accessory
N.1 One who aids and abets or counsels or procures someone else to commit a crime. A secondary party to an offence – i.e. one who participates in it but does not bring about the * actus reus directly ...
act
An act (something that is done) is legally relevant if it is a wrongful act (a tortious civil wrong or a criminal offence); a lawful activity with some legally instrumental ...
actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea
[Latin: an act is not necessarily a guilty act unless the accused has the necessary state of mind required for that offence]The maxim that, generally, a person cannot be guilty of a crime unless two ...
automatism
A full defence to criminal liability, resulting in an acquittal. Automatism negates voluntariness, an implied element of the actus reus of any criminal offence. Sane automatism includes actions ...
burden of proof
If in some situation there is a proper presumption that something is true, anyone seeking to prove its opposite is said to bear the burden of proof. A certain amount of philosophical jockeying ...
causation
N.The relationship between an act and the consequences it produces. It is one of the elements that must be proved before an accused can be convicted of a crime in which the effect of the act is part ...
conduct
(wrongful)Behaviour including both acts that are prohibited and attract legal consequences when done, and omissions, that is, failure to do something that is mandated (required) by law, which also ...
conspiracy
N.1 An agreement between two or more people to behave in a manner that will automatically constitute an offence by at least one of them (e.g. two people agree that one of them shall steal while the ...
crime
Crime doesn't pay a US slogan particularly associated with the 1930s radio crime series The Shadow, in which it was spoken by The Shadow at the end of each broadcast, and with the cartoon detective ...
guilt
The determination of criminal responsibility by a court. In order for the accused to be found guilty the prosecution must prove all the elements of the crime beyond reasonable doubt ...
intention
N.The state of mind of one who aims to bring about a particular consequence. Intention is one of the main forms of * mens rea, and for some crimes the only form (for example, murder). A person is ...
intoxication
The state of being inebriated or poisoned by a drug or other substance taken into the body. intoxicant n. Anything that causes intoxication. [From Latin intoxicare to poison, from toxicum a ...
manslaughter
N.Unlawful homicide that does not amount to the crime of murder. There are two main categories: voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter arises when a defendant is ...
mens rea
The subjective element for criminality, requires that a defendant have both a culpable state of mind (for instance, not be insane or coerced) and the particular mental state, such as ...
Model Penal Code
While each of the American states has its own criminal code, more than two‐thirds of those codes are based upon the Model Penal Code of the American Law Institute. The ...
obtain
In its general sense of getting something for oneself or for one's own benefit, the word ‘obtain’ is widely used in criminal law to define a physical element of an ...
penetration
1 The depth to which a bullet or other projectile will penetrate a material before exploding or coming to rest.2 The insertion of a part of the body or anything else into the vagina, anus, or mouth ...
sedition
N.The speaking or writing of words that are likely to incite ordinary people to public disorder or insurrection. Sedition is a common-law offence (known as seditious libel if the words are written) ...
state of affairs offences
Criminal offences that do not require actus reus (no act or omission needs to occur). They are usually, but not always, minor summary offences, also called law and order offences ...
states of mind
The internal thought processes of a person whose conduct (acts or omissions) is being examined. What is called in philosophy the problem of other minds is a luxury, a problem ...
