Blame is the assignment of responsibility from one entity to another. Blaming is the action of assigning this blame to another, often from oneself. These activities seem basic to hominid behaviour, as the infamous cat did it incident with Koko the gorilla demonstrated very vividly. Blaming is nearly universally observed in children. It seems to be an essential part of human development. When language skills develop, one of the first practical things that can be done with them is to apply them to bl ...

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The legal principle of vicarious liability applies to hold one person liable for the actions of another when engaged in some form of joint or collective activity. For the civil law system, see vicarious liability. For liability attributed to a corporation, see corporate liability. For liability between joint principals, see common purpose. Vicarious liability criminal - History. Before the emergence of states which could bear the high costs of maintaining national policing and impartial court systems, local ...

Including:

• Vicarious liability criminal - History
• Vicarious liability criminal - Modern vicarious liability
• Vicarious liability criminal - Vicarious liability in English law
• Vicarious liability criminal - Vicarious liability in the United States

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In the criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of mens rea (Latin for "guilty mind") element required to constitute a conventional as opposed to strict liability offence. It is defined as: careless, inattentive, neglectful, wilfully blind, or in the case of gross negligence what would have been reckless in any other defendant. Criminal negligence - Discussion. To constitute a crime, there must be an actus reus (Latin for "guilty a ...

Including:

• Criminal negligence - Discussion
• Criminal negligence - What is the reasonable person standard?
• Criminal negligence - Particular examples
• Criminal negligence - United States
• Criminal negligence - English law definition

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The actus reus — sometimes called the external elements of a crime — is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the mens rea, i.e. the "guilty mind", produces criminal liability in common law-based criminal law jurisdictions such as the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Actus reus - Concepts. The terms actus reus and mens rea are derived from the principle stated by Edward Coke, namely ...

Including:

• Actus reus - Concepts
• Actus reus - Act
• Actus reus - Omission
• Actus reus - State of affairs

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In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of publishing (meaning to a third party) a false statement that negatively affects someone's reputation. "Defamation" is the term generally used internationally, and is accordingly used in this article where it is not necessary to distinguish between "libel" and "slander". Slander and libel - Vocabulary and general concepts. ...

Including:

• Slander and libel - Vocabulary and general concepts
• Slander and libel - Origin of the word libel
• Slander and libel - Libel and Slander
• Slander and libel - Derogatory?
• Slander and libel - Excuses
• Slander and libel - Similar but different delicts and torts
• Slander and libel - Criminal libel
• Slander and libel - Origins of defamation law
• Slander and libel - English law
• Slander and libel - Development of English defamation law
• Slander and libel - English Admiralty law
• Slander and libel - Modern law
• Slander and libel - Burden of Proof on the Defendant
• Slander and libel - United States law
• Slander and libel - History
• Slander and libel - Australian law
• Slander and libel - Canadian law

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A strict liability offence is a type of offence in which a mental fault element is not required to establish guilt. The prosecution only needs to show that the accused performed the prohibited act or omission. However, in some countries, the accused is allowed the defences of due diligence and/or mistake of fact available. This class of offence is usually limited to certain actions with a dire ...

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Regulatory offences, Regulatory offences - Strict liability offence, Regulatory offences - United States, Regulatory offences - Canada, Regulatory offences - United Kingdom, Regulatory offences - Absolute liability offences, Regulatory offences - Public welfare offences

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Caldwell, a disgruntled former hotel employee who had recently been fired by his boss, got very drunk one night in late 1979 and decided to set fire to his former employer's hotel, intending to damage the property. At the time he set the blaze, however, there were ten guests asleep inside the hotel, and though the fire was extinguished quickly, Caldwell was charged not only with arson (to which he pleaded guilty), but with the more serious charge of arson with intent to endanger human life. It should be noted that, in English law, the offenc ...

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Recklessness criminal, Recklessness criminal - Definition of terms, Recklessness criminal - English law, Recklessness criminal - R v Caldwell 1981 1 AER 961, Recklessness criminal - R v Gemmell and Richards 2003 4 AER 765

Read more here: » Recklessness criminal: Encyclopedia II - Recklessness criminal - R v Caldwell 1981 1 AER 961

The initial stages of HIV-positive are asymptomatic for periods usually exceeding one year. A person who engages in sexual activity or donates blood during this time may therefore have no reasonable basis upon which to suspect that he or she is transmitting a virus. The American Civil Liberties Union and other national groups have expressed concern that many newly drafted laws are too vague because they may criminalize individuals by virtue of their membership of a higher risk class of person, e.g. known drug users, the sexually promiscuous, ...

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Criminal transmission of HIV, Criminal transmission of HIV - Modes of transmission, Criminal transmission of HIV - Blood donation, Criminal transmission of HIV - The legal political and social problems, Criminal transmission of HIV - Example Statute, Criminal transmission of HIV - Outside the United States, Criminal transmission of HIV - England and Wales, Criminal transmission of HIV - Scotland, Criminal transmission of HIV - New Zealand, Criminal transmission of HIV - Canada

Read more here: » Criminal transmission of HIV: Encyclopedia II - Criminal transmission of HIV - The legal political and social problems

M'Naghten Rules - Burden of proof. This is a rebuttable presumption and the burden of proof is on the party wishing to rebut. If a jury think it is more likely than not that the is insane within the meaning of the Rules, the defendant is entitled to a verdict in his favor. The common law rule, based on Lord Denning's judgement in Bratty v Attorney-General for Northern Ireland (1963) AC 386, is that wherever the defendant makes an issue of his or her state of mind during a trial, the prosecution can adduce ...

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M'Naghten Rules, M'Naghten Rules - Explanation, M'Naghten Rules - The Rules in English law, M'Naghten Rules - Burden of proof, M'Naghten Rules - The test, M'Naghten Rules - At the time, M'Naghten Rules - Disease of the mind, M'Naghten Rules - Defect of reason, M'Naghten Rules - Nature and quality of the actions, M'Naghten Rules - Knowledge that the act was wrong, M'Naghten Rules - Delusions, M'Naghten Rules - The jury, M'Naghten Rules - Sentencing, M'Naghten Rules - United States

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Corporate crime - What behaviour to criminalise. Behaviour can be regulated by the civil law (including administrative law) or the criminal law. In deciding to criminalise particular behaviour, the legislature is making the political judgment that this behaviour is sufficiently culpable to deserve the stigma of being labelled as a crime. In law, corporations can commit the same offences as natural persons. Simpson (2002) avers that this process should be straightforward because a state should simply engage in vic ...

See also:

Corporate crime, Corporate crime - Definitional issues, Corporate crime - Legal person, Corporate crime - Function of law, Corporate crime - Policy to enforce the law against corporations, Corporate crime - Discussion, Corporate crime - What behaviour to criminalise, Corporate crime - What penalties to impose

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Australian Model Criminal Code Committee state the law as follows (at 14-15): At the minimum there needs to be some operation of the will before a physical movement is described as an act. The physical movements of a person who is asleep, for example, probably should not be regarded as acts at all, and certainly should not be regarded as acts for the purposes of criminal responsibility. These propositions are embodied in the rule that people are not held responsible for involuntary ‘acts’, that is, physical movements which occur without there being any will to perform that act. This situation ...

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Automatism case law, Automatism case law - Voluntariness, Automatism case law - Reflex movements, Automatism case law - Sleep, Automatism case law - Automatism and insanity, Automatism case law - Automatism and drunkenness, Automatism case law - Automatism and provocation

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Current thinking in biology discredits the notion that genes alone can determine a trait because genes are never sufficient in isolation. At the molecular level, DNA interacts in complex ways with signals from other genes and from the environment. At the level of individuals, particular genes influence the development of a trait in the context of a particular environment. Thus, measurements of the degree to which a trait is influenced by genes versus environment will depend on the particular environment and genes examined. In many cases, it ...

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Nature versus nurture, Nature versus nurture - Definitions of nature and nurture, Nature versus nurture - Uncomplicated cases, Nature versus nurture - How to compare the effects of nature and nurture and why this is difficult, Nature versus nurture - Moral difficulties: eugenics etc.., Nature versus nurture - Philosophical difficulties: are the traits real?, Nature versus nurture - Philosophical difficulties: Biological determinism, Nature versus nurture - Myths and mysteries, Nature versus nurture - Misc

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US defamation law is often less plaintiff-friendly than its counterparts in European and Commonwealth countries. This is because of the First Amendment's strong protection of free speech, which arose from the tradition of dissent that led to the American Revolutionary War. One very important distinction today is that European and Commonwealth jurisdictions adhere to a theory that every publication of a defamation gives rise to a separate claim, so that a defamation on the internet could be sued on in any country in which it was read, while American law only allows one claim for the primary publication (see Defa ...

See also:

Slander and libel, Slander and libel - Vocabulary and general concepts, Slander and libel - Origin of the word libel, Slander and libel - Libel and Slander, Slander and libel - Excuses, Slander and libel - Similar but different delicts and torts, Slander and libel - Criminal libel, Slander and libel - Origins of defamation law, Slander and libel - English law, Slander and libel - Development of English defamation law, Slander and libel - English Admiralty law, Slander and libel - Modern law, Slander and libel - Burden of Proof on the Defendant, Slander and libel - United States law, Slander and libel - History, Slander and libel - Australian law, Slander and libel - Canadian law

Read more here: » Slander and libel: Encyclopedia II - Slander and libel - United States law

Before the emergence of states which could bear the high costs of maintaining national policing and impartial court systems, local communities operated self-help systems to keep the peace and to enforce contracts. Until the thirteenth century, one of the institutions that emerged was an involuntary collective responsibility for the actions committed by one of the group. This was formalised into the community responsibility system (CRS) which was enforced by a fear of loss of community reputation and of retailiation by the injured comm ...

See also:

Vicarious liability criminal, Vicarious liability criminal - History, Vicarious liability criminal - Modern vicarious liability, Vicarious liability criminal - Vicarious liability in English law, Vicarious liability criminal - Vicarious liability in the United States

Read more here: » Vicarious liability criminal: Encyclopedia II - Vicarious liability criminal - History

The policy issue for those who administer the criminal justice system is that, when planning their actions, people may be aware of many probable and possible consequences. Obviously, all of these consequences could be prevented through the simple expedient either of ceasing the given activity or of taking action rather than refraining from action. So the decision to continue with the current plan means that all the foreseen consequences are to some extent intentional, i.e. within and not against the scope of each person's intention. B ...

See also:

Intention criminal, Intention criminal - Definitions, Intention criminal - The test of intention, Intention criminal - Offences of basic and of specific intent, Intention criminal - Direct and oblique intent

Read more here: » Intention criminal: Encyclopedia II - Intention criminal - The test of intention

To constitute a crime, there must be an actus reus (Latin for "guilty act") accompanied by the mens rea (see concurrence). Negligence shows the least level of culpability, intention being the most serious and recklessness of intermediate seriousness, overlapping with gross negligence. The distinction between recklessness and criminal negligence lies in the presence or absence of foresight as to the prohibited consequences. Recklessness is usually described as a 'malfeasance' where the defendant knowingly exposes another to the ...

See also:

Criminal negligence, Criminal negligence - Discussion, Criminal negligence - What is the reasonable person standard?, Criminal negligence - Particular examples, Criminal negligence - United States, Criminal negligence - English law definition

Read more here: » Criminal negligence: Encyclopedia II - Criminal negligence - Discussion

In this situation, the defendant has actually done everything to constitute the actus reus of the crime and has the mens rea because he or she intended to do it in order to avoid some threatened or actual harm. Thus, some degree of culpability already attaches to the defendant for what was done. In the criminal law, the defendant's motive for breaking the law is usually irrelevant although, if the reason for acting was a form of justification, this may reduce the sentence. The basis of the defense argues that the threats made b ...

See also:

Duress, Duress - Discussion

Read more here: » Duress: Encyclopedia II - Duress - Discussion

In Australia, Ryan v The Queen (1967) 121 CLR 205, the defendant entered a shop with a loaded rifle for a robbery. In a sudden attack, the shop assistant caught the appellant by surprise, causing him by a reflex action to discharge the gun, killing the assistant instantly. The Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) requires that "murder shall be committed where the act of the accused … causing the death charged". Barwick CJ. said at 213: That a crime cannot be committed except by an act or omission is axiomatic. It is basic, in m ...

See also:

Automatism case law, Automatism case law - Voluntariness, Automatism case law - Reflex movements, Automatism case law - Sleep, Automatism case law - Automatism and insanity, Automatism case law - Automatism and drunkenness, Automatism case law - Automatism and provocation

Read more here: » Automatism case law: Encyclopedia II - Automatism case law - Reflex movements

Criminal law recognises recklessness as one of the mens rea elements to establish liability. It shows less culpability than intention, but more culpability than criminal negligence. The test of any mens rea element is always based on an assessment of whether the accused had foresight of the prohibited consequences and desired to cause those consequences to occur. The three types of test are: subjective where the court attempts to establish what the accused was actually thinking at the time the actus reus was ...

See also:

Recklessness criminal, Recklessness criminal - Definition of terms, Recklessness criminal - English law, Recklessness criminal - R v Caldwell 1981 1 AER 961, Recklessness criminal - R v Gemmell and Richards 2003 4 AER 765

Read more here: » Recklessness criminal: Encyclopedia II - Recklessness criminal - Definition of terms

The modern definition of recklessness has developed from R v. Cunningham (1957) 2 AER 412 in which the definition of 'maliciously' for the purposes of the Offences Against The Person Act 1861 was held to require a subjective rather than objective test when a man released gas from the mains while attempting to steal money from the pay-meter. As a result the gas leaked into the house next door, and partially asphyxiated the man's mother-in-law: In any statutory definition of a crime, malice must be taken ... as requiring ei ...

See also:

Recklessness criminal, Recklessness criminal - Definition of terms, Recklessness criminal - English law, Recklessness criminal - R v Caldwell 1981 1 AER 961, Recklessness criminal - R v Gemmell and Richards 2003 4 AER 765

Read more here: » Recklessness criminal: Encyclopedia II - Recklessness criminal - English law