Teens Arrested in Train Prank (Rochester)

scharnhorst wrote:

keeper1616 wrote:They pled guilty to Felony charges and their records will be sealed:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/app ... 9901310343

It's all part of the plea agreement.

question is dose this go into a public record should they do something stupied again in there adult hood years??

Not sure what the code is or I'd make that like size 8 type too.

edit: Okay, nevermind I figured that out

scottychaos wrote:

FarmallBob wrote:

Benjamin Maggi wrote: Under terms of the plea agreement each receives 4 weekends in jail, 5 years probation, must perform 200 hours of community service and will pay a total of $20,172 to CSX for damage. CSX agrees with the resolution.

thats all??
man, they got off WAY too easy..

Scot

Considering the fact that the accident could have been MUCH MUCH worse if fuel had spilled or a major derailment could have occurred, they got off WAY too easy.

MRBJ wrote:Considering the fact that the accident could have been MUCH MUCH worse if fuel had spilled or a major derailment could have occurred, they got off WAY too easy.

I was waiting for someone to say something like this. The legal system does not take into account what could have happened, only what DID happen. That's why there is a difference between attempted murder and murder. If there was fuel spilled, or a derailment, then I'm sure the punishment would have been worse.

Honestly, I think the punishment is fair, since in 5 years all involved will (hopefully) be responsible adults, and if they're not, then the legal system will deal with their other crimes as well. They do need to watch their toes for the next 5 years, and hopefully they will learn from this experience and not repeat.

keeper1616 wrote:

MRBJ wrote:Considering the fact that the accident could have been MUCH MUCH worse if fuel had spilled or a major derailment could have occurred, they got off WAY too easy.

I was waiting for someone to say something like this. The legal system does not take into account what could have happened, only what DID happen. That's why there is a difference between attempted murder and murder.

why is that?
im sure there must be a reason..but I dont know what it is..

If someone aims a gun at another person and pulls the trigger, why is it "less of a crime" if the victim doesnt die?
I dont get that..what is the legal reasoning behind that concept?

Scot

scottychaos wrote:

keeper1616 wrote:

MRBJ wrote:Considering the fact that the accident could have been MUCH MUCH worse if fuel had spilled or a major derailment could have occurred, they got off WAY too easy.

I was waiting for someone to say something like this. The legal system does not take into account what could have happened, only what DID happen. That's why there is a difference between attempted murder and murder.

why is that?
im sure there must be a reason..but I dont know what it is..

If someone aims a gun at another person and pulls the trigger, why is it "less of a crime" if the victim doesnt die?
I dont get that..what is the legal reasoning behind that concept?

Scot

For the same reason that a drunk driving arrest is treated differently than a drunk driving accident that kills a carload of people. The potential for disaster was there, but luckily for everyone no disaster happened. Most criminal charges aren't made on the basis of a worst-case scenario - it's ultimately based on "just the facts".

scottychaos wrote:

keeper1616 wrote:

MRBJ wrote:Considering the fact that the accident could have been MUCH MUCH worse if fuel had spilled or a major derailment could have occurred, they got off WAY too easy.

I was waiting for someone to say something like this. The legal system does not take into account what could have happened, only what DID happen. That's why there is a difference between attempted murder and murder.

why is that?
im sure there must be a reason..but I dont know what it is..

If someone aims a gun at another person and pulls the trigger, why is it "less of a crime" if the victim doesnt die?
I dont get that..what is the legal reasoning behind that concept?

Scot

I'll speak to NJ, but the law is probably similar in other states. The difference between the crimes of attempted murder and murder is in the defined elements of the crime, i.e., what the prosecution must prove. The punishment for either crime is the same. So in your example, the end result would be the same. The third and some ways most interesting category is conspiracy to commit a crime.

In the case here, of the train incident, the prosecutor could likely not prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of an intent to kill, and thus no attempt. Hence, the charge could be something like reckless endangerment, and here seems to have been bargained to criminal mischief.

This is really getting off topic, but the punishment is intended to deter the commission of a crime. In the case of drunk driving, there is a two-level philosophy of deterence. It consists of the punishment for the act, and the risk of a severe punishment if the act results in a death. There is a logic to it.

No, when a YO is sealed, it's gone. Can not be used or refered to in any further court actions. It's basicly, their ONE free pass on their future. Not a slap on wrist. 20K+Fines, weekend jail time, 200 hrs of community service, 5 years of tiptoeing through life. If one violates the conditions of the plea deal or the probation, new sentences can be imposed. They do not have to claim a felony conviction on any applications, or suffer any loss of rights due to the felony conviction.

Any future prosecutor will be aware something took place, even though they can't readily look at the specifics. It may take a court order to actually view the file, but it's there, it doesn't go completely away. If they get a traffic ticket, no one cares, but if they stab someone to death, that might be reason enough to allow a DA to examine the file.

As someone who is a lawyer has often related, the law is more or less a game where he who has the most money - and the best lawyer - wins. All we can do on this is be glad they didn't get off scot free... debating what could have happened versus what did and what the law is is probably best left for a legal forum.

Anybody got train horns mounted on their car? Picture making a pass by their houses about 3AM and giving a nice crossing blow.....

hmmphff... wouldn't that in itself be an illegal prank ? I mean the perps must live in a neighborhood rather than a rural farm, and I'm sure the surrounding households would be calling the police to report "harassment", "disturbing the peace", "disorderly conduct", etc...

Assuming that you are new to forum use, the " " wink indicates that the suggestion is to be taken with a grain of salt, not a serious proposal but rather an attempt at humor or levity.

When a case receives a YO it is sealed, done. that is the reason for it being sealed. No prosecuter, Judge, lawyer can review the case, or refer to it in any future legal proceedings. The defendants have all their rights in place as if the Felony conviction never happened and are not required to admit to the conviction in any job appl., security appl.s, military service, voter registration. A criminal history search via state and national data bases will only show a YO. No further info. on the case

..

sheesh.... are going to draw and quarter these kids after they get strung up by their.... ???

Let's wrap it up.

-otto-

There is one other problem with the "sealed docs" thing. Look at how we've discussed this issue since its inception. If the kids get into trouble, how hard would it be to google search something and find out a little background on them. How many people have lost there jobs due to blogging and the companies do searches and put the pieces together and find out who's who and then terminate their employment.

We've discussed this in other threads about posters on this forum being RR employees. You don't think that the companies aren't looking here? If those kids apply for a job, and the employer does a search on them and with todays technology, they may find what those kids may not want to be found.

How safe is your secret?