Читать книгу Criminology For Dummies - Steven Briggs - Страница 12

Technically, a crime is what your legislature says it is. If legislators want to outlaw riding a horse over 10 mph, they can. (It’s against the law to do so in Indianapolis, for example.)

But just outlawing an activity doesn’t make it a crime. For example, running a red light is illegal, but it isn’t a crime (you only pay a fine). A crime is something you can get locked up for.

Taking away a person’s liberty is what separates illegal criminal conduct from illegal conduct that is not criminal. And when the possibility of going to jail is involved, you have a number of constitutional rights that don’t apply when you’re caught for a traffic violation, including the following:

 The right to an attorney

 The right to a jury, which can convict you only if the evidence is beyond a reasonable doubt

 The right to remain silent and not have your silence used against you