Burdens of Proof, Criminal Procedure Violations, and the Role of the Expert Witness Section A: Burdens of

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Question:

Burdens of Proof, Criminal Procedure Violations, and the Role of the Expert Witness Section A: Burdens of Proof and Violations of Criminal Procedure:

What are the elements of the crime the prosecution must prove?

What violations of criminal procedure by law enforcement, if any, occurred?

Fact Pattern A: John and the Food Stamps
John was a divorced father of four. He made a lot of poor business choices, and as a result, he ended up losing his business. Further, creditors sought payment from loans he had taken out when his business was running. They won judgments against him in amounts over $190,000. He was working as an admissions counselor at a small community college when his checks started being garnished. He decided instead to enroll in school and stop working. He thought he could get money from federal grants in his role as a student to live on. He did get some money, but it wasn't enough to pay his bills. Instead, he decided to try to get some welfare aid, including food stamps and money from the state he lived in. His custody agreement permitted him to have his kids every weekend. However, in filling out the government welfare forms, he claimed he had full custody of his children. This allowed him to receive more aid in food stamps and other monetary funds from the state, since it was for five people instead of one.

After doing this for a year, he started to get nervous he would be uncovered. He decided to seek full custody of his children from their mother. During the process, mother's attorney discovered John was claiming the children as his dependents when they were not living with him. Attorney reported him to State Agency. State Agency contacted John, and he stated again that children were living with him full-time. He signed a legal document stating the same.

State Agency turned the matter over to State Police. On Thursday afternoon, police went to John's house, where he was outside reading a book. Police began to ask John questions, including where the children were. Unaware what they were investigating, John answered, "They are at their mother's." Officer Smith asked John who had custody of the children. John stated, "Their mother does."

These statements were used against him in a criminal welfare fraud trial.