Criminal law

Criminal law involves prosecution by the government of a person for an act that has been stated as a crime. On the other hand, civil cases involve in individuals and organizations seeking to resolve legal disputes. In a criminal case, the state, through a prosecutor, initiates the case, while in a civil case the victim brings the case. Persons who convicted crime will be incarcerated, fined, or both. However, persons found fortunate in a civil case and here they only have to give up property or pay money, but are not incarcerated.

            A "crime" is omission of a criminal act in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it. Though there are some common law crimes, utmost all crimes in the United States are established by local, state, and federal governments. Criminal laws differ from state to state. There is, however, a Model Penal Code (MPC) which serves as a good starting place for understanding the basic structure of criminal liability.

            Crimes included in felonies are more serious offense like murder or rape is included and in misdemeanors very less serious offense like petty theft or jaywalking is concluded.  Felonies crimes are punished by imprisonment of a year or more, while misdemeanors are crimes punishable for less than a year. However, no act in a criminal law is crime, if it has not been previously established as such either by statute or common law. Recently, the list of Federal crimes dealing with activities extended beyond state boundaries or having special impact on federal operations has raised.

            All statutes describing criminal behavior are broken down into their various elements. Most crimes have two elements: an act and a mental state. Prosecutors should prove each and every element of the crime to get a conviction. Furthermore, the prosecutor should persuade the jury or judge "beyond a reasonable doubt" for every fact necessary to constitute the crime charged. In civil cases, the plaintiff has to show that a defendant is liable only by a "preponderance of the evidence," or greater than 50%.

Statement from Nolan’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

Laws written by Congress and state legislators made certain behavior illegal and punishable by fines and/or imprisonment. Criminal law also included decisions by appellate courts that termed crimes and regulated criminal procedure in the absence of clear legislated rules. By contrast, civil laws are not punishable by imprisonment. In order to be found guilty of a criminal law, the prosecution must show that the defendant acted to act as he did; in civil law.

Civil and criminal trials can sometimes occur for the very same act.  For example, killing a person can lead to both a criminal trial for murder and a civil trial for wrongful death. In addition to civil and criminal law there is administrative adjudication. All criminal laws are statutory. The different burdens of proof are loosely reflected in the number of jurors needed to reach a verdict.  In the federal system and in utmost every State, unanimity is required in criminal trials. Twelve is the actual number, but it is sometimes lower in criminal trials, the agreement is the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lower sentence. A supreme court is the highest court for appealing in a jurisdiction and it’s decision is a binding precedent for all lower courts in its jurisdiction.

Credit card fraud:

Credit card fraud is harmful and it is happening all over the world. A lot of illegal money transfers are done regularly by this kind of fraud.  It involves the withdrawal of funds and provides goods and services by using an unauthorized account. It is a sort of identifying the theft…It is a mode of stealing somebody's identity, bank account and money. Generally these kinds of frauds are takes place in the big stores, from where the card holder buys things regularly. Credit cards have account number, account details and address. so in this case frauds can be easily committed..

Preventing Credit card Frauds:

                     

           Information is the key that opens the lock for fraudulent operations!. There are some steps to be prevent credit card frauds, they are been stated as follows;

1.      Keeping credit cards in our safe protection

2.      Keeping credit card no safely

3.      Printed records should be maintained carefully

4.      Checking the documents before signing

5.      Credit card details should not be leaked

6.      Being alert in checking billing statements

1. Keeping credit cards in our safe protection:

                   Credit cards should be maintained safely. Don’t be too silly to give cards to another. By this way we can prevent our credit card frauds.

2. Keeping credit card number safely:

                  Don’t give credit card number to any one. Nowadays People are very smart they will take photos of your credit cards and then they will use the number for benefits. So be careful in using numbers..

3. Printed records should be maintained carefully:

                  Always destroy the receipts of your credit card numbers because if it went to thieves then they will misuse your cards.

4. Checking the documents before signing:

                    Whenever you check any credit card documents You should have an thorough check before signing those papers..

5. Credit card details should not be leaked:

                          By giving the credit card number to people on phone will create some chance for a problem. So this can be avoided.

6. Being alert in checking billing statements:

                         Always report the lost or stolen credit cards immediately to the particular concern. So that they will block your card by misusing of strangers.. Always check billing statements before paying so we can avoid credit card frauds.

Avoiding Credit card fraud:

1.      A person will use various methods to get credit card information...

2.      It is always advisable to double check the receipt issued. Through this, you can verify that the amount is correct or not..

3.      When your credit card statements arrive at the end of each month, it is always advised to take time to check the payments that are indicated on the bill.