Frequently Asked Questions About Criminal Defense

Q: What is a capital offense?
A: A crime for which the death penalty may be imposed.

Q: What is a common-law crime?
A: A crime that is punishable under the common law, rather than by force of statute.

Q: What is common law?
A: The body of law derived from judicial decisions, rather than from statutes or constitutions.

Q: What is a computer crime?
A: A crime requiring knowledge of computer technology, such as sabotaging or stealing computer data or using a computer to commit some other crime.

Q: What is corporate crime?
A: A crime committed either by a corporate body or its representatives acting on its behalf.

Q: What is a crime of omission?
A: An offense that carries as its material component the failure to act.

Q: What is a crime of passion?
A: A crime committed in the heat of an emotionally charges moment, with no opportunity to reflect on what is happening.

Q: What is a federal crime?
A: A criminal offense under a federal statute.

Q: What is hate crime?
A: A crime motivated by the victim's race, color, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.

Q: What is white collar crime?
A: A nonviolent crime usually involving cheating or dishonesty in commercial matters.

Q: What is the Miranda rule?
A: The doctrine that a criminal suspect in police custody must be informed of certain constitutional rights before being interrogated.

Q: What is a criminal lawyer?
A: A lawyer whose primary work is to represent criminal defendants.

Q: What is criminal law?
A: The body of law defining offenses against the community at large, regulating how suspects are investigated, charged, and tried, and establishing punishments for convicted offenders.

Q: What is a felony?
A: A serious crime usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death.

Q: What is a misdemeanor?
A: A crime that is less serious than a felony and is usually punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or confinement in a place other than prison.

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