Posted on 12/05/2021 10:40:33 AM PST by 4Runner
Or do penalties owed the state for the commission of a crime end at the grave? Google can't (or won't) respond intelligently to this query. I've also asked an attorney, he had no answer. All I know is, the penalty for conviction for money laundering in Florida is incarceration in the state penitentiary for an extended period of time, plus the requirement that the convicted party repay to the state double the amount of money originally laundered! Thanks for any insight you all may be able to provide. (Yes, I've pledged a monthly contribution today.)
why not? they want to tax you after you die.
He was never convicted. Kenneth Lay was found guilty and had appealed his conviction when he died from a heart attack. His victims were upset because his estate remained in tact because the conviction was in an appellate process. I don’t know if the death being suicide would make a difference.
“...repay to the state double the amount of money originally laundered!”
“Repay”? That sounds like “Gun Buyback”.
If there’s no conviction, I don’t see how you can apply criminal penalties.
Now in a case that was in the appellate stage, I could see things being different than if the person was never convicted on the first place.
The monetary penalty is a penalty for conviction. Unless and until the deceased is convicted post mortem, I would say no. If there is a separate civil offense, the state may be able to sue the estate.
Here is some insight:
http://yslaw.ca/what-happens-to-criminal-charges-when-the-accused-is-deceased/
Yes that's what I was considering as a remote possibility.
In CA that would be the correct answer
It the State believes the person laundered money, they can lock up the estate until such time the State is satisfied with the judgement.
It depends on whether the prosecution had asserted jurisdiction over the property before the man died. I was a California attorney for 40 years, and California law has provisions for this. Florida I don’t know about. The abstract legal term is called “in rem” jurisdiction and, technically, the prosecution places a hold called a “lien” on the money. Most commonly here, this occurs as part of a drug prosecution.
However, there is this delightful little thing called civil asset forfeiture which does not require you to be even arrested where they just take your stuff and say you have to prove that your stuff is innocent.
Which is why you are not getting an answer.
Because theses things are both true.
Thanks for the link, nice hunting.
As a layman, I’d say that if the judgement or order issued by the Probate Court existed before the suicide, then the assets are fair game. JMO
Comments 12 & 13 definitely scary stuff. Will be checking these out. Thank you both kindly.
John sues Bill for libel. Then John dies before the trial begins. John's estate inherits John's right to damages, if any, and the trial can proceed.
But if John merely plans to sue Bill, but John dies before filing suit, then John's claim dies with him. There is no lawsuit for the estate to inherit, and the estate cannot file one.
I suppose that in many cases where one party dies, the determining factor is whether the suit was filed (is already in existence) before the party died.
Not entirely correct. It frequently happens in civil wrongful death lawsuits brought by the survivors of the dead person, or by the representative of the dead person’s estate, or the guardian for the minor dependent(s) of the dead person. Clearly, such deaths (traffic crashes, for example) occur without the dead person having filed or planned a lawsuit against the accused/responsible “killer.” Such lawsuits heavily focus on what the death “costs” the estate or the survivor in terms of lost income, companionship, parental guidance, etc. The definition of survivor depends on the state and the court, though. A spouse and minor children are definite and obvious, but a parent might not be able to sue for the loss of an adult child and recover money paid directly to the parents, but they might be able to sue and recover money to pay for hospital expenses before the death, college costs for minors, etc. Again, depends on the particular jurisdiction and court, and the facts of the case.
Maybe the government can exhume his body and desecrate his corpse. That might satiate their blood lust
No. The conviction will be reversed if he was dead at the time he was convicted. In a lot of states (maybe not florida) even if you die before the appeal process is completed the case is dismissed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.