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Lying About God (And Love?) To Get Laid: The Case Study Of Criminalizing Sex Under Religious False Pretense In Hong Kong, Jianlin Chen
Lying About God (And Love?) To Get Laid: The Case Study Of Criminalizing Sex Under Religious False Pretense In Hong Kong, Jianlin Chen
Cornell International Law Journal
Section 120 of the Hong Kong Crimes Ordinances— which traces its origin to the U.K. and which is replicated in several other English common law jurisdictions— criminalizes procurement of sexual acts through false representation. Recently, prosecutors used this provision to indict individuals who procured sexual acts on the pretext of performing luck-improving religious rituals. Beyond presenting the first-ever systematic examination of these intriguing fraudulent sex court cases, this Article makes two arguments. First, this Article explains how the strong skepticism, and at times, instinctive rejection by the judges of the purported religious proclamations not only confirm the scholarly concerns over …
Speaking Louder Than Words: Finding An Overt Act Requirement In The Hobbs Act, Matthew Ladew
Speaking Louder Than Words: Finding An Overt Act Requirement In The Hobbs Act, Matthew Ladew
Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
Federal conspiracy law has a problem. It is sometimes easier to put someone in prison for twenty years than it is to put her away for five— for the very same crime. This situation stems from a bright-line rule to which the Supreme Court has long adhered: when Congress wants an overt act requirement, Congress will explicitly so specify. Consider the resulting status quo. The general federal conspiracy statute requires proof of an overt act. Its maximum sentence is five years. In contrast, the Hobbs Act contains no overt act requirement, yet it provides for a maximum sentence of twenty …