Criminal Law Paper

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Criminal Law Paper Carolyn Waddell-Tillman 354 February 7, 2014 Professor William Heiman Criminal Law Paper Arrest Search and Investigation DNA Cheek Swab Maryland v. King, 569 U.S._ (June 3, 2003) The defendant was arrested in 2009 for menacing a group of people with a shotgun, the defendant was charged in state court with assault, where he was processed for detention custody at a central booking facility. Booking personnel used a cheek swab to take the DNA sample from him pursuant to the Maryland DNA Collection Act. His DNA was uploaded into the Maryland DNA database and matched a 2003 sample from an unsolved rape case. He was charged and convicted in the rape case (criminallawresources.com) What interested me about this…show more content…
It was proved that the defendant was guilty of rape by his dna, also the fact that he was menacing people with a shotgun, which is how the taking of the DNA came about to prove him guilty of rape. Accomplice liability does not apply to this case; accomplice liability allows the courts to find a person criminally liable for acts committed by another person. If a person aids, assist or encourages another in the commission of a crime they are an accomplice to the crime, while the person who actually commits the act is called the” principal”. However, when determining what is accomplice liability and criminal liability a court needs to examine factors and intent of both the principal and the accomplice (www.legalmatch.com). The elements of crime are a series of components that must be present in order for it to be demonstrated that someone is guilty of a crime. The prosecution must provide supporting evidence that all parts of the crime are present in a given case and the defense can challenge the validity of a case on one or more elements, while different legal systems have different standards, there have been some truly bizarre cases that have tested the legal definition of the elements of crime

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