Also known as: penal liabilities · criminal liability
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
Legal responsibility enforceable by criminal punishment. The exposure arises when conduct satisfies the elements of a criminal offense without justification or excuse.
Priscilla Parks pushed a rival overboard during a storm after a heated argument. A court classified the killing as criminal homicide because it lacked any justification or excuse recognized at common law, exposing Priscilla to penal liability for murder.
Patrick Phan told a friend that he had falsified corporate records to hide embezzlement. The statement exposed Patrick to penal liability, satisfying the against-interest requirement for the hearsay exception when offered in a later prosecution.
Penelope Price refused to answer questions about her role in a tax scheme during a civil deposition. Because the answers would expose her only to civil liability, the Fifth Amendment did not protect her from compelled testimony.
Pablo Perez admitted in a recorded conversation that he had participated in an armed robbery. The statement tended to expose him to penal liability, and corroborating circumstances allowed its admission against a co-defendant under the hearsay exception.
Perry Pratt moved stolen funds and a weapon belonging to his client into a new safe deposit box. Because the privilege protects only communications, Perry faced penal liability for obstructing law enforcement access to physical evidence.
Pavel Petrov was convicted of drug trafficking. The sentencing court applied the advisory guidelines range, confirming that Petrov remained subject to penal liability measured by the statutory maximum rather than a mandatory guideline sentence.
Respondent Freddie Booker was charged with possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The jury heard evidence that he possessed 92.5 grams in his duffel bag and found him guilty. Based on the jury's findings and his criminal history, the Guidelines called for a base sentence of 210 to 262 months. At sentencing, the district judge found by a preponderance that Booker possessed an additional 566 grams of crack and had obstructed justice. These findings raised the range to 360 months to life. The judge imposed 360 months. In the companion case, respondent Ducan Fanfan was convicted of conspiracy involving at least 500 grams of cocaine. The jury verdict authorized up to 78 months. The judge found additional facts that would have raised the range to 188 to 235 months but declined to apply them after Blakely. The Seventh Circuit held Booker's sentence violated the Sixth Amendment under Blakely and Apprendi. It remanded for resentencing based on jury findings. The Government sought certiorari in both cases, which the Court granted.
View caseYes. Criminal homicide at common law requires an unlawful killing committed with malice aforethought, distinguishing it from justifiable or excusable categories that eliminate penal liability.
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No. The exception in a criminal prosecution requires exposure to criminal liability plus corroborating circumstances that clearly indicate trustworthiness.
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No. The privilege applies only when testimony would tie the witness to criminal conduct. The risk of civil liability alone does not permit invocation.
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No. The privilege covers communications, not physical fruits or instrumentalities of crime, leaving the attorney subject to penal liability for obstruction.
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