Drink and riding (bicycle) offence in Germany I am charged with a criminal offence in a drink-and-riding-a-bicycle case. I have received a letter mentioning the alcohol content 1.66 promile. I have accepted the charges and agreed to pay the fine. What are the possible fines for this offence? Is there any possible legal effect on my resident permit? How long will the record stay in the register? I do not have a driving license.
The fine would typically be around your monthly income. Legal basis: drunk driving per §316 StGB is punishable by up to one year in prison, but per §47 and §40 StGB short sentences are converted to a fine that depends on your daily net income (Tagessätze). There is likely no impact. Despite this being a crime, it will not appear in your criminal record that some employers need. Legal basis: Per §32 BZRG the criminal record will not show convictions with ≤ 90 Tagessätze. However, other government departments can request full access. You will get three “Flensburg points” which has no immediate effect, but can lead to increased penalties for your next traffic violation. Where the points have been awarded for a crime, they will expire after 5 or 10 years. You can voluntarily visit seminars to remove points at a rate of one per five years. Legal basis: per Appendix 13 FeV, drunk driving (§316 StGB) gives you two or three Flensburg points, depending on whether your license (implied for bikes) is suspended and the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream. Retention period is covered in §29 StVG. Seminars are covered in §4(7) StGB. Other effects: You may be ordered to do the MPU psychological evaluation and can be banned from using a bike if you fail. You will also have to take an MPU if you want to get a driving license.
Is there anything I can do so that the authorities investigate and revoke his privilege of driving a car? Yes. Next time he drinks and gets behind the wheel, call the police and tell them that you are witnessing an intoxicated person about to drive. If the police witness him behind the wheel while intoxicated, he'll be issued a DUI, perhaps face jail time, and will have his license revoked. I would suggest visiting your local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. They experience situations like this all the time and can work with you to help this individual.
This story is plausible but the technical legal details are probably wrong. It is completely illegal to transport a pistol in a car in New York State if you do not fall into the list of exceptions § 265.01-b: A person is guilty of criminal possession of a firearm when he or she: (1) possesses any firearm or; (2) lawfully possesses a firearm prior to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand thirteen which added this section subject to the registration requirements of subdivision sixteen-a of section 400.00 of this chapter and knowingly fails to register such firearm pursuant to such subdivision. Since the question mentions the firearm locked in a glovebox I'm assuming it is a pistol. Comments have suggested and certain exemptions in the law suggest that there isn't a licensure or registration requirement for manual action long guns, but I have not found the specific section exempting them from the possession law. There is a long list of exemptions to the possession law in § 265.20, but the only one that could be applicable to a person just travelling through the state might be section 13: 13. Possession of pistols and revolvers by a person who is a nonresident of this state while attending or traveling to or from, an organized competitive pistol match or league competition... Notably, for a regular citizen they must have a New York State carry permit to possess a handgun, and their long guns must be registered with the state: 3. Possession of a pistol or revolver by a person to whom a license therefor has been issued as provided under section 400.00 or 400.01 of this chapter or possession of a weapon as defined in paragraph (e) or (f) of subdivision twenty-two of section 265.00 of this article which is registered pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision sixteen-a of section 400.00 of this chapter or is included on an amended license issued pursuant to section 400.00 of this chapter. Neither applies to someone simply travelling through the state to another state who hasn't fulfilled the appropriate license or registry requirements. What may apply, however, is the federal Firearm Owners Protection Act, which in part codifies 18 U.S. Code § 926A: Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. The notwithstanding in this case preempts state law and affirms that transporting a firearm between two states that allow the person to carry that firearm cannot be a crime assuming they meet the statutory requirements on carrying the firearm and ammunition. However, he failed to meet those requirements by keeping the firearm in the glove box, which the federal law specifically does not protect. Therefore, NY State law is allowed to apply and he can be charged with possession without a license under NY State law. The part about whether or not he stayed overnight being a distinction may be a retelling error or conflating this law with similar state laws that allow transporting firearms that are inaccessible in the vehicle as long as the vehicle doesn't stop in the state beyond minor pit stops (e.g. for gas).
There seems to be no current applicable prohibition state law in Iowa in Iowa Code 39A, the Election Misconduct and Penalties Act. It is also not at all clear that precinct caucuses count as "elections" as applicable to the sections with criminal prohibitions (the precinct caucus does not appear to constitute a "primary election" under Iowa law).
If you have a license and drive but forget your license and get pulled over what happens? You could receive a summons or citation (a.k.a. "ticket") for failing to carry a driver's license. Section § 46.2-104 of the Virginia Code states that it is a traffic infraction with a $10 fine to not have your license while driving. The operator of any motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer being operated on the highways in the Commonwealth, shall have in his possession: (i) the registration card issued by the Department or the registration card issued by the state or country in which the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is registered, and (ii) his driver's license, learner's permit, or temporary driver's permit. Every person licensed by the Department as a driver . . . who fails to carry his license. . . for the vehicle which he operates, shall be guilty of a traffic infraction and upon conviction punished by a fine of ten dollars. (Emphasis added.) Do you get a penalty for forgetting it at your house? Yes, if you have a valid license that you left at home, you can get the case dismissed by showing the license to the the court (presumably a clerk), but you will still have to pay "court costs." However, if any person summoned to appear before a court for failure to display his license . . . presents, before the return date of the summons, to the court a license or permit issued to him prior to the time the summons was issued . . . or appears pursuant to the summons and produces before the court a license or permit issued to him prior to the time the summons was issued . . . , he shall, upon payment of all applicable court costs, have complied with the provisions of this section. Va. Code Ann. § 46.2-104 (2016).
If I attempt to carry such a product into the country, but then honestly declare it at the border (I would like to declare 10 kg of marijuana, sir), can I be prosecuted for attempted smuggling? This depends on the jurisdiction and its definition of "smuggling." In the US, as an example, smuggling implies fraud or "clandestine" action. Openly bringing a forbidden item and declaring it would not meet the definition of this crime. Or will I simply be faced with the choice of turning around or forfeiting my goods and continue without trouble? Depending on the product in question, probably not. In the marijuana example, even if you are not guilty of smuggling, you are guilty of possessing and transporting a controlled substance (see 21 USC subchapter I). You could also be charged with intent to distribute, which would likely be a more serious crime. You could also be charged under the laws of the state in which the port of entry is located. With regard to the methyl alcohol example, I do not know whether bringing it to the customs desk at a port of entry would constitute a crime.
Arrests For Crimes A charge must be identified very early in the criminal justice process, typically upon booking an arrested person at a police station or jail, which will usually take place minutes to hours after an arrest is made. At the latest, a provisional charge will be revealed at a first appearance before a judge (which will usually take place within a day, or sometimes a bit longer on a weekend or holiday in rural areas whether it should or not), although the charges identified at that time can be amended later in the process. A plea of guilty or not guilty is entered at an arraignment, which sometimes is combined with a first court appearance and sometimes is conducted separately. A preliminary hearing happens much later in the criminal justice process, after an arraignment (which is sometimes combined with a first court appearance), and after counsel is assigned to represent the person who is charged. A preliminary hearing is an adversarial mini-trial before a judge at which the prosecution presents evidence sufficient to establish probable cause on previously disclosed charged in a somewhat summary fashion (not necessarily everything to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt), and the attorney for the defendant can cross-examine witnesses, object to questions improper under the rules of evidence, and introduce exonerating evidence (although this last option is only rarely utilized). A preliminary hearing is a substitute for a grand jury indictment as a means to screen whether charges are supported by probable cause. Usually, but not in absolutely all cases, if the arrest is pursuant to an arrest warrant, the arrest warrant will be presented to the person being arrested immediately prior to, at the time of the arrest, or immediately after the arrest is made, and the arrest warrant will provide some insight into the charge. But, unless a state statute or court rule provides otherwise, a charge does not usually need to be disclosed during the actual process of making an arrest, or while the person arrested is being transported to a police station or jail for booking, although the charge often is disclosed at that time or even before the arrest is made. Frequently, someone is read their Miranda rights before the charge is identified. Some of the fine details are a matter of state specific court rules and statutes, but the general outline of the process described above is the U.S. constitutional requirement. The process for arresting a minor is not very different from the process for arresting an adult, but usually, when a minor is arrested, a parent or guardian must be promptly notified of the arrest and the charge, if possible. Many states have a minimum age for arresting a minor for committing a crime or juvenile delinquency offense, which is typically somewhere in the range from age seven to age twelve, although there is considerable variation on this point. This is an area of the law where active efforts to pass reform legislation to take a less punitive approach with younger minors are underway. Minors Taken Into Custody For Other Reasons Also, while adults are overwhelmingly arrested on suspicion of having committed a crime, a minor is sometime placed under law enforcement or social services custody in a manner that looks like an arrest, but isn't, for a reason other than a charge that the minor is actually believed to have committed a crime. For example, suppose that a five year old child is found in an apartment at which two adults presumed to be the child's mother and father, are found dead (the reason for their deaths doesn't really matter). In that situation, the law enforcement officer at the scene would generally take physical custody of the child pending the arrival of a social services officer at the scene who would then take physical custody of the child from the law enforcement officer until another suitable guardian could be located, even though there is no suspicion that the child committed a crime. The name for this process varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In New York State, for example, this is called &quot;person in need of supervision&quot; case (PINS for short), which is sometimes thought of as a civil custody matter and is sometimes classified as what is called a &quot;status offense&quot; that justifies the government taking custody of a minor even though the minor has not committed a crime.
I'm answering your title question and assuming that you meant to present a circumstance that would actually trigger criminal liability, but based on the ages you've actually used in your hypothetical, you may not have done so. I'll ignore that complication and just present what the law is. Yes, there are some U.S. laws that people can be found to violate while in another country. The Department of Justice has a &quot;citizen's guide&quot; explaining extraterritorial sexual exploitation of children. The main offences are: 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a): Transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity 18 U.S.C. § 2423(d): Travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c): Engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places For § 2423(a), there must be the intent to engage in &quot;any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense.&quot; For § 2423(b) and (c), &quot;illicit sexual conduct&quot; means, among a few other things: &quot;a sexual act (as defined in section 2246) with a person under 18 years of age that would be in violation of chapter 109A if the sexual act occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.&quot; Chapter 109A includes § 2243(a): Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison, or in any prison, institution, or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction of or pursuant to a contract or agreement with the head of any Federal department or agency, knowingly engages in a sexual act with another person who (a) has attained the age of 12 years but has not attained the age of 16 years; and (b) is at least four years younger than the person so engaging; or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.