Criminal activities and their impacts

Criminal Activities

First and foremost, Alison's actions were clearly criminal. She was trying to find a lighter in order to smoke illegal narcotics, which is why she broke into the vehicle in the first place. Yet, the charge of burglary may be hard to stick, as she technically did not steal anything, nor did she ever really intend to. If anything, she could be charged with the petty theft of the lighter, although she never actually got to steal it because she passed out in the front seat. Still, there are more appropriate charges that would stick better. For instance, she could be charged with possession, breaking and entering, and vandalism. These would be more appropriate in regards to her destructive behavior and her destruction of private property.

Part II

Although Bernice is in a dire situation, with little help available to her if she remained honest regarding the amount of money she makes a year, her actions are still criminal. First, she lied on an official welfare application, which means that she has committed welfare fraud. The fact that she knew how much she really makes a year, and that she intentionally changed the documents showing her income, makes her guilty of welfare fraud and forging of official government documents (Northwest Justice Project, 2013). This, however, is still a pretty precarious situation, based on the ethical notion of Bernice's crimes. She committed this welfare fraud in order to better provide for her three children, but that still does not change the fact that she broke the law. There were other options available for her in order get the assistance she needed. Moreover, if an individual is denied welfare benefits for any reason, as Bernice probably would have been, they "can ask for a fair hearing and ask [their] legal services office for advice," (Northwest Justice Project, 2013). Still, Bernice did not do this, and thus her actions can be deemed as criminal.

Part III

Michael did not commit a crime in his decision to sell his research to a foreign company in the Netherlands. The research he conducted is his own, and is related to the finishing of a possible vaccine which could save lives. Thus, it is actually best for a company to purchase his research, so that they can continue the process in order to create the vaccine that Mark had in mind during the initial onset of his research in the first place.

Yet, if Mark was working on some sort of biological weapon, this would definitely change the answer. In that case, Mark would essentially be committing treason and conspiracy, as he would have sold research on a weapon that could be used against the American people by the foreign buyer. The reason this changes so drastically is because of the notion that weapons are involved. Biological weapons are treated similarly to traditional weapons in regards to federal law. As such, Mark selling weapons to a foreign country would definitely be illegal.

Part IV