OK - this one may have already been beaten do death but:

A criminal is one who purposefully harms/hurts others solely for his own gain.

Wow, that not only describes criminals. How about politicians, lawyers, boxers, let's see who else can I offend by putting them in that catagory.

Ya know what I mean! BUT I do have to say that lawyers fit the bill...

Timeshare salesmen ?

Speaking of timeshares...guess who is the latest to join up??? Cayo Espanto!!!! Of course they don't call it time shares, they call it "fractional ownership." For a mere $275,000 - $510,000 membership and $9,500 - 13,500 annual dues, and $175/nt you too can "own" a week at this lovely private island resort. :rolleyes:

Please please call me if you would like to take advantage of this "deal"

Sounds like they are pretty proud of that sandbox!

Is this the Criminal complaint hotline?

Well here is a complaint: the people in the office next to ours, we are in a hi-rise office building, cook their food and it goes into our shared air vents and it STINKS to high heaven. Now this is criminal.

Once again it is good to be the head honcho. I am outta here. Ya'll have a great holiday weekend.

Barbara, does that include full use of the Segway? That might be the deal maker. Otherwise I can dump my extra 275K into an RV, and pay $40 a night hookup fee to park it in what amounts to a field just about anywhere in the country. This reminds me of the kid with the lemonade stand, with a sign saying $50 a glass. When asked how many customers he expected to get, he replied, "only need one".

Perhaps better stated as "fictional ownership".

Happy Holiday gringos.

CC

You are a criminal only AFTER you have been convicted of a crime.

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

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

Crimes include both felonies (more serious offenses -- like murder or rape) and misdemeanors (less serious offenses -- like petty theft or jaywalking). Felonies are usually crimes punishable by imprisonment of a year or more, while misdemeanors are crimes punishable by less than a year. However, no act is a 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 extending beyond state boundaries or having special impact on federal operations, has grown. See Title 18.

All statutes describing criminal behavior can be broken down into their various elements. Most crimes (with the exception of strict-liability crimes) consist of two elements: an act, or "actus reus," and a mental state, or "mens rea." Prosecutors have to prove each and every element of the crime to yield a conviction. Furthermore, the prosecutor must persuade the jury or judge "beyond a reasonable doubt" of every fact necessary to constitute the crime charged. In civil cases, the plaintiff needs to show a defendant is liable only by a "preponderance of the evidence," or more than 50%.