this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2024
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Today I Learned

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[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 123 points 1 month ago (26 children)

It's worth reading the entire article, it just gets worse and worse.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Attorney's Office, and Montgomery County District Attorney all initiated criminal investigations of the matter, which they combined and then closed because they did not find evidence "that would establish beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone involved had criminal intent".

That's not even close to the worst thing in the article, but GG justice system. I'll remember this one day when I'm in court. "Well I didn't have criminal intent."

That's a defense now?? One that removes the need to even have a trial at all??

[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 39 points 1 month ago (12 children)

Its been a defence for several hundred years, in fact! Showing intent is one of the three things you need to establish in every criminal case for it to be considered valid. Fuck the cops for dropping this case though, how in hell was there no intent to commit a crime here wtf.

[–] Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website 42 points 1 month ago (8 children)

Weird, I've literally always heard "ignorance of the law is no excuse to break the law", which seems to imply criminal intent doesn't matter. Only that the action that was take was illegal.

[–] spongebue@lemmy.world 13 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

It's not intent to break the law, it's intent to do what you did. If I walk out of a store with a can of tuna I didn't pay for, that's shoplifting, right? Well, not necessarily.

If I walk into a store, pick it up off the shelf, hide it in my jacket, and dart for the exit, probably.

If my toddler slipped it into my jacket pocket, and I didn't notice, probably not.

If I put it in my jacket pocket because my toddler started to run away, I forgot about it, and paid for a cart of groceries... Maybe? But unlikely to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that it wasn't an accident.

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

It’s not intent to break the law, it’s intent to do what you did. If I walk out of a store with a can of tuna I didn’t pay for, that’s shoplifting, right? Well, not necessarily.

But they did mean to take pictures of minors in the privacy of their bedrooms in the name of stopping petty theft which I’m doubtful would have occurred on any meaningful scale in the first place. Whether they meant it “criminally” seems immaterial here. I think they got off exceptionally light, and it’s a travesty of justice. You won’t convince me otherwise.

[–] spongebue@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

If I won't convince you otherwise there's not much point in discussing anything. I'll throw out one point I mentioned in another comment nonetheless...

From what I remember of this school district's case, the laptops were assigned the laptops for free to use at school. If they wanted to take the laptops home, they needed to pay an additional fee for extra insurance costs. This student did not. There is a reasonable argument that the school was tracking down its missing property. Maybe you won't be convinced otherwise, but a jury (really, a single jury member) very well could.

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