There are a lot of criminal charges listed under United States law. Further, each charge has subsections and nuances that make it even more complex.
Those slight variations of the law can be debated and argued over, and sometimes the line can’t be drawn clearly in the sand. The law is supposed to be clear, but a nexus of hundreds of thousands of laws can be very hard to dissect.
We’re going to offer a criminal charges list that includes some of the dominant categories of criminal law. Specifically, we’ll like some of the things that compose a criminal charge and give you a good idea of how these laws work.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to better understand the idea of criminal charges after reading this article. Let’s get started.
Understanding The Criminal Charges List
When a criminal charge comes into existence, it results from an accusation made by someone with authority to make such claims. In most cases, that person is a police officer or someone granted authority by the court.
A public processor will often be the one facilitating the accusation. For a criminal charge to see time in court, it must be accompanied by a charging document that lists the accusation against the individual.
The “charging document” can be a ticket, citation, complaint, indictment, or something else. The accusation has to include that the individual in question has done something punishable by law.
It’s important to note that each law has its own set of circumstances and requirements that need to be met for the person to be charged. As we stated, the reality of the law can get a little messy. Applying rigid rules to the fluidity of society isn’t always easy.
So, it’s difficult to predict how a complicated court case will go. That said, the person can be charged and sentenced if their behavior reasonably falls into the categories listed by the law.
If you’re accused of a criminal charge, seek out help from a Houston criminal defense attorney. The professionals are your best bet for getting the justice you deserve.
We’ll now look at some of the most common criminal charges and explore them as examples.
Murder Charges
A prime example of a criminal charge is homicide. It’s something that most of us can agree is morally wrong, and it’s appropriate that the court takes action to punish people who engage in homicide.
At the same time, we can all agree that there are different layers of what a homicide can be. The killer who plots their murder thinks about it and follows through with an inhumane act should be punished the most severely.
If more murders take place, the punishment should be more severe. On the other hand, the person who gets angry in the heat of the moment and lays a punch that kills the other person might not deserve the same punishment.
Any time an individual shows indifference to human life, they should receive some kind of punishment. The nuances of the situation should determine the outcome of the court case, though, as each situation and individual are different.
Drug Charges
Making, selling, and using illegal drugs all come along with different criminal charges. Particular laws apply to each drug and each situation in which they might be used.
Within drug law, there’s a wide range of classifications that go along with drug use, production, and distribution. Further, respective states have laws that differ from federal law, making it even more complex.
A couple of great examples of this are psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana. Spend some time in one state, and you might find that both of those drugs come along with jail time or fines in most cases. Take a road trip down to Colorado, though, and you’ll find that you can engage with those substances within the bounds of the law.
The time you spend in jail due to these charges depends on the particular substance, the quantity, and the association you have with other individuals who might be producing or distributing the same drugs.
Violent Crimes
Crimes against other individuals are another significant category of criminal charges. There are a lot of ways that one individual can harm or traumatize another.
Some of those ways include kidnapping, abuse, assault, domestic violence, and much more. These crimes are myriad, but there are allotments for almost all types of person-to-person violence contained within the law.
Generally speaking, if you harm someone with intent, you’re breaking the law. There has to be a required degree to which that harm and intent are acted upon, though. For example, punching your friend in the arm to give a charlie horse shouldn’t be a criminal offense, and it’s not.
That said, spanking your child without injuring them is also illegal. This is an area of a lot of discussion and disagreement for many people. When you cross the line and start using physical objects to inflict the same punishment, the law starts to change.
The same goes for most instances of physical aggression. There’s a small space for people to engage in those activities without breaking the law, but drawing the line as to where the act becomes a crime is for the courts to decide.
Sexual Crimes
Sexual crimes are another set of activities that have complex criminal statuses. Sexual crimes denote prohibited conduct and typically involve sexual aggression against another person’s will.
The possible punishments for these crimes are varied, and there’s a wide variety of potential outcomes. It’s difficult with sex crimes because there’s a certain amount of evidence required for guilt, and the acts often take place in private.
While it may be evident that a person has committed rape or sexual assault, the victim may not see justice because of a lack of physical evidence. Sexual assault laws and perspectives are changing, though, so there may be a shift in favor of victims in the near future.
Want to Learn More About Crimes?
The criminal charges list could go on and on. There’s no shortage of ways to break the rules of society, and it’s important to know the breadth of the law so that you don’t unknowingly get yourself into trouble.
Further, understanding the law helps you to keep yourself safe from those who would break it. We’re here to help you with more information. You can also explore our site for our other blogs on business, fashion, technology, and more.
Andrea Parker is a reporter for Zobuz. She previously worked at Huffington Post and Vanity Fair. Andrea is based in NYC and covers issues affecting her city. In addition to her severe coffee addiction, she’s a Netflix enthusiast, a red wine drinker, and a voracious reader.
