Tsvety LL.M.

Criminal Liability of Organizations and Legal Entities Criminal law is traditionally associated with human beings. A person acts, forms an intention, causes a result, and may be punished. Modern economic and social life, however, is organized through entities. Corporations conduct business. Partnerships provide professional services. Associations manage property and activities. Read more

Corporate Criminal Liability A corporation is a legal person, but it is not a human being. It has no hands with which to commit an act, no mind with which to form an intention, and no body that can be imprisoned. Yet corporations can be prosecuted, convicted, and punished for Read more

Withdrawal from Criminal Participation Criminal participation does not always end simply because a person changes their mind. A person may agree to participate in a robbery and later decide not to go through with it. A person may provide assistance to another criminal and then attempt to withdraw that assistance. Read more

Joint Criminal Liability Crimes are not always committed by one person acting alone. A robbery may involve a planner, a person who enters the store, a driver, and a lookout. A fraud scheme may involve executives, accountants, intermediaries, and people who conceal the proceeds. A drug conspiracy may involve people Read more

Accessory Before the Fact and Accessory After the Fact Criminal law does not limit responsibility to the person who physically commits a crime. A person may participate in criminal conduct without ever entering the crime scene, touching the victim, taking the property, or performing the physical act that constitutes the Read more

Aiding and Abetting: Criminal Liability for Assisting a Crime Criminal law does not impose responsibility only on the person who physically commits a crime. A person who deliberately helps another person commit a crime may also be held criminally responsible. This principle is known as aiding and abetting. A person Read more

Principal and Accomplice Liability in Criminal Law Crimes are not always committed by one person acting alone. A robbery may involve one person who enters the store, another who drives the getaway car, and another who provides information about the store’s security. A fraud may involve a person who creates Read more

Merger of Inchoate and Completed Crimes Criminal law often distinguishes between inchoate offenses and completed crimes. An inchoate offense is conduct directed toward committing another crime but falling short of the completed target offense. The three traditional inchoate offenses are attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy. Cornell Legal Information Institute — Inchoate Read more

Withdrawal from a Criminal Conspiracy Joining a criminal conspiracy does not necessarily mean that a person must remain involved forever. A conspirator may change their mind, leave the group, refuse to participate further, or attempt to prevent the planned crime from occurring. But criminal law draws an important distinction between Read more