criminal liability
Prosecution-worthy fault status
Criminal liability is the legal responsibility a person bears when they have committed a crime.
It requires both a wrongful act and, usually, a culpable mental state—you must have done the prohibited thing and meant to do it, or at least been reckless or negligent.
The prosecutor must establish criminal liability before seeking punishment.
Unlike civil liability, which typically results in monetary damages, criminal liability can lead to imprisonment.
- mens reaBlameworthy mental state
- guilty mindIntentional criminal awareness
- criminal intentGuilty state of mind
- intentPlanned purpose
- negligenceFailure to exercise care
gross negligence · murder · corporate manslaughter · get away with murder · culpability · foreseeability · strict liability · concurrence · diminished capacity · causation · duress · insanity defense · self-defense · necessity · recklessness · burden of proof · beyond reasonable doubt · theft
- criminal lawcrime, felony, misdemeanor, murder, robbery
- international lawinternational law, treaty, treaties, conventions, protocols
- corporate liabilitycorporate liability, limited liability, personal liability, unlimited liability, strict liability
- criminal complicityaccomplice, accessory, aiding and abetting, co-conspirator, complicity
- criminal liabilitycriminal responsibility, culpability, mens rea, criminal intent, blameworthiness
- crimesarson, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, vandalism
criminal liabilitycivil liability
Obligation to compensate harm
civil responsibility · civil damages · moral responsibility · professional liability · corporate liability
criminal liabilityimmunity
Protected from harm
legal immunity · criminal immunity · acquittal · exoneration · innocence
criminal liabilityinnocence
Freedom from wrongdoing
acquittal · exoneration · not guilty · blamelessness · vindication