Justice, Liability And Blame
Community Views And The Criminal Law
Westview Press Inc
1st Edition
Published on 27. December 1996
Book
Paperback/Softback
328 pages
978-0-8133-3281-9 (ISBN)
Description
Do lay judgments about criminal transgressions frequently conflict with the way a case is judged within the legal code? For the first time, we have empirical research results that show they do. The authors, a law professor and a research psychologist, suggest that such discrepancies in judgment could reduce citizens compliance with the lawfor once the legal code loses its moral authority within the community, its effectiveness will be jeopardized. }Drafters of legal codes often implicitly or explicitly seek to incorporate community standards. To what extent have they succeeded? This book examines shared intuitive notions of justice among laypersons and compares the discovered principles to those intantiated in current American criminal codes. After discussion of the proper role of community views in formulating legal doctrine, Robinson and Darley report eighteen original studies on a wide range of issues in dispute among legal theorists.
The authors compare lay institutions and code provisions on such questions as the justified use of force, insanity, causation, complicity, risk-creation, omission liability, culpability requirements, duress, entrapment, multiple offenses, and criminalization matters such as felony murder and sexual offenses. Many important differences between the legal code and community views are found, and the authors discuss the implications of thosedifferences. One implication is the possibility that such conflicts could lead to reduced compliance as the code loses its moral authority with the community. }
The authors compare lay institutions and code provisions on such questions as the justified use of force, insanity, causation, complicity, risk-creation, omission liability, culpability requirements, duress, entrapment, multiple offenses, and criminalization matters such as felony murder and sexual offenses. Many important differences between the legal code and community views are found, and the authors discuss the implications of thosedifferences. One implication is the possibility that such conflicts could lead to reduced compliance as the code loses its moral authority with the community. }
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Inc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-8133-3281-9 (9780813332819)
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Schweitzer Classification
Content
Community Standards and the Criminal Law; Doctrines of Criminalization: What Conduct Should Be Criminal?; Doctrines of Justification: When Should It Be Lawful for One to Engage in Conduct That Normally Would Constitute a Violation?; Doctrines of Culpability: When Is Ones Violation of a Legal Rule Blameworthy?; Doctrines of Excuse: When Is Ones Rule Violation Blameless?; Doctrines of Grading: What Degree of Punishment Is Deserved for Ones Blameworthy Violation?; Conflict Between Community Views and Criminal Codes