, and digital signatures to protect your computer system and

data against unauthorized use.

222 INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BUSINESS LAW, TWELFTH EDITION

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

1. A good starting point might be to discuss the basis of criminal responsibility—the criminal act and the criminal

state of mind. Emphasize that criminal liability is not imposed for merely thinking about a crime (if it was, we might all

2. The objectives of criminal law are: (1) to protect persons and property, (2) to deter criminal behavior, (3) to punish

criminal conduct, and (4) to rehabilitate criminals. Discuss these objectives with your students. Protecting persons and

property is often said to be the ultimate goal of all civilized societies, but what priority should the other three

objectives be given? Ask students whether punishment, for example, is more important than rehabilitation. If

punishment is emphasized, will that also serve to deter? Is state-meted punishment the only deterrent to criminal

behavior? Emphasizing deterrence as an objective may serve to create appropriate punishments. What are

appropriate punishments? What is an appropriate standard for determining that a criminal has been rehabilitated?

3. It should be clear to your students by now that the law is not so frozen that there is no room for disagreement.

Attorneys, and even judges, often disagree with each other over the interpretation and application of the law. Your

4. Encryption, hacking, and computer security issues are frequently in the news. Choose a contemporary case or

circumstance as a springboard for a discussion of the topics covered in this chapter.

1988. Students might be asked to research these statutes and present their findings to the class.

Cyberlaw Link

Does the Fourth Amendment prevent the seizure, without cause, of email messages? Does the propagator of a

virus (at the time of this writing, “Melissa” is a famous virus) violate traditional criminal laws?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. On what basis are misdemeanors and felonies distinguished? The punishment: Felonies are crimes punishable by

2. What are the elements of a crime? A crime requires (1) the performance of a prohibited act and (2) a specified state of

3. What are some of the crimes affecting businesses? Forgery. Forgery is the fraudulent making or alteration of any

writing that changes the legal liability of another. Most states have special statutes for additional prosecution of crimes of

forgery involving credit cards. Robbery. Robbery is the taking of another’s personal property from his or her person or

immediate presence by force or intimidation. Burglary. At common law, burglary was breaking and entering the dwelling of

another at night with the intent to commit a felony. Most states have eliminated some of these requirements: the time at

4. What are some white-collar crimes? Embezzlement. Embezzlement is the fraudulent conversion of property or money

owned by one person but entrusted to another. Embezzlement involves conversion by a person in lawful possession of

another’s property; larceny involves the taking and carrying away of another’s property, usually without any right to possession.

Embezzlement is not robbery because there is no taking by force or intimidation. A special form of embezzlement called

misapplication of trust funds occurs when funds are entrusted to a contractor for a specific purpose, and the contractor does

not use the money for the purpose. Use of the mails to defraud. Use of the mails to defraud requires a scheme to defraud and

use of the mails to carry it out. It is also a crime to use a telegram, telephone, radio, or television to defraud. Unlike obtaining

5. What are some important constitutional protections of individuals’ rights that apply in the area of criminal law?

Important constitutional protections of individuals’ rights in the area of criminal law include the Fourth Amendment protection

224 INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BUSINESS LAW, TWELFTH EDITION

6. Describe the prosecutory process from arrest to conviction. Probable cause must exist for believing that an individual

has committed a crime. A warrant for arrest is then issued (an arrest may be made without a warrant if there is no time to get

7. Could probable cause exist to detain a suspect and conduct a search if the suspect has multiple e-mail accounts,

regularly uses the Internet, is sophisticated with computers, and knows how to protect access to passwords and accounts? The

8. Suppose that a foreign nation does not prosecute cyber criminals and does not cooperate with U.S. authorities to

investigate cyber crimes against U.S. citizens. What effect might this have on the deterrence or proliferation of cyber crime?

9. At the time that this book went to press, the media was exposing Web sites that purported to sell tickets to certain

concerts and would accept credit and banking information from would-be buyers but did not deliver the tickets. What can

consumers do to avoid being duped by such fraud? A legitimate Web site that offers concert tickets to the public should have

10. What are the steps that the administrator of an information technology system or computer network in a business

environment might take to protect against the crimes discussed in this chapter? Protection against these crimes starts with the

1. Have students bring to the class current news articles about business-related events that involve crimes or might

ultimately involve criminal prosecutions. Ask them to identify possible crimes in the events and to discuss, based on the

information in the articles, whether the elements of those crimes have been satisfied. What are their predictions as to the

outcome of any prosecution?

2. Ask your students to attend a criminal trial and report what they observe. Ask them to find out how long it might be

between an accused’s arrest and his or her indictment, how long between the indictment and arraignment, and how long

before a trial must commence. Does it make any difference whether the accused is in custody? To what might any delays be

attributed? What happens if the state exceeds these time periods?

3. Ask your students to discuss crimes or attempted crimes touched on in this chapter that they have personally

experienced. Nearly everyone has received a “Nigerian letter” or unsolicited commercial e-mail, for example. How can such

contacts be prevented? What protection is there against falling victim to such scams?

EXPLANATIONS OF SELECTED FOOTNOTES IN THE TEXT

Footnote 2: In the area of substantive criminal law, one of the most significant developments of the last thirty years

has been the completion of the Model Penal Code. There were a total of thirteen drafts, consisting of proposed code sections

and accompanying commentary, dating from 1953 to 1961. The Model Penal Code was approved by the American Law Institute

in 1962 and published that year. Beginning in 1980, the Model Penal Code was republished in seven volumes with expanded

and updated commentary. The Model Penal Code is a model code, not a uniform code. Different jurisdictions should, and do,

Footnote 9: Dr. Francis George owned and operated a medical practice in Luray, Virginia, through which he

employed nursing assistants and others. Between 2001 and 2004, George withheld funds from his employees’ salaries to pay

state income taxes but failed to remit the funds to the state. The state filed criminal charges against George, and after a trial, a

jury convicted him of embezzlement. George appealed, claiming that the state did not prove that he was entrusted with the

property of another. In George v. Commonwealth of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled that the evidence clearly

established that Dr. George used for his own benefit funds that he held in trust for the state. “To sustain a conviction of

embezzlement, the Commonwealth must prove that the accused wrongfully appropriated to his or her own benefit property

entrusted or delivered to the accused with the intent to deprive the owner thereof.” Thus, George was guilty of embezzlement

and his appeal to set aside his conviction was denied.

CHAPTER 9: CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIMES 227

might have been others’ attempts to do what George had done—failing to pay taxes due while in some cases withholding

others’ funds for that purpose.

Does an employer ever have a valid reason for failing to remit withholding taxes to the state? Why or why not? It is

unlikely that any taxpayer would have a valid reason for failing to pay taxes due, and it is even less likely that a government

agency or court would accept any excuse proffered. But it is not inconceivable that payment might be delayed in some

situations. Disasters of all shapes and sizes, from fires to hurricanes, might delay remittance, for example. Dire financial straits,

such as a bankruptcy, might postpone payment. A family or medical emergency might at least seem to justify a late payment.

Not paying the taxes at all, however, would not be fair to those of us who do pay them.

Footnote 12: Gabriel Sanchez and Timothy Lyons set up six charities and hired telemarketers to solicit donations.

More than $6 million was raised. The telemarketers kept 80 percent as commissions, and Lyons took 10 percent. Most of the

rest of the money went to Sanchez, who spent it on himself. Lyons and Sanchez were charged in a federal district court with

mail fraud and other crimes. The defendants were convicted and imprisoned. They appealed, asserting that the prosecution had

used the high cost of fundraising as evidence of fraud even though the defendants had not lied about the cost. In United States

v. Lyons, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the convictions. The defendants’ “undoing was not that the

commissions were large but that their charitable web was a scam.” A failure to reveal the high cost of fundraising to potential

donors does not establish fraud. But when “nondisclosure is accompanied by intentionally misleading statements designed to

deceive the listener,” the high cost of fundraising may be introduced as evidence of fraud.

Could the prosecution have proved fraud on the part of Lyons and Sanchez by showing that 10 to 20 percent of the

donations to their six charities were not spent on charitable activities, without showing what happened to the rest of the

money? No. The prosecution could not have proved fraud solely by showing that 80 percent or more of the donated funds were

paid to the telemarketers. Similarly, a showing that a percentage of the funds was not spent on the charities could not, without

more, support a fraud conviction. In this case, however, “[t]he evidence is overwhelming that between telemarketers’ fees and

Lyons’ and Sanchez’s personal expenses, the six FCL charities spent virtually no money on charitable activities promised to

donors.”

228 INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BUSINESS LAW, TWELFTH EDITION

In what circumstance would the prosecution be prevented from introducing evidence of high fund-raising costs? Why?

The court pointed out in the Lyons case that “the government is constrained from charging that high fundraising costs per se are

tantamount to fraud.” The court explained that the reason for this constraint is that under the First Amendment “the

solicitation of charitable contributions is protected speech, and . . . using percentages to decide the legality of the fundraiser’s

fee is not narrowly tailored to the State’s interest in preventing fraud.”

Footnote 19: M’Naghten’s Case involved the murder of the secretary of the prime minister of England. Daniel

M’Naghten lived in London and believed that the British Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, wanted to kill him. (Peel was the

founder of the British police, popularly known as “Bobbies.”) Acting under this delusion, M’Naghten shot and killed Edward

Drummond, Peel’s private secretary, whom he mistook for Peel. At his trial, the defense argued that M’Naghten was insane at

the time of the shooting and should not be held responsible because his delusions caused him to act as he did. The jury agreed,

and M’Naghten was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The court stated a rule by which M’Naghten’s conduct was to be

measured. The rule is given in the text (if an accused, at the time of a crime, acts under such a defect of reason from a disease

of the mind that he does not know the nature and quality of his actions, or if the accused does not know that what he or she is

doing is wrong, he or she is to be adjudged not guilty by reason of insanity). The M’Naghten test has been adopted in many

states to determine whether the defense of insanity is justified. According to its critics, the principal fault of the M’Naghten test

is its narrowness and restricted application to only a small percentage of people who are mentally ill. Supporters argue that it is

Footnote 27: One of the world’s most prolific spammers, Jeremy Jaynes accumulated $24 million by promoting, via

spam, get-rich-quick schemes, pornography, and sham products and services. During an investigation into his activities, at his

residence the police found a CD containing more than 1.3 billion user names. Jaynes also had a DVD containing e-mail addresses

and other personal account information for millions of individuals, all of which had been stolen from America Online. In a

Virginia state court, Jaynes was convicted of three counts of felony spamming under the Virginia Computer Crimes Act (VCCA),

based on the fact that he had sent more than ten thousand pieces of spam per day on three separate days, using false Internet

addresses and aliases. The jury sentenced him to nine years in prison. This was the first felony conviction for spamming in the

United States. On appeal, Jaynes argued that Virginia did not have jurisdiction over him and that the state’s criminal spamming

CHAPTER 9: CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIMES 229

ANSWERS TO ESSAY QUESTIONS IN

STUDY GUIDE TO ACCOMPANY BUSINESS LAW, TWELFTH EDITION

BY HOLLOWELL & MILLER

1. What are some of the significant differences between criminal law and civil law? Crimes are considered offenses

2. What constitutes criminal liability under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and what are

the penalties? RICO makes it a federal crime to (1) use income obtained from racketeering activity to purchase any interest in an

enterprise, (2) acquire or maintain an interest in an enterprise through racketeering activity, (3) conduct or participate in the

affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activity, or (4) conspire to do any of the preceding activities. RICO incorporates by

REVIEWING—

 CRIMINAL LAW AND CYBER CRIME 

Edward Hanousek worked for Pacific & Arctic Railway and Navigation Company (P&A) as a roadmaster of the

White Pass & Yukon Railroad in Alaska. Hanousek was responsible “for every detail of the safe and efficient

maintenance and construction of track, structures and marine facilities of the entire railroad,” including special

projects. One project was a rock quarry, known as “6–mile,” above the Skagway River. Next to the quarry, and just

beneath the surface, ran a high-pressure oil pipeline owned by Pacific & Arctic Pipeline, Inc., P&A’s sister company.

When the quarry’s backhoe operator punctured the pipeline, an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 gallons of oil were

discharged into the river. Hanousek was charged with negligently discharging a harmful quantity of oil into a navigable

water of the United States in violation of the criminal provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Ask your students to

answer the following questions, using the information presented in the chapter.

1. Did Hanousek have the required mental state (mens rea) to be convicted of a crime? Why or why not? Yes,

2. Which theory discussed in the chapter would enable a court to hold Hanousek criminally liable for violating the

statute regardless of whether he participated in, directed, or even knew about the specific violation? Under the

230 INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL TO ACCOMPANY BUSINESS LAW, TWELFTH EDITION

responsible relationship to the corporation and could have prevented the violation. The corporate officer does not

have to intend the crime or even know about it, to incur liability under this doctrine.

3. Could the backhoe operator who punctured the pipeline also be charged with a crime in this situation? Why or

why not? No, because he did not have the required mental state (mens rea) and was corporate officer in a responsible

4. Suppose that at trial, Hanousek argued that he could not be convicted because he was not aware of the

requirements of the CWA. Would this defense be successful? Why or why not? No, because Hanousek was the

corporate officer responsible for the project and should have known the requirements of the law. Because Hanousek

was in a responsible position at the corporation and in charge of the 6–mile quarry, a court would find that he “should

have known” the requirements of the law. Therefore, lack of knowledge of the requirements of the CWA would not

operate as a defense in his case.

 DEBATE THIS: 

One legal observer claimed that all Americans may be breaking the law regularly without knowing it because of

overcriminalization, particularly by the federal government. Should Congress rescind many of the more than four

thousand federal crimes now on the books? Discuss fully. Difficult times require drastic measures. This nation now

has over 300 million residents who move frequently. Moreover, the pervasiveness of the Internet means that

business fraud is increasing at a rapid rate. Consequently, the federal government must step in to make sure that

criminal actions do not go unpunished. That’s why so many new federal crimes have been added to the body of

criminal statutes.

