Surf Wiki
Save to docs
law

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Motive (law)

Reason for performing an action

Reason for performing an action

A motive is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action.{{cite book |author-link= Bryan A. Garner

The law technically distinguishes between motive and intent. "Intent" in criminal law is synonymous with mens rea ('guilty mind'), which means the mental state shows liability which is enforced by law as an element of a crime. "Motive" describes instead the reasons in the accused's background and station in life that are supposed to have induced the crime. Motives are often broken down into three categories: biological, social and personal.

Objections

There are two objections to motive when considering punishment. The first is volitional objection, which is the argument that the person cannot manage their own motives and therefore cannot be punished for them. The second objection is neutrality objection. This is based on the idea that our society has contrasting political opinions and therefore a government’s preference should be limited.

Pertinence

There are four different ways a defendant's motive can be pertinent to their criminal liability. Motive can be fully inculpatory or exculpatory or only partially inculpatory or exculpatory. When one has acted with a specific motive, lawful behavior becomes illegal, and this is when motive is fully inculpatory. If illegal activity with a particular motive does not hold a defendant responsible then that motive is fully exculpatory. When a motive supplies inadequate defense to a crime, the motive is partially exculpatory. When a motive says the kind of infraction for which the defendant is responsible, the motive is partially inculpatory.

References

References

  1. Law Library - American Law and Legal Information - JRank Articles. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  2. Frug, Sara S.. "Mens Rea".
  3. [http://www.psychologydiscussion.net/motive/types-of-motives-biological-social-and-personal-motives-psychology/694 Types of Motives: Biological, Social and Personal Motives]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  4. Hessick, Carrisa. (2006). "Motive's Role in Criminal Punishment". Southern California Law Review.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

criminal-law narratology
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Motive (law) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report