Business Law

In this assignment you will review a scenario, and determine what the elements of the crime are, what the prosecutor must prove, and what constitutional protections the defendant may invoke.
Scenario
Joanna works for a small manufacturing company. Joanna started with the company as the executive assistant, and the company has grown quickly over the last five years. Since Joanna has been with the business from the beginning, she has been promoted several times, and is now responsible for accounts payable and receivables.
Over time, Joanna starts “fixing the books” and taking money out of the company’s income for her own personal use. After two years of doing this, she has taken $115,000 of company money. Her boss determines something is wrong with her books, and calls the police. Joanna is charged with embezzlement.
After reading the above scenario, answer each of the following questions as completely as possible:

In order to obtain a conviction for embezzlement, what must the prosecutor prove in this case?

A defendant is guaranteed certain protections under the Constitution. Which of these do you think would be most helpful to Joanna in this case? Be sure to explain your answer.

In the first two questions, you have identified both the prosecutor’s role and the defendant’s role in the criminal process. Now, outline the steps necessary to obtain a criminal conviction in this case. In completing this exercise, think of the steps involved – defendant is charged, defendant obtains lawyer, prosecutor’s burden of proof, jury process, etc. Your response will be graded based on your inclusion of all necessary steps and their application to this particular case.