alice quinn // writing help

a lesson in law and government

Just a disclaimer: this is about the United States law and government. I do not claim to know or pretend to know much if anything about any other country's workings. However, if you would like, leave a brief comment explaining the main workings of your country's government for anyone who might find it useful.

LAW TERMS

First Degree: You planned it beforehand and killed someone.

Second Degree: You didn't plan it, but you definitely meant to kill someone. e.g. armed robbery, gang fights, drive-by-shooting

Voluntary Manslaughter/Third Degree: You didn't mean to or plan to kill them, but you lost your mind and did.

Involuntary Manslaughter: You didn't mean to kill someone at all, but you were aware what you were doing was bad. e.g. DUI, vehicular manslaughter

Homicide: The killing of one person by another.

Arson: Malicious burning to destroy property.

Aggravated Assault: Criminal assault accompanied by circumstances that make it more severe, such as the use of a deadly weapon.

Assault and Battery: Assault in conjunction with actual battery.

Battery: The application of force to another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact.

Bribery: The corrupt payment, receipt, or solicitation of a private favor for official action.

Counterfeiting: The forging, copying, or imitating of something (usually money) without a right to do so and with the purpose of deceiving or defrauding.

Forgery: The act of fraudulently making a false document or altering a real one to be used as if genuine.

Fraud: A knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment.

Perjury: The act or an instance of a person's deliberately making material false or misleading statements while under oath.

Cybercrime: Crimes committed electronically.

Trafficking: The act of transferring something (usually drugs) from one location to another, usually on behalf of a second party.

Embezzlement: The illegal transfer of money or property that, although possessed legally by the embezzler, is diverted to the embezzler personally by his or her fraudulent action.

Money Laundering: The federal crime of transferring illegally obtained money through legitimate persons or accounts so that its original source cannot be traced.

Expungement: The legal procedure for sealing a record of an arrest and/or criminal conviction from public view.

Extortion: Obtaining money or property by threat to a victim's property or loved ones, intimidation, or false claim of a right (such as pretending to be an IRS agent).

Failure to Register: Failure to register as a sex offender.

Indecent Exposure: An offensive display of one's own body in public, especially of the genitals.

Sodomy: A crime against nature. Varying from state to state, but generally referring to any type of sex act regarded by a legislature as unnatural or perverted.

Appeal: A request to a higher court for that court to review and change the decision of a lower court.

Writs: An order from a higher court to a lower court or to a government official, such as a prison warden.