Traffic Law

Driving in the United States requires two things: the driver must have a driver's license and the motor vehicle used must be duly registered. American traffic laws vary from state to state, although there are common basic rules, such as speed limit. Traffic laws form part of the more comprehensive motor vehicle law to ensure safety in roads. Motor vehicle laws are mostly regulatory laws that set up rules that should be obeyed by drivers and vehicle manufacturers. Traffic laws, on the other hand, govern the violation of motor vehicle laws.

Traffic violation laws governs unlawful activities involving a motor vehicle. Traffic violations include driving under the influence, or driving while intoxicated, driving without a license or driving with an expired or suspended license, and driving an unregistered motor vehicle or a motor vehicle with an expired registration. Traffic violations also include speeding, beating the red light, tailgating, and swerving. Other common traffic violations not wearing a seat belt and talking on a cell phone while driving.

Traffic violations can range from administrative to criminal offense, and the accompanying penalties would depend on the severity and the harm that could accompany such traffic violation. Driving while intoxicated or driving with license that was suspended as a result of the conviction of a criminal offense is a criminal offense and the conviction to these offenses can lead to incarceration. In most states, the traffic enforcement agency, usually the department of motor vehicle, gives points to a driver based on his violation. The number of points will determine the kind of penalty or sanction that the enforcement agency will impose upon the traffic violator. Traffic violation sanctions range from petty fine to suspension or revocation of driving licenses.

One of the nuances in traffic violation law is the determination of who has jurisdiction over the area where the violation was committed. Different government agencies takes charge in implementing a particular traffic in a particular location. This means that local enforcement agencies has authority to issue citations in a certain geographical area, but these areas often overlap. When faced with a traffic citation, the driver must review the citation to take note of the court that will hear the case or whether the citation requires personal appearance in court.

There are many ways to avoid points following a traffic violation. The law provides for other ways to avoid paying any monetary amount for a traffic citation. For instance, the law allows the traffic violator to attend traffic school. In addition, those who are falsely accused of traffic violations must retain the help of expert traffic violation law attorney as traffic violation, depending on the severity, is considered a criminal offense, and can have serious impact on one's life, including ability to obtain future insurance and employment. When wrongfully accused of a traffic violation, the accused can choose to go to a trial in order to argue against the violation. Going to trial, however, is a difficult and costly process, thus it is imperative to seek the help of counsel.

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Embezzlement Law - Legal Information and Resources

Embezzlement Law

Chapter 13 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code is the main law governing embezzlement and theft. Chapter 13 enumerates the specific acts that constitute the crimes of embezzlement and theft. Embezzlement is an act of misappropriating money or property placed under the individual's care. The severity of penalty, which includes a fine or imprisonment, or both, depends on the value of the property taken by the defendant. While Chapter 13 is the main law governing embezzlement and theft in the United States, the state's penal code contains the specific elements that must be proven in order to convict an individual of such crime. Penal codes impose fines, restitution of the property, or incarceration as punishment for the crime.

Embezzlement is a tricky crime as it is often closely similar with other property crimes. The only difference would be in certain elements. Take for example the crime of larceny. Embezzlement requires that the defendant must have been entrusted with the property of the victim while larceny does not require that the property has been entrusted to the defendant. Another example would be fraud. In the case of fraud, a person obtains ownership of a property through misrepresentations. In contrast, in the case of embezzlement, the defendant does not gain ownership of the property.

Because of the similarities of crimes, one of the issues arising from embezzlement cases is false accusation by the state, being the prosecutor. What the defense counsel can do is to counter that his client has been accused of the wrong crime because the state has not proven certain or several elements that would make the offense a crime. In an embezzlement case, the prosecutor needs to prove that the defendant converted the property that was entrusted to him by the victim. The term "convert" means to deal with the property in a way that is inconsistent with the arrangement between the defendant and the victim. The arrangement between a defendant and victim can be the key to acquittal, thus the accused must make sure he or she retains all forms of contracts with the victims to disprove the prosecutor. The defense counsel can also counter that his client never converted the property, but rather transferred the property to another account, in the case of fund managers, for the property to increase in value. The defendant's role within a company is a determining factor of whether he or she committed embezzlement or larceny. If the defendant is a director of the company, then the victim's property has been entrusted to him. The defense counsel can counter this by proving that the defendant's role in the company does not require him to take control of the property.

One of the things an attorney can do to prevent conviction is to prove that the defendant has no fraudulent intent. If the defendant genuinely believes he is the owner of the property, then he cannot be found guilty of embezzlement. Moreover, the defendant cannot also be found guilty of embezzlement if he took the property by mistake. Hiring a counsel is crucial to the acquittal of a person accused of embezzlement as an attorney is knowledgeable on the elements of the crime that can be disproved.

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