Is it dangerous to write about having broken the law?

[bluedragon]

Can you get in trouble for writing on your blog about how you did some illegal things? Like shoplifting? Even if nobody saw you do that stuff and there is no evidence incriminating you? How careful do you have to be?
If you did something illegal and got away with it, can you safely write about it?
For example, when Steve said that he was into shoplifting and he nearly got sent to prison, but escaped because he was mistakenly trialed as a first-time offender, how come the authorities didn't realize their mistake (reading his blog ) and didn't go back to fix the mistake? Of course, I am very glad they didn't, because otherwise maybe this blog wouldn't even exist, but I'm very intrigued how it was possible.

[magi13]

Originally Posted by bluedragon

Can you get in trouble for writing on your blog about how you did some illegal things? Like shoplifting? Even if nobody saw you do that stuff and there is no evidence incriminating you? How careful do you have to be?
If you did something illegal and got away with it, can you safely write about it?
For example, when Steve said that he was into shoplifting and he nearly got sent to prison, but escaped because he was mistakenly trialed as a first-time offender, how come the authorities didn't realize their mistake (reading his blog ) and didn't go back to fix the mistake? Of course, I am very glad they didn't, because otherwise maybe this blog wouldn't even exist, but I'm very intrigued how it was possible.

Why not search google or consult your lawyer.

^,^

[Eric Roosevelt]

To be honest I don't know who would bother to push charges about something like that. And he already served his time and learned his lesson, didn't he? Generally it's not dangerous to mention that you've broken the law, unless you stole a car yesterday or something.

[bluedragon]

Originally Posted by magi13

Why not search google or consult your lawyer.

^,^

Because I am asking here.

And because I'm sure that many bloggers here have already consulted a lawyer, who happens to know more than any lawyer in my country.

And because I'm sure that legally, it is possible to be convicted because you confessed your guilt, but I want to know if the risk that this will actually HAPPEN is close to zero, or is it closer to 1%o .

And because I don't know any lawyer around here, and how much it would cost to "consult" him, and if I did, I'm pretty sure most lawyers have no experience with online issues, especially blogging.

[ThoughtAddict]

I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.

In the US, the Federal Rules of Evidence allow any statement made by a person admitting a crime to be presented directly to the jury. And a jury tends to consider confessions as pretty firm evidence that the person is guilty.

Whether a person will be arrested based on those statements is another issue, and varies widely depending on the crime. Shoplifting probably would be lost in the noise on the internet, but could be used if anyone tracked it to you by anyone who invests enough interest. Murder, rape, crimes against women or children, or major drug or large money offenses (including any kind of fraud) are likely to be taken pretty seriously by the authorities and are more likely to attract the attention of people who will contact authorities.

The quick and easy rule is just to keep your mouth shut. They can't convict you based on a statement you never gave.

If you're curious about a particular crime or set of facts, you should consult a local attorney or legal aid society.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

I would assume at this point that the statute of limitations has already passed on shoplifting Steve did that long ago. Could be wrong on that of course, I didn't look it up.

[bluedragon]

But it is not illegal to lie, right? What if, when charged, you state that you lied on your blog, or that it was fantasy?

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by bluedragon

But it is not illegal to lie, right? What if, when charged, you state that you lied on your blog, or that it was fantasy?

That may work if you have not been arrested or charged for it in the past and if there is no evidence, but that would be dangerous territory.

In Steve's case, it would probably not work to use that defense becuase he was arrested and tried for his crimes.

[schola]

Double jeopardy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Brutha]

I'm no lawyer, therefore this isn't legal advice.

And because I'm sure that many bloggers here have already consulted a lawyer, who happens to know more than any lawyer in my country.

The law in your country matters to your well being more than the law in the US.

There is more than just the legal risk. It provides other people with a way to attack yourself. If you have a job your employer might not like to employ someone who broke certain laws.
As a freelancer your business partners might also not like to do business with someone who broke certain laws.

But it is not illegal to lie, right? What if, when charged, you state that you lied on your blog, or that it was fantasy?

If the machine is once set in motion you still take damage even if you aren't convicted.

What would happen to you if the police would simply come tomorrow and take your hard disk and any other digital storage media's to "gather evidence"?

[Holistic Star]

Someone in the UK was arrested in 2005 for boasting about crimes on Friends Reunited

Another boast on the site led to a drug dealer being jailed. Raymond Casling, 24, wrote: "I'm doing very well. I'm selling a lot of Charlie [cocaine] in Redcar and I've got three sports cars." At the time, he was earning £45 a week working in a seafront amusement arcade. He was jailed for three years.

from this article here:
Happy returns for friends and foes reunited | Technology | The Guardian

[bluedragon]

Originally Posted by Brutha

The law in your country matters to your well being more than the law in the US.

You're right, but I'm not gonna be in my country forever. If I'll be a successful blogger, I will be an English language blogger, and I'd like to be able to talk about all aspects of my previous personal development (even though it's nothing very serious), without having to withhold anything I think might be of value to my readers.

[Brutha]

Let's take copyright infringement as an example. Most people who write about having done it online don't get sued.
If you however make someone angry enough to search for areas where that person can attack you, he might go and call your local police station. If he's successful in convincing them they will raid your home with isn't nice for you and you get real problems if you have pirated software.

Law doesn't work in a way where everybody gets the same sentence for the same crime.

And because I don't know any lawyer around here, and how much it would cost to "consult" him, and if I did, I'm pretty sure most lawyers have no experience with online issues, especially blogging.

It's not really an online issue. It's simply the question whether having a written confession will do you harm.

[TreyBaird]

Don't forget that when it comes to the interpretations on laws and blogging, the jury is still out. Precedent hasn't been established as to how much bloggers are protected by the 1st amendment and such.

And like it's been said, employers are learning how to use the internet to judge you before you are hired, and even after. Whatever you decide to post on the internet will be there for people to judge you by.

You've heard the phrase "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time". Well, I wouldn't brag about a crime that I got away with if I didn't want to be prosecuted.

However, if you don't care about your reputation, and you keep your stories vague enough, I don't see the people in question being able to provide evidence that would implicate you. If we're talking about crimes that you've already been tried for, then you can't be tried twice, as per the laws concerning double jeopardy.

Just remember, I'm not a lawyer either. (And what a sorry state that our society is in, that I have to type that)

[JorgeHTQH]

Funny you should ask this question... I'm in the middle of writing my life story from when I was 14 till the age of 22.. (I'm 36 now) I'm doing this to add it to my "how to quit heroin" website on the about me page.. to explain to people that doing drugs mostly begins with the type of friends you choose and how it can lead to a life of crime...

... when I was 16 I stole a total of 32 cars on a memorial day weekend, starting from Springfield Massachusetts all the way to new yersey and back to Springfield.. And a few more incidences when I used to change V.I.N. numbers on my own cars to new stolen cars just to own the nicest cars in town.. and then the rest of the things I used to do just to get money for drugs... that was then, I've been clean and out of jail from the age of 22 till now, 36.. i must have stoled at least a few hundred cars in my youth and many of the car chases we had were amazing...

...but I sure don't want to go back to jail just for publishing this stuff on my website.. I'm on page 19 and the thing sounds like a movie...

So I still want to put it on there just to show people that no matter how bad they have been, they can still change their lives and quit using heroin...

I'm just not sure about it... although I know my visitors would love to read it and would get a huge kick out of and maybe learn a lesson or 2.. but there was one last case where I was charged and served a court summons for alterizations of vin numbers on my last car, (when I was 20) that I never went to court for and left the state... but then around 2 years later I went back to home state to face a charge of driving without a valid drivers license which was part of that case where I got into a major car accident with my chopped mustang.. but when the judge ask if I had any other cases open, pending or warrants for my arrest they said no.. so I think some how that part of the case disappeared... I don't know, its complicated..

...but I would sure love to put it up there just to show how someone can go from career criminal to feed a heroin habit to going totally clean and end up helping people quit heroin...

so...I just don't know... :>)

[bluedragon]

This idea about employers looking up the candidates' online past looks like intellectual terrorism to me... Are you talking about high-profile jobs such as pilots, medics and jobs that require the use of weapons, or just any job? Cause I heard many employers don't even bother to check credentials, not to mention forum chit-chat... Plus, how would someone know that Bluedragon from Stevepavlina.com is actually my real identity? They should do a lot of work, for a lot of candidates...
Anyway, luckily, I don't want to have a regular job. However, I do want to stay out trouble.

[ChefSalad]

It seems strange to me that this question hasn't been answered with any definitiveness, so I'll give it a shot. (These are about the situation in the US. Non-Americans may have different rules.)

1. If the crime you're writing about is one for which you've already been tried, then go ahead and write about it. They can't try you for the same crime twice. Note, however, that this only applies if they can't charge you for something sunstantially different at the same incident and it only applies if your original trial ended in a conviction or acquittal. If it ended in a mistrial or dismissal before jury selection concluded, they can still bring charges.

2. If the crime happened long enough ago that it's covered by the statute of limitations, then you're all good. For example, here in Michigan, the statute is three years for property crimes, so I can yammer on all I want about how my friends and I raped an old copper smelting plant of two thousand pounds of copper in 2002, and we couldn't get in any trouble. Note well, that you can still be sued much later in some states. In Michigan, they had six years to sue me.

3. Blogs ARE covered by the first ammendment, unequivically. The US Supreme Court ruled in 1997 (Reno v. ACLU) that the Internet is afforded the same level of protection as it's real-world equivalent. Bloggers would generally be considered the press or written speakers, and their work afforded the first ammendment protections granted to works of the press and written speech.

4. Don't write about murder. There's no statute of limitations, so they can come back and get you anytime. That is, unless you were already tried for said murder, then it doesn't matter. That's why OJ Simpson could come out and admit that he killed those people in 1996 without fear of the police.

5. The Internet is a written publication like any other. If you can still be charged with the crime, then the cops may be able to use crap you say on the Internet against you.

[JorgeHTQH]

GREAT!!! Well that answers my question!!! Thanks ChefSalad

[Brutha]

Plus, how would someone know that Bluedragon from Stevepavlina.com is actually my real identity?

Your website is registered under your name.
If someone asks a database for the websites that you own, he will find your website and your address.
If he runs a backlink search on your website he will find your profile on Stevepavlina.com

Are you talking about high-profile jobs such as pilots, medics and jobs that require the use of weapons, or just any job?

If you want to get a minimum wage job at McDonalds it probably won't matter much.

For most intellectual work that pays well people will run your name through a Google search.

People might go through more work if the cost of hiring a bad candidate is bigger.

Anyway, luckily, I don't want to have a regular job. However, I do want to stay out trouble.

There is a good chance that you will change your opinion in ten years and the internet doesn't forget.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by bluedragon

But it is not illegal to lie, right?

In the U.S., in most cases, it is not illegal to lie. In some specific cases that affect other people, yes it is illegal to not state the truth. These are cases involving business, selling, talking under oath, writing up contracts, talking to a law enforcement official about law-related activities, and maybe a few other cases. However, there's no law that says you have to be truthful all the time about yourself when you're not dealing with some of the specific cases mentioned above.

[bluedragon]

Thanks for all the replies but please be assured I have not killed anyone
So, as far as I understand, in a fictitious situation, if you blog about a crime, the police can't use you blog as proof that you did a crime, but thanks to your blog, they will know what you did, and this helps them go on the field and gather solid evidence which they can then legally use against you. But if there is NO evidence against you, then your ramble about it on your blog has no value. Plus, you can pretend it was fantasy.
It would be interesting if a darkworker wanted to help others face their fear of doing nasty things when appropriate (funny to use this expression in this context).
Anyway, I don't want you to start believing that I actually did something really bad cause I didn't, so I'll leave this story in peace
Back to more positive things now.

[ar81]

Hey, I went to Mars... why is that no troopers come to arrest me and take me to Area 51?
Oh, I see, what you want is my ship, not me....

----------------
Seriously speaking...
Law is a game of words.
Justice, morality, are words with no legal content.
People do not jusdge you for what it happened.
They will judge you for what you say.