The following definitions are applicable in this article unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) DECEPTION occurs when a person knowingly:
a. Creates or confirms another's impression which is false and which the defendant does not believe to be true; or
b. Fails to correct a false impression which the defendant previously has created or confirmed; or
c. Fails to correct a false impression when the defendant is under a duty to do so; or
d. Prevents another from acquiring information pertinent to the disposition of the property involved; or
e. Sells or otherwise transfers or encumbers property, failing to disclose a lien, adverse claim, or other legal impediment to the enjoyment of the property when the defendant is under a duty to do so, whether that impediment is or is not valid, or is not a matter of official record; or
f. Promises performance which the defendant does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed. Failure to perform, standing alone, however, is not proof that the defendant did not intend to perform.
The term "deception" does not, however, include falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance, or puffing by statements unlikely to deceive ordinary persons. "Puffing" means an exaggerated commendation of wares or services.
(2) To "DEPRIVE ..." means:
a. To withhold property or cause it to be withheld from a person permanently or for such period or under such circumstances that all or a portion of its use or benefit would be lost to him or her; or
b. To dispose of the property so as to make it unlikely that the owner would recover it; or
c. To retain the property with intent to restore it to the owner only if the owner purchases or leases it back, or pays a reward or other compensation for its return; or
d. To sell, give, pledge, or otherwise transfer any interest in the property; or
e. To subject the property to the claim of a person other than the owner.
(3) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION. A bank, insurance company, credit union, safety deposit company, savings and loan association, investment trust, or other organization held out to the public as a place of deposit of funds or medium of savings or collective investment.
(4) FIREARM. A weapon from which a shot is discharged by gunpowder.
(5) GOVERNMENT. The United States, any state or any county, municipality, or other political unit within territory belonging to the United States, or any department, agency, or subdivision of any of the foregoing, or any corporation or other association carrying out the functions of government, or any corporation or agency formed pursuant to interstate compact or international treaty.
As used in this definition "state" includes any state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(6) OBTAINS. Such term means:
a. In relation to property, to bring about a transfer or purported transfer of a legally recognized interest in the property, whether to the obtainer or another; or
b. In relation to labor or service, to secure performance thereof.
(7) OBTAINS OR EXERTS CONTROL or OBTAINS OR EXERTS UNAUTHORIZED CONTROL over property includes but is not necessarily limited to the taking, carrying away, or the sale, conveyance, or transfer of title to, or interest in, or possession of, property, and includes but is not necessarily limited to conduct heretofore defined or known as common law larceny by trespassory taking, common law larceny by trick, larceny by conversion, embezzlement, extortion, or obtaining property by false pretenses.
(8) OWNER. A person, other than the defendant, who has possession of or any other interest in the property involved, even though that interest or possession is unlawful, and without whose consent the defendant has no authority to exert control over the property.
A secured party, as defined in Section 7-9A-102(a)(72), is not an owner in relation to a defendant who is a debtor, as defined in Section 7-9A-102(a)(28), in respect of property in which the secured party has a security interest, as defined in Section 7-1-201(37).
(9) PROPELLED VEHICLE. Any propelled device in, upon, or by which any person or property is transported on land, water, or in the air, and such term includes motor vehicles, motorcycles, motorboats, aircraft, and any vessel propelled by machinery, whether or not that machinery is the principal source of propulsion.
(10) PROPERTY. Any money, tangible or intangible personal property, property (whether real or personal) the location of which can be changed (including things growing on, affixed to, or found in land and documents, although the rights represented hereby have no physical location), contract right, chose-in-action, interest in a claim to wealth, credit, or any other article or thing of value of any kind.
Commodities of a public utility nature, such as gas, electricity, steam, and water, constitute property, but the supplying of such a commodity to premises from an outside source by means of wires, pipes, conduits, or other equipment shall be deemed a rendition of a service rather than a sale or delivery of property.
(11) RECEIVING. Such term includes, but is not limited to, acquiring possession, control, or title and taking a security interest in the property.
(12) STOLEN. Obtained by theft, theft by appropriating lost property, robbery, or extortion.
(13) THREAT. A menace, however communicated, to:
a. Cause physical harm to the person threatened or to any other person; or
b. Cause damage to property; or
c. Subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or restraint; or
d. Engage in other conduct constituting a crime; or
e. Accuse any person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against any person; or
f. Expose a secret or publicize an asserted fact, whether true or false, tending to subject any person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule; or
g. Reveal any information sought to be concealed by the person threatened; or
h. Testify or provide information or withhold testimony or information with respect to another's legal claim or defense; or
i. Take action as an official against anyone or anything, or withhold official action, or cause such action or withholding; or
j. Bring about or continue a strike, boycott, or other similar collective action to obtain property which is not demanded or received for the benefit of the group which the actor purports to represent; or
k. Do any other act which would not in itself substantially benefit the actor but which is calculated to harm substantially another person with respect to his or her health, safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation, or personal relationships.
(14) VALUE. The market value of the property at the time and place of the criminal act.
Whether or not they have been issued or delivered, certain written instruments, not including those having a readily ascertainable market value such as some public and corporate bonds and securities shall be evaluated as follows:
a. The value of an instrument constituting an evidence of debt, such as a check, draft, or promissory note, shall be deemed the amount due or collectible thereon or thereby, that figure ordinarily being the face amount of the indebtedness less any portion thereof which has been satisfied.
b. The value of any other instrument that creates, releases, discharges, or otherwise affects any valuable legal right, privilege, or obligation shall be deemed the greatest amount of economic loss which the owner of the instrument might reasonably suffer by virtue of the loss of the instrument.
When the value of property cannot be ascertained pursuant to the standards set forth above, its value shall be deemed to be an amount not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500).
Amounts involved in thefts committed pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, whether from the same person or several persons, may be aggregated in determining the grade of the offense; provided, that only one conviction may be had and only one sentence enforced for all thefts included in such aggregate.
(a) The theft of services which exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of services in the first degree.
(b) Theft of services in the first degree is a Class B felony.
(a) The theft of services which exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) in value but does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of services in the second degree.
(b) Theft of services in the second degree is a Class C felony.
(a) The theft of services which does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in value constitutes theft of services in the third degree.
(b) Theft of services in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) ARTICLE. Any object, material, device, or substance or any copy thereof, including a writing, recording, drawing, sample, specimen, prototype, model, photograph, microorganism, blueprint, or map.
(2) COPY. A facsimile, replica, photograph, or other reproduction of an article or a note, drawing, or sketch made of or from an article.
(3) REPRESENTING. Describing, depicting, containing, constituting, reflecting, or recording.
(4) TRADE SECRET. The whole or any part of any scientific or technical information, design, process, procedure, formula, or improvement that has value and that the owner has taken measures to prevent from becoming available to persons other than those selected by the owner to have access for limited purposes.
(5) TRADEMARK. Any word, name, symbol, or device adopted and used by any person or business entity to identify his goods or services, and to distinguish them from the goods or services of others.
(b) A person commits the crime of "theft of trade secrets or trademarks" if, without the owner's effective consent, he knowingly:
(1) Steals a trade secret;
(2) Makes a copy of an article representing a trade secret;
(3) Communicates or transmits a trade secret;
(4) Makes a copy or reproduction of a trademark for any commercial purpose; or
(5) Sells an article on which a trademark is reproduced knowing said trademark was used without the owner's consent.
(c) Theft of trade secrets or trademarks is a Class C felony.
(a) A person commits the crime of theft of services if:
(1) He intentionally obtains services known by him to be available only for compensation by deception, threat, false token or other means to avoid payment for the services; or
(2) Having control over the disposition of services of others to which he is not entitled, he knowingly diverts those services to his own benefit or to the benefit of another not entitled thereto.
(b) "Services" includes but is not necessarily limited to labor, professional services, transportation, telephone or other public services, accommodation in motels, hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admission to exhibitions, computer services and the supplying of equipment for use.
(c) Where compensation for services is ordinarily paid immediately upon the rendering of them, as in the case of motels, hotels, restaurants and the like, absconding without payment or bona fide offer to pay is prima facie evidence under subsection (a) that the services were obtained by deception.
(d) If services are obtained under subdivision (a) (1) from a hotel, motel, inn, restaurant or cafe, no prosecution can be commenced after 120 days from the time of the offense.
This article may be cited as the Alabama Computer Crime Act.
When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
(1) DATA. A representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions which are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalized manner, and is intended to be processed, is being processed, or has been processed in a computer system or computer network, and should be classified as intellectual property, and may be in any form, including computer printouts, magnetic storage media, punched cards, or stored internally in the memory of the computer.
(2) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Data, including computer program.
(3) COMPUTER PROGRAM. An ordered set of data representing coded instructions or statements that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to process data.
(4) COMPUTER. An electronic magnetic, optical or other high speed data processing device or system which performs logical, arithmetic, and memory functions by manipulations of electronic magnetic or optical impulses, and includes all input, output, processing, storage, computer software, or communication facilities which are connected or related to the computer in a computer system or computer network.
(5) COMPUTER SOFTWARE. A set of computer programs, procedures, and associated documentation concerned with the operation of a computer, computer system or computer network.
(6) COMPUTER SYSTEM. A set of related, connected or unconnected, computer equipment, devices, or computer software.
(7) COMPUTER NETWORK. A set of related, remotely connected devices and communication facilities, including more than one computer system, with capability to transmit data among them through communication facilities.
(8) COMPUTER SYSTEM SERVICES. The utilization of a computer, computer system, or computer network to assist an individual or entity with the performance of a particular lawful function which that individual or entity has been given the right, duty, and power, together with the responsibility, to perform.
(9) PROPERTY. Anything of value as defined by law, and includes financial instruments, information, including electronically produced data and computer software and computer programs in either machine or human readable form, and any other tangible or intangible items of value.
(10) FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT. Includes any check, draft, warrant, money order, note, certificate of deposit, letter of credit, bill of exchange, credit or debit card, transaction authorization mechanism, marketable security, or any computer system representation thereof.
(11) ACCESS. To instruct, communicate with, store data in, or retrieve data from a computer, computer system or computer network.
(a) Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization or without reasonable grounds to believe that he or she has such authorization, attempts or achieves access, communication, examination, or modification of data, computer programs, or supporting documentation residing or existing internal or external to a computer, computer system, or computer network commits an offense against intellectual property.
(b) Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization or without reasonable grounds to believe that he or she has such authorization, destroys data, computer programs, or supporting documentation residing or existing internal or external to a computer, computer system, or computer network commits an offense against intellectual property.
(c) Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization or without reasonable grounds to believe that he or she has such authorization, discloses, uses, or takes data, computer programs, or supporting documentation residing or existing internal or external to a computer, computer system, or computer network commits an offense against intellectual property.
(d)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an offense against intellectual property is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable as provided by law.
(2) If the offense is committed for the purpose of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud or to obtain any property, then the offender is guilty of a Class C felony, punishable as provided by law.
(3) If the damage to such intellectual property is greater than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or if there is an interruption or impairment of governmental operation or public communication, transportation, or supply of water, gas, or other public or utility service, then the offender is guilty of a Class B felony, punishable as provided by law.
(4) Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization alters or removes data causing physical injury to any person who is not involved in said act shall be guilty of a Class A felony, punishable as provided by law.
(a)(1) Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization or without reasonable grounds to believe that he has such authorization, modifies equipment or supplies that are used or intended to be used in a computer, computer system, or computer network commits an offense against computer equipment or supplies.
(2)a. Except as provided in this subsection, an offense against computer equipment or supplies as provided in subdivision (a)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable as provided by law.
b. If the offense is committed for the purpose of devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud or to obtain any property, then the offender is guilty of a Class C felony, punishable as provided by law.
(b)(1) Whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization or without reasonable grounds to believe that he has such authorization, destroys, uses, takes, injures, or damages equipment or supplies used or intended to be used in a computer, computer system, or computer network, or whoever willfully, knowingly, and without authorization or without reasonable grounds to believe that he has such authorization, destroys, injures, takes, or damages any computer, computer system, or computer network commits an offense against computer equipment and supplies.
(2)a. Except as provided in this subsection, an offense against computer equipment or supplies as provided in subdivision (b)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable as provided by law.
b. If the damage to such computer equipment or supplies or to the computer, computer system, or computer network is $2,500.00 or greater, or if there is an interruption or impairment of governmental operation or public communication, transportation, or supply of water, gas, or other public utility service, then the offender is guilty of a Class B felony, punishable as provided by law.
(a) A person commits the crime of unauthorized use of a vehicle if:
(1) Knowing that he does not have the consent of the owner, he takes, operates, exercises control over or otherwise uses a propelled vehicle; or
(2) Having custody of propelled vehicle pursuant to an agreement between himself or another and the owner thereof whereby the actor or another is to perform for compensation a specific service for the owner involving the maintenance, repair or use of the vehicle, he intentionally uses or operates it, without the consent of the owner, for his own purpose in a manner constituting a gross deviation from the agreed purpose; or
(3) Having custody of a propelled vehicle pursuant to an agreement with the owner thereof whereby it is to be returned to the owner at a specified time, he knowingly retains or withholds possession thereof, without the consent of the owner, for so lengthy a period beyond the specified time as to render the retention or possession a gross deviation from the agreement.
(4) Unauthorized use of a vehicle is a Class A misdemeanor, except that if a person by force or threat of force takes, operates, usurps or exercises control over a propelled vehicle with an operator or one or more passengers aboard he is guilty of a Class B felony.
(b) A person commits the crime of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle if, without the consent of the owner, he breaks into and enters a vehicle or any part of a vehicle with the intent to commit any felony or theft. For the purposes of this section, "enters" means to intrude:
(1) Any part of the body; or
(2) Any physical object connected with the body.
(3) Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle is a Class C felony.
(a) It is a defense to a prosecution under Sections 13A-8-2 through 13A-8-11 (theft of property, theft of lost property, theft of services and unauthorized use of vehicle) that the actor honestly believed that he had a claim to the property or services involved which he was entitled to assert in the manner which forms the basis for the charge against him.
(b) The burden of injecting the issue of claim of right is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof.
As used in this article, unless the context requires otherwise, "cable television company" or "company" means any franchised or other duly licensed company which is operated or intended to be operated to perform the service of receiving and amplifying the signals broadcast by one or more television stations and redistributing such signals by wire, cable or other device or means for accomplishing such redistribution, to members of the public who subscribe to such service, or distributing through such company's antennae, poles, wires, cables, conduits or other property used in providing service to its subscribers and customers any television signals whether broadcast or not.
It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to knowingly:
(1) Obtain or attempt to obtain cable television service from a company by trick, artifice, deception or other fraudulent means with the intent to deprive such company of any or all lawful compensation for rendering each type of service obtained;
(2) Assist or instruct any other person in obtaining or attempting to obtain any cable television service without payment of all lawful compensation to the company providing such service;
(3) Make or maintain a connection or connections, whether physical, electrical, mechanical, acoustical or by other means, with any cables, wires, components or other devices used for the distribution of cable television without authority from the cable television company;
(4) Make or maintain any modification or alteration to any device installed with the authorization of a cable television company for the purpose of intercepting or receiving any program or other service carried by such company which such person is not authorized by such company to receive;
(5) Manufacture, import into this state, distribute, sell, lease or offer, possess, or advertise for sale or lease any device, or any plan or kit for a device or for a printed circuit designed in whole or in part to decoded, descramble or otherwise make intelligible any encoded, scramble or other nonstandard signal carried by a cable television company with the intent that such device, plan or kit be used for the theft of such company's services;
(6) Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the manufacture, importation, sale, lease or possession of any television device possessing the internal hardware necessary to receive cable television signals without the use of a converter device or box, or of any television advertised as "cable ready";
(7) Manufacture, import into this state, distribute, sell, offer for sale, rent or use any device, plan or kit for a device, designed in whole or in part to unlawfully perform or facilitate the unlawful performance of any of the acts set out in subdivisions (1)-(5) of this section;
(8) Provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to limit a subscriber's equipment selection to that of the cable company, so long as all equipment is properly installed and meets all local and FCC requirements.
Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
In a prosecution for a violation of this article, the existence on the property and in the actual possession of the defendant of (1) any connection, wire conductor or any device whatsoever, which is connected in such a manner as would permit the receipt of cable television service without such service being reported for payment to and specifically authorized by the cable television company or (2) the existence on the property and in the actual possession of the defendant, where the totality of the circumstances, including quantities or volumes, surrounding the defendant's arrest indicate possession for resale, of any device designed in whole or in part to facilitate the performance of any of the illegal acts set out in Section 13A-8-121, shall constitute prima facie evidence of the defendant's intent to violate the provisions of this article.
(a) Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision (5) of Section 13A-8-121 shall, in addition to the criminal penalties provided in this article, be civilly liable to the aggrieved cable television company for an amount not to exceed the greater of the following amounts:
(1) One thousand dollars; or
(2) Double the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the cable television company.
(b) Any person who violates the provisions of any subsection of Section 13A-8-121 for a second or subsequent time shall, in addition to the criminal penalties provided by this article, be civilly liable to the aggrieved cable television company for an amount not to exceed the greater of the following amounts:
(1) Two thousand dollars; or
(2) Double the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the cable television company.
(a) Any cable television company may, in accordance with the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, bring an action to enjoin and restrain any violation of the provisions of this article, and may in the same action seek damages as provided in Section 13A-8-123.
(b) It is not a necessary prerequisite to a civil action pursuant to this article that the cable television company prove it has suffered, or is threatened with, actual damages.
Any electronic or communications equipment or any other such devices used to violate the provisions of this article shall be considered contraband subject to seizure and forfeiture to the state.
The provisions of this article shall have no application to satellite reception dishes nor related equipment or accessories used in connection with satellite reception dishes.
A person commits the crime of extortion if he knowingly obtains by threat control over the property of another, with intent to deprive him of the property.
(a) Extortion by means of a threat, as defined in paragraphs (13)a or (13)c of Section 13A-8-1, constitutes extortion in the first degree.
(b) Extortion in the first degree is a Class B felony.
The crime of theft by fraudulent leasing or rental of property is committed if a person, herein called "lessee", signs a written lease or rental contract with a person licensed to rent or lease tangible personal property under the provisions of Article 4, Chapter 12, Title 40, herein called "lessor", and obtains or exerts control over tangible personal property by reason of such rental contract, with the intent, knowledge or expectation that he will not perform the terms, covenants and agreements of the lessee provided in such rental contract.
For the purposes of Section 13A-8-140 of this article, it is prima facie evidence that a lessee fraudulently leased or rented property, and intended, knew or expected that he would not perform the terms and obligations of the lessee under a rental contract if:
(1) The name or address of the lessee appearing on the written agreement shall, at the time it is signed, be false or fictitious, and if the lessee fails to return the leased property to the lessor within seven days after lessor makes written demand for its return, notwithstanding that the term under the rental contract has not expired; or
(2) The rental contract provides for the return of the leased property to a particular place, at a particular time, and the lessee shall fail to return the leased property to the place and within the time specified in the said rental contract, and the lessor thereafter makes written demand for the return of the leased property to the place specified in the rental contract within 48 hours from the time the written demand is delivered to the lessee, and the lessee fails to return said property to the lessor within the said 48 hour period; or
(3) A lessee obtains or exerts control over personal property by executing a rental contract which provides for the return of said property to a particular place, or at a particular time, and thereafter abandons said property, secretes, converts, sells or attempts to sell the same or any part thereof.
For the purposes of Section 13A-8-141 of this article:
(1) A written demand for the return of leased property may be made by personally delivering a copy thereof to the lessee; such demand may also be delivered to a lessee by certified United States mail, directed to lessee at his address shown on the rental contract, and the return receipt shall be deemed sufficient evidence that the demand was received by the lessee, on the date shown on the receipt.
(2) The form of notice to be given under subdivision (1) of Section 13A-8-141, shall be sufficient if substantially as follows:
"This statutory notice is provided pursuant to section _____ of the Code of Alabama. You are hereby notified that the name or address given by you, as lessee, and appearing on the rental contract dated _____, wherein _____ is the lessor, was fictitious or false. Pursuant to Alabama law you have seven (7) days from receipt of this demand to return the property rented or leased under the said rental contract to the lessor at the place designated in the rental contract, and to pay all accrued lease or rental charges. Unless the said property is so returned, and accrued rental charges paid, all as provided by the said rental contract, within the time specified above, the lessor may assume that you leased the said property with intent, knowledge or expectation that you, as the lessee would not perform the terms, covenants and agreements appearing in the said rental contract at the time you executed the same, and, therefore that you intended to defraud the lessor. In such case the lessor may turn over the rental contract and all other available information relating to this incident to the proper authorities for criminal prosecution."
(3) The form of notice to be given under subdivision (2) of Section 13A-8-141 above, shall be sufficient if substantially as follows:
"This statutory notice is provided pursuant to section _____ of the Code of Alabama. You are hereby notified that you have failed to return that certain personal property leased by you under a written rental contract dated _____, wherein _____ is the lessor, to the particular place or at the particular time provided by the said rental contract. Pursuant to Alabama law, you have forty-eight (48) hours from the receipt of this demand to return the leased property to the lessor at the address specified in the rental contract. Unless the said property is returned to the lessor at the address specified in the rental contract within the time specified above, the lessor may assume that at the time you entered into the said rental contract you intended, knew or expected that you would not perform the terms, covenants and agreements of the lessee thereunder, and that you intended to defraud the lessor. In such case the lessor may turn over the rental contract and all other available information relating to this incident to the proper authorities for criminal prosecution."
Any lessor under a written lease or rental agreement having given notice in substantially similar form to that provided in this article shall be immune from civil or criminal liability for the giving of such notice and for proceeding under the forms of such notice.
The crime of theft by fraudulent leasing or rental of property shall be a Class A misdemeanor if the subject matter of the lease or rental agreement had a value of five hundred dollars ($500) or less; if the value of such property was in excess of five hundred dollars ($500), the crime shall be a Class C felony.
(a) Extortion by means of a threat, as defined in paragraphs (13)b or (13)d through (13)k of Section 13A-8-1, constitutes extortion in the second degree.
(b) A person is not liable under this section for a threat, as defined in paragraph (13)e of Section 13A-8-1, if he honestly claims the property as restitution or indemnification for harm done in the circumstances to which the threat relates, or as compensation for property or lawful services. The burden of injecting the issue of claim of right is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof.
(c) Extortion in the second degree is a Class C felony.
For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) MANUFACTURE OF AN UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE. The production or assembly of an unlawful telecommunication device or the modification, alteration, programming, or reprogramming of a telecommunication device to be capable of acquiring or facilitating the acquisition of telecommunication service without the consent of the telecommunication service provider.
(2) PUBLISH. The communication or dissemination of information to any one or more persons, either orally in person, or by telephone, computer network, radio, television, or in a writing of any kind, including, without limitation, a letter or memorandum, circular, handbill, newspaper, magazine article, or book.
(3) TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE. Any type of instrument, device, machine, or equipment that is capable of transmitting or receiving telephonic, electronic, or radio communications, or any part of such instrument, device, machine or equipment, or any computer circuit, computer chip, electronic mechanism, or other component that is capable of facilitating the transmission or reception of telephonic, electronic, or radio communication.
(4) TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE. Any service provided for a charge or compensation to facilitate the origination, transmission, emission, or reception of signs, signals, data, writings, images, sounds, or intelligence of any nature by telephone, including cellular telephones, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system.
(5) TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDER. A person or entity providing telecommunication service including, but not limited to, a cellular, paging, or other wireless communications company or other person or entity which, for a fee, supplies the facility, cell site, mobile telephone switching office, or other equipment or telecommunication service.
(6) UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE. Any electronic serial number, mobile identification number, personal identification number, or any telecommunication device that is capable, or has been altered, modified, programmed, or reprogrammed alone or in conjunction with another access device or other equipment so as to be capable of acquiring or facilitating the acquisition of a telecommunication service without the consent of the telecommunication service provider. The term includes, but is not limited to, telecommunication devices altered to obtain service without the consent of the telecommunication service provider, tumbler phones, counterfeit or illegally cloned microchips, scanning receivers of wireless telecommunication service of a telecommunication service provider, and other instruments capable of disguising their identity or location or of gaining access to a communication system operated by a telecommunication service provider. Excluded from being classified as unlawful is a common piece of telephone installation and maintenance equipment known as a dial set or butt-in-ski.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly do any of the following:
(1) To make, manufacture, distribute, possess, use, or assemble an unlawful telecommunication device or modify, alter, program, or reprogram a telecommunication device designed, adapted, or which is used:
a. For commission of a theft of telecommunication service or to acquire or facilitate the acquisition of telecommunication service without the consent of the telecommunication service provider in violation of this article.
b. To conceal, or assist another to conceal, from any supplier of telecommunication service provider or from any lawful authority the existence, place of origin, or destination of any telecommunication.
(2) To sell, possess, distribute, give, transport, or otherwise transfer to another or offer or advertise for sale any of the following:
a. An unlawful telecommunication device, or plans or instructions for making or assembling the same under circumstances evincing an intent to use or employ the unlawful telecommunication device, or to allow the same to be used or employed, for a purpose described in paragraph a. or paragraph b. above, or knowing or having reason to believe that the same is intended to be so used, or that the aforesaid plans or instructions are intended to be used for making or assembling such unlawful telecommunication device.
b. The material, including hardware, cables, tools, data, computer software or other information or equipment, knowing that the purchaser or a third person intends to use the material in the manufacture of an unlawful telecommunication device.
(3) To publish plans or instructions for making or assembling or using any unlawful telecommunication device.
(4) To publish the number or code of an existing, cancelled, revoked or nonexistent telephone number, credit number, or other credit device, or method of numbering or coding which is employed in the issuance of telephone numbers, credit numbers or other credit devices with knowledge or reason to believe that it may be used to avoid the payment of any lawful telephone or telegraph toll charge under circumstances evincing an intent to have such telephone number, credit number, credit device or method of numbering or coding so used.
(b) Any unlawful telecommunication device, plans, instructions, or publications described in this section may be seized under warrant or incident to a lawful arrest for a violation of this section, and, upon the conviction of a person for a violation of this section, the unlawful telecommunication device, plans, instructions, or publication may be destroyed as contraband by the sheriff of the county in which the person was convicted or turned over to the person providing telephone or telegraph service in the territory in which the same was seized.
(a) Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. However, if the offense involves five or more unlawful telecommunication devices, the person shall be guilty of a Class C felony.
(b) The court shall, in addition to any sentence authorized by law, sentence a person convicted of violating this article to make restitution to any telecommunication service provider wishing restitution.
(c) A telecommunication service provider aggrieved by a violation of this article may, in a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction, obtain appropriate relief, including preliminary and other equitable or declaratory relief, compensatory and punitive damages, reasonable investigation expenses, costs of suit, and attorney fees as are provided by law.
(a) A person commits the crime of receiving stolen property if he intentionally receives, retains or disposes of stolen property knowing that it has been stolen or having reasonable grounds to believe it has been stolen, unless the property is received, retained or disposed of with intent to restore it to the owner.
(b) If a person:
(1) On two separate occasions within a year prior to the commission of the instant offense of receiving stolen property is found in possession or control of stolen property; or
(2) Possesses goods or property which have been recently stolen; or
(3) Regularly buys, sells, uses or handles in the course of business property of the sort received, and acquired the property without making reasonable inquiry whether the person selling or delivering the property to him had a legal right to do so, this shall be prima facie evidence that he has the requisite knowledge or belief.
(c) The fact that the person who stole the property has not been convicted, apprehended or identified is not a defense to a charge of receiving stolen property.
(a) Receiving stolen property which exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes receiving stolen property in the first degree.
(b) Receiving stolen property in the first degree is a Class B felony.
(a) No person shall drive his or her motor vehicle off the premises of an establishment where gasoline is offered for retail sale after dispensing gasoline into the fuel tank of his or her motor vehicle if the person fails to remit payment or make an authorized charge for the gasoline that was dispensed.
(b) A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) The driver's license of a person convicted for a second or subsequent offense of violating this section shall be suspended as follows:
(1) On a second conviction, the driver's license of the person shall be suspended for a period of six months.
(2) On a third or subsequent conviction, the driver's license of the person shall be suspended for a period of one year.
(d) The person shall submit the driver's license to the court upon conviction and the court shall forward the driver's license to the Department of Public Safety.
(a) Receiving stolen property:
(1) Which exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) in value but does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value; or
(2) Of any value under the circumstances described in subdivision (b)(3) of Section 13A-8-16; constitutes receiving stolen property in the second degree; or
(3) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of subsection (a), receiving stolen property which exceeds two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in value but does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value where the defendant has previously been convicted of theft of property in the first or second degree or receiving stolen property in the first or second degree, constitutes receiving stolen property in the second degree.
(b) Receiving stolen property in the second degree is a Class C felony.
(a) Receiving stolen property which does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in value constitutes receiving stolen property in the third degree.
(b) Receiving stolen property in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
This article shall be known as "The Consumer Identity Protection Act."
For purposes of this article, the following words shall have the following meanings:
(1) IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS. Any papers, cards, or other documents issued by federal, state, or local governmental authorities that are used specifically to identify a person. Identification documents include, but are not limited to, driver's licenses, military identification cards, passports, birth certificates, Social Security cards, and other government-issued identification cards.
(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION. Any information, used either alone or in conjunction with other information, that specifically identifies a person or a person's property, and includes, but is not limited to, any of the following information related to a person:
a. Name.
b. Date of birth.
c. Social Security number.
d. Driver's license number.
e. Financial services account numbers, including checking and savings accounts.
f. Credit or debit card numbers.
g. Personal identification numbers (PIN).
h. Electronic identification codes.
i. Automated or electronic signatures.
j. Biometric data.
k. Fingerprints.
l. Passwords.
m. Parent's legal surname prior to marriage.
n. Any other numbers or information that can be used to access a person's financial resources, obtain identification, act as identification, or obtain goods or services.
(3) VICTIM. A person whose identification documents or identifying information are used to perpetrate a crime created by this article.
(a) A person commits the crime of identity theft if, without the authorization, consent, or permission of the victim, and with the intent to defraud for his or her own benefit or the benefit of a third person, he or she does any of the following:
(1) Obtains, records, or accesses identifying information that would assist in accessing financial resources, obtaining identification documents, or obtaining benefits of the victim.
(2) Obtains goods or services through the use of identifying information of the victim.
(3) Obtains identification documents in the victim's name.
(b) Identity theft in which there is a financial loss of greater than five hundred dollars ($500) or the defendant has previously been convicted of identity theft constitutes identity theft in the first degree. Identity theft in the first degree is a Class C felony.
(c) Identity theft in which the defendant has not previously been convicted of identity theft and there is no financial loss or the financial loss is five hundred dollars ($500) or less constitutes identity theft in the second degree. Identity theft in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) This section shall not apply when a person obtains the identity of another person to misrepresent his or her age for the sole purpose of obtaining alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or another privilege denied to minors.
(a) A person commits the crime of trafficking in stolen identities when, without the authorization, consent, or permission of the victim, he or she manufactures, sells, transfers, purchases, or possesses, with intent to manufacture, sell, transfer, or purchase, identification documents or identifying information for the purpose of committing identity theft.
(b) Possession of five or more identification documents of the same person, or possession of identifying information of five or more separate persons, without the authorization, consent, or permission of the person or persons, shall create an inference that the identities are possessed with intent to manufacture, sell, transfer, or purchase identification documents or identifying information for the purpose of committing identity theft.
(c) Trafficking in stolen identities is a Class B felony.
(a) A person commits the crime of obstructing justice using a false identity if he or she uses identification documents or identifying information of another person or a fictitious person to avoid summons, arrest, prosecution, or to impede a criminal investigation.
(b) Obstructing justice using a false identity is a Class C felony.
Upon conviction for any crime in this article, in addition to any other punishment, a person found guilty shall be ordered by the court to make restitution for financial loss caused by the criminal violation of this article to any person whose identifying information was appropriated. Financial loss may include any costs incurred by the victim in correcting the credit history or credit rating of the victim or any costs incurred in connection with any civil or administrative proceeding to satisfy any debt, lien, or other obligations resulting from the theft of the victim's identification documents or identifying information, including lost wages and attorney's fees. The court may order restitution for financial loss to any other person or entity that suffers a loss from the violation. Additionally, persons convicted of violation of this article shall be assessed an amount of twenty-five dollars ($25) per day and medical expenses for time spent in county or municipal jails or in a state prison facility.
In any criminal proceeding brought pursuant to this article, the crime shall be considered to be committed in any county in which any part of the crime took place, regardless of whether the defendant was ever actually present in that county, or in the county of residence of the person who is the subject of the identification documents or identifying information.
In any case in which a person obtains identification documents or identifying information of another person in violation of this article and uses the documents or information to commit a crime in the name of another person, the court records for the crime shall reflect that the victim of this act did not commit the crime.
(a) Upon a conviction for any crime in violation of this article and at the victim's request, the sentencing court shall issue any orders necessary to correct any public or private record that contains false information as a result of a criminal violation of this article. Any order shall be under seal and may be released only as prescribed by this section. The order shall include the following information:
(1) Information about financial accounts affected by the crime, including, but not limited to, the name of the financial institution, the account number, amount of money involved in the crime, and the date of the crime.
(2) The specific identifying information and identification documents used to commit the crime.
(3) A description of the perpetrator of the crime.
(b) The victim may release the orders as follows:
(1) The victim may submit this order in any civil proceeding to set aside a judgment against the victim involving the specific account and amounts as determined by the criminal sentencing court. The order shall remain sealed in the civil proceeding.
(2) The victim may submit the order to any governmental entity or private business as proof that any financial accounts therein created or altered were a result of the crime and not the actions of the victim.
(a) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, a victim who has suffered loss as a result of a criminal violation of this article may bring an action in his or her county of residence or any county in which any part of the crime took place, regardless of whether the defendant who committed the criminal violation was ever actually present in that county, against the defendant to recover the following:
(1) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each incident, or three times the actual damages, whichever is greater.
(2) Reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
(b) The statute of limitations for cases under this section shall be five years from the earlier of the date of discovery of the offense or the date when the offense reasonably should have been discovered.
A person commits the crime of theft of property if he or she:
(1) Knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over the property of another, with intent to deprive the owner of his or her property;
(2) Knowingly obtains by deception control over the property of another, with intent to deprive the owner of his or her property;
(3) Knowingly obtains or exerts control over property in the custody of a law enforcement agency which was explicitly represented to the person by an agent of the law enforcement agency as being stolen; or
(4) Knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over any donated item left on the property of a charitable organization or in a drop box or trailer, or within 30 feet of a drop box or trailer, belonging to a charitable organization.
Any person who fraudulently brings into this state any personal property which he knew was stolen elsewhere shall, on conviction, be punished as if he had stolen it in this state.
(a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:
(1) CONSUMER CREDIT REPORT. The term shall mean the same as the term is defined in the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC Sections 1681a and 1681b, as amended.
(2) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY. The term shall mean the same as the term is defined in the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC Sections 1681a and 1681b, as amended.
(3) PERSON. Any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or other entity.
(b)(1) If a consumer submits to a consumer reporting agency a court order as described in Section 13A-8-198, the consumer reporting agency shall, within 30 days of receipt, employ reasonable procedures to block reporting any information in the consumer's credit report identified in the court order that is the result of a criminal violation of the Consumer Identity Protection Act so that the information cannot be reported and, at the consumer's request, include the fact of the order in the consumer's credit report. The consumer reporting agency shall promptly notify the furnisher of the information that a court order has been filed, that a block has been established, and the effective date of the block.
(2) The block on information may be rescinded only by a subsequent order from the court that originally issued the order pursuant to Section 13A-8-198.
(3) If the block of information is rescinded pursuant to this section, the consumer shall be promptly notified in the same manner as the consumers are notified of the reinsertion of information pursuant to Section 611 of the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC Section 1681i, as amended.
(4) A consumer harmed by an intentional or reckless violation of this section may maintain an action for actual damages caused by a violation of this section and injunctive relief against the person who violated this section. A judgment in favor of the consumer shall include an award of attorney's fees.
(5) It shall be a defense to any action or proceeding brought under this section that the defendant has established and implemented reasonable practices and procedures to comply with the requirements of this section. No action or proceeding may be brought under this section more than two years after the person bringing the action knew or should have known of the alleged violation in subdivision (4).
Upon request by a victim of a crime created by this article, identification documents issued by a state, county, or municipal agency and used to perpetrate a crime created by this article shall be reissued at no charge to the victim. An agency may require proof of the criminal activity, such as a police report, before reissuing the identification documents.
Any person who brings or causes to be brought into this state any money or other personal property obtained from another by any false pretense, with intent to defraud, shall, on conviction, be punished as if he had stolen the same.
(a) A person commits the crime of obscuring identity of a vehicle if:
(1) He obscures the manufacturer's serial number or any other distinguishing identification number or mark upon any vehicle or component part thereof, except tires, with intent to render it unidentifiable; or
(2) He possesses a vehicle or component part thereof knowing that the manufacturer's serial number or other identification number or mark has been obscured unless he legally acquired ownership of the vehicle or part before the manufacturer's serial number was obscured or before he knew it was obscured.
(b) "Obscure" means to remove, deface, cover, alter, destroy or otherwise render unidentifiable.
(c) "Vehicle" means any propelled device in, upon or by which any person or property is transported on land, water or in the air, including stationary rails or tracks, and includes motor vehicles, motorboats, vessels and aircraft.
(d) Proof that a person has obscured the manufacturer's serial number or other distinguishing identification number or mark on a vehicle is prima facie evidence that he did so with the intent to render it unidentifiable within the meaning of subdivision (a)(1) of this section.
(e) Possession of a vehicle held for sale in the course of business on which the serial number or other identification number or mark has been obscured is prima facie evidence of knowledge of that fact.
(f) A report by the defendant to the police or other appropriate government agency before arrest is a defense to a charge of violating subdivision (a)(2) of this section. The burden of injecting this issue is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof.
(g) Obscuring identity of a vehicle is a Class C felony.
(a) The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed thereto unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) OWNER. Includes any part owner, joint owner, tenant-in-common, joint tenant, or tenant by the entirety of the whole or part of any building.
(2) PERSON. Includes a corporation, firm, company, or association.
(3) TENANT or OCCUPANT. Shall include any person who occupies the whole or a part of any building whether alone or with others and shall include the owner.
(4) UTILITY. Any public or private utility authorized to provide electricity, natural gas, or water or any combination thereof for sale to consumers in any particular service area.
(5) UTILITY SERVICES. The products, commodities, and services provided by a utility to its customers.
(b) It shall be unlawful for a tenant, occupant, or any other person to commit any of the following acts which could, or in fact does, make gas, electricity, or water unlawfully available to such tenant, occupant, or person, or to another:
(1) To connect any tube, pipe, wire, or other instrument with any meter, device, or other instrument used for conducting gas, electricity, or water in such a manner as to permit the use of said gas, electricity, or water without the same passing through a meter or other instrument recording the usage for billing.
(2) To alter, injure, turn on, or prevent the action of a meter, valve, stopcock, or other instrument used for measuring quantities of gas, electricity, or water.
(3) To break, deface, or cause to be broken or defaced any seal, locking device, or other parts that make up a metering device for recording usage of gas, electricity, or water or a security system for the recording device.
(4) To remove a metering device for measuring quantities of gas, electricity, or water.
(5) To transfer from one location to another a metering device for measuring utilities of gas, electricity, or water.
(6) To use a metering device belonging to the utility that has not been assigned to the location and installed by the utility.
(7) To adjust the indicated consumption, to jam the measuring device, to bypass the meter or measuring device with a jumper so that it does not indicate use or registers incorrectly, or to otherwise obtain quantities of gas, electricity, or water from the utility without same passing through a metering device for measuring quantities of consumption for billing.
(8) To fabricate or to use a device to pick or otherwise tamper with the locks used to deter current diversion, meter tampering, and meter thefts.
(9) To otherwise take any action resulting in the diversion or unauthorized use of gas, electricity, or water.
(c) Any property on which it is found to have electric, gas, or water utilities tampered with in violation of this section and capable of receiving gas, electricity, or water as a result of the use of any method of diversion prohibited herein shall be prima facie evidence and create against the tenant, occupant, or other person a presumption of intent to tamper or divert in violation of this section.
(d) Any occupant, tenant, or other person who violates this section, and any person who aids and abets in such prohibited acts, who shall be deemed a principal to such acts, shall be guilty of a Class C felony if the theft amount exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) in value and a Class A misdemeanor if the theft amount is less than or equal to five hundred dollars ($500) in value, as provided by the state criminal code, and upon conviction, be punished as prescribed by law.
(e) The provisions of this section are supplemental to the provisions of the offense of theft of services as provided in Section 13A-8-10, and shall in no way repeal or modify Section 13A-8-10.
(a) The theft of property which exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value, or property of any value taken from the person of another, constitutes theft of property in the first degree.
(b) The theft of a motor vehicle, regardless of its value, constitutes theft of property in the first degree.
(c) Theft of property in the first degree is a Class B felony.
(a) The theft of property which exceeds two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in value but does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) in value, and which is not taken from the person of another, constitutes theft of property in the second degree.
(b) Theft of property in the second degree is a Class C felony.
(c) The theft of a credit card or a debit card, regardless of its value, constitutes theft of property in the second degree.
(d) The theft of a firearm, rifle, or shotgun, regardless of its value, constitutes theft of property in the second degree.
(e) The theft of any substance controlled by Chapter 2 of Title 20 or any amendments thereto, regardless of value, constitutes theft of property in the second degree.
(f) The theft of any livestock which includes cattle, swine, equine or equidae, or sheep, regardless of their value, constitutes theft of property in the second degree.
(g) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the theft of property which exceeds one hundred dollars ($100) in value but does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) in value, and which is not taken from the person of another, where the defendant has previously been convicted of a theft of property in the first or second degree, constitutes theft of property in the second degree.
(a) The definitions contained in Section 13A-8-1 are applicable to this article unless the context otherwise requires.
(b) "In the course of committing a theft" embraces acts which occur in an attempt to commit or the commission of theft, or in immediate flight after the attempt or commission.
(a) A person commits the crime of robbery in the first degree if he violates Section 13A-8-43 and he:
(1) Is armed with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or
(2) Causes serious physical injury to another.
(b) Possession then and there of an article used or fashioned in a manner to lead any person who is present reasonably to believe it to be a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or any verbal or other representation by the defendant that he is then and there so armed, is prima facie evidence under subsection (a) of this section that he was so armed.
(c) Robbery in the first degree is a Class A felony.
(a) A person commits the crime of robbery in the second degree if he violates Section 13A-8-43 and he is aided by another person actually present.
(b) Robbery in the second degree is a Class B felony.
(a) A person commits the crime of robbery in the third degree if in the course of committing a theft he:
(1) Uses force against the person of the owner or any person present with intent to overcome his physical resistance or physical power of resistance; or
(2) Threatens the imminent use of force against the person of the owner or any person present with intent to compel acquiescence to the taking of or escaping with the property.
(b) Robbery in the third degree is a Class C felony.
No person may submit in defense against a prosecution for robbery in any of its degrees that there was no theft because the taking was under a claim of right. Claim of right is not a defense under this article.
(a) The theft of property which does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in value and which is not taken from the person of another constitutes theft of property in the third degree.
(b) Theft of property in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
This article shall be known and cited as "The Pharmacy Robbery Act of 1982."
When used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) PHARMACY. Any building, warehouse, physician's office, hospital, pharmaceutical house or other structure used in whole or in part for the sale, storage and/or dispensing of any controlled substance as defined in Section 20-2-2 as amended.
(2) PHARMACY ROBBERY. A person commits the offense of "pharmacy robbery" under this article if in the course of committing a theft of any controlled substance as defined in Section 20-2-2 such person violates Section 13A-8-41.
(a) Upon conviction of the criminal offense of "pharmacy robbery" as defined in Section 13A-8-51(2), the offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than 10 years nor more than 99 years and shall be ineligible for consideration for parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
(b) On a second or subsequent conviction under this article, the offender shall be imprisoned for the remainder of his natural life and shall be ineligible for consideration for parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
A person commits the crime of theft of lost property if he actively obtains or exerts control over the property of another which he knows to have been lost or mislaid, or to have been delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or as to the nature or the amount of the property, and with intent to deprive the owner permanently of it, he fails to take reasonable measures to discover and notify the owner.
The term "shopping cart," when used in this article, shall mean those pushcarts of the type or types which are commonly provided by grocery stores, drugstores or other merchant stores or markets for the use of the public in transporting commodities in stores and markets and incidentally from the store to a place outside the store.
It shall be unlawful for any person to remove a shopping cart from the premises, posted as provided in Section 13A-8-63, of the owner of such shopping cart without the consent, given at the time of such removal, of the owner or of his agent, servant or employee. For the purpose of this section, the "premises" shall include all the parking area set aside by the owner, or on behalf of the owner, for the parking of cars for the convenience of the patrons of the owner.
It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon a shopping cart upon any public street, sidewalk, way or parking lot, other than a parking lot on the premises of the owner.
The owner of the store in which the shopping cart is used shall post in at least three prominent places in his store, and at each exit therefrom, a printed copy of this article, which copy shall be printed in type no smaller than 12 points.
Any person convicted of a violation under this article shall be deemed guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and shall be punished as prescribed by law under Sections 13A-5-7 and 13A-5-12.
(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the first degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the first degree is a Class B felony.
As used in this article, the term "traffic sign" shall mean any traffic sign, traffic signal, warning sign, guideboard, milepost, road marker, emergency telephone sign, or any similar sign, signal, or device used by the state or any political subdivision of the state on the highways, roads, bridges, or streets of this state for the warning, instruction, or information of the public.
(a) No person may unlawfully possess any traffic sign erected by the state, a county, or a municipality.
(b) Any person who voluntarily notifies a law enforcement agency of the presence on their property of a traffic sign shall not be guilty of violating the provisions of subsection (a).
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally destroy, knock down, remove, deface, or alter any letters or figures on a traffic sign, or in any way damage any traffic control device, erected on a highway, public road, or right of way of this state, by the Department of Transportation, a county, or municipality.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally deface any public building or public property.
(a) A person who is convicted of violating subsection (a) of Section 13A-8-71 shall be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50).
(b) A person who is convicted of intentionally destroying, knocking down, removing, defacing, or altering a traffic sign pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 13A-8-71 or defacing a public building or public property pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 13A-8-71, where the damage inflicted is more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), is guilty of a Class C felony.
(c) A person who is convicted of intentionally destroying, knocking down, removing, defacing, or altering a traffic sign pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 13A-8-71 or defacing a public building or public property pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 13A-8-71, where the damage inflicted is more than five hundred dollars ($500), but less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) A person who is convicted of intentionally destroying, knocking down, removing, defacing, or altering a traffic sign pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 13A-8-71 or defacing a public building or public property pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 13A-8-71, where the damage inflicted is less than five hundred dollars ($500) is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
(e) The parents of a minor under the age of 18 years with whom the minor is living and who have custody of the minor shall be liable for actual damages, plus court costs, for the destruction or defacement of any public road sign or the defacement of any public building or public property by the intentional acts of the minor.
(f) Any minor who is convicted of violating this article shall be ordered by the court to correct or clean up any destruction or defacement of which the minor has been convicted.
Any fines collected pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the general fund of the county and distributed as follows: one-half shall be designated for law enforcement purposes and one-half shall be designated to the county road and bridge fund.
(a) The theft of lost property which exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) in value but does not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the second degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the second degree is a Class C felony.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the term "owner," as used in this article, shall mean the person who owns, or has the exclusive license in the United States to reproduce or the exclusive license in the United States to distribute to the public copies of the original fixation of sounds embodied in the master phonograph record, master disc, master tape, master film or other device used for reproducing recorded sounds on phonograph records, discs, tapes, films, videocassettes or other articles now known or later developed on which sound is recorded and from which the transferred sounds are directly or indirectly derived, or the person who owns the rights to record or to authorize the recording of a live performance.
(a) It shall be a felony for any person to:
(1) Knowingly transfer or cause to be transferred, directly or indirectly, by any means, any sounds recorded on a phonograph record, disc, wire, tape, film, videocassette or other article now known or later developed on which sounds are recorded, with the intent, for commercial advantage or private financial gain, to sell or rent, or cause to be sold or rented, or to be used for profit through public performance, such article on which sounds are so transferred, without consent of the owner;
(2) Knowingly transfer or cause to be transferred, directly or indirectly, by any means, onto any phonograph record, disc, wire, tape, film, videocassette or other article now known or later developed, any live performance, for commercial advantage or private financial gain, without the consent of the owner; or
(3) Manufacture, distribute, transport or wholesale any article with the knowledge that the sounds or performances are so transferred without consent of the owner.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any person engaged in radio or television broadcasting who transfers, or causes to be transferred, any such sounds other than from the sound track of a motion picture intended for, or in connection with broadcast or telecast transmission or related uses, or for archival purposes.
(c) Penalties for violations hereof are prescribed in Section 13A-8-86(a).
(d) Subdivision (a)(1) of this section applies only to sound recordings that were initially fixed prior to February 15, 1972.
(e) In the absence of a written agreement or operation of law to the contrary, the performer or performers of the live performance shall be presumed to own the rights to record or authorize the recording of the live performance. In any proceeding where a performer's consent is in issue, a person who is authorized to maintain custody and control over business records reflecting consent shall be considered a proper witness, subject to all rules of evidence relating to competency and admissibility.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, rent, cause to be sold or rented, or possess for the purpose of selling or renting any recorded device that has been produced, manufactured, distributed or acquired in violation of any provision of this article.
(2) Penalties for violations hereof are prescribed in Section 13A-8-86(b).
Every recorded device sold, rented or transferred for commercial advantage or private financial gain, or possessed for the purpose of sale, rental or transfer by any manufacturer, distributor or wholesale or retail merchant shall contain on its packaging the true name and address of the manufacturer; provided, that the term "manufacturer" shall not include the manufacturer of the cartridge or casing itself, but shall mean the manufacturer of the actual recorded material. The term "recorded device" means the tangible medium upon which sounds or images are recorded or otherwise stored, and includes any phonograph record, disc, wire, tape, videocassette, film, or other medium now known or later developed on which sounds or images are recorded or otherwise stored.
It shall be the duty of any state, county or local law enforcement officer to confiscate all recorded material that does not conform to the provisions of this article and all equipment and components used or intended to be used in the manufacture of the infringing recordings and to deliver the nonconforming recorded devices, equipment and components to the State Attorney General or the appropriate local district attorney of the judicial district in which the confiscation was made. The provisions of this section shall apply to any nonconforming recording, regardless of lack of knowledge or intent on the part of the retail seller.
(a) Any owner of recorded material whose material has allegedly been illegally reproduced as provided herein shall have a cause of action in the circuit courts of this state for all damages resultant therefrom, including actual, compensatory and incidental damages, as well as punitive damages of not more than three times the amount of the total cost of producing the illegally recorded material.
(b) Any lawful producer of recorded material, as set forth in this article, whose product is allegedly the subject of a violation of the provisions of this article shall have a cause of action in the circuit courts of this state for all damages resultant therefrom, including actual, compensatory and incidental damages, as well as punitive damages not exceeding three times the amount of the total cost of producing the recorded materials.
(a) Each separate manufacture, distribution, sale or transfer at wholesale of any unauthorized recording in contravention of the provisions of this article shall upon conviction constitute a separate offense punishable as follows:
(1) If the offense involves not less than 1,000 unlawful sound recordings or not less than 65 audio visual recordings, by imprisonment not less than three years, nor more than ten years, or by a fine of not more than $250,000.00 or both.
(2) For any other offense not described in subdivision (a)(1), by imprisonment not less than one year, nor more than three years, or by fine of not more than $25,000.00 for the first offense, or both, and by imprisonment not less than three years nor more than 10 years, or by fine of not more than $100,000.00, or both, for any subsequent offense.
(b) Each separate sale, rental or possession for sale or rental of any recording, not described in subsection (a), in contravention of the provisions of this article shall upon conviction constitute a separate offense punishable as follows:
(1) If the offense involves not less than 100 unlawful sound recordings or not less than seven unlawful audio visual recordings, or if the offense is a subsequent offense, by imprisonment not less than one year nor more than five years, or by a fine of not more than $250,000.00 or both.
(2) For any other offense not described in subdivision (b)(1), by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than $25,000.00 or both.
(c) If a person is convicted of any offense under this article, the court in its judgment of conviction shall order the forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all infringing recordings and of all equipment and components used or intended to be used in the manufacture of the infringing recordings, as provided in Section 13A-8-84.
(a) The theft of lost property which does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in value constitutes theft of lost property in the third degree.
(b) Theft of lost property in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
© 2023 Helpline Law / Contact Us / Site Map
