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Principal (criminal Law)
Under criminal law, a principal is any actor who is primarily responsible for a criminal offense.See, e.g., Superior Growers, 982 F.2d at 177-78; United States v. Campa, 679 F.2d 1006, 1013 (lst Cir. 1982). Such an actor is distinguished from others who may also be subject to criminal liability as accomplices, accessories or conspirators. See also * Principal (commercial law) In commercial law, a principal is a person, legal or natural, who authorizes an agent to act to create one or more legal relationships with a third party. This branch of law is called agency and relies on the common law proposition (from Lat ... Notes and references External links * Legal terminology {{law-term-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Criminal Law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law is established by statute, which is to say that the laws are enacted by a legislature. Criminal law includes the punishment and rehabilitation of people who violate such laws. Criminal law varies according to jurisdiction, and differs from civil law, where emphasis is more on dispute resolution and victim compensation, rather than on punishment or rehabilitation. Criminal procedure is a formalized official activity that authenticates the fact of commission of a crime and authorizes punitive or rehabilitative treatment of the offender. History The first civilizations generally did not distinguish between civil law and criminal law. The first written codes of law were designed by the Sumerians. Around 2100–2050 BC Ur-Nammu, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Accomplice
Under the English common law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even if they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and demands the money is guilty of armed robbery. Anyone else directly involved in the commission of the crime, such as the lookout or the getaway car driver, is an accomplice, even if in the absence of an underlying offense keeping a lookout or driving a car would not be an offense. An accomplice differs from an accessory in that an accomplice is present at the actual crime, and could be prosecuted even if the main criminal (the '' principal'') is not charged or convicted. An accessory is generally not present at the actual crime, and may be subject to lesser penalties than an accomplice or principal. At law, an accomplice has the same degree of guilt as the person(s) who committed the underlying crime, and is subject to the same le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Accessory (legal Term)
An accessory is a person who assists in, but does not actually participate in, the commission of a crime. The distinction between an accessory and a principal is a question of fact and degree: *The principal is the one whose acts or omissions, accompanied by the relevant ''mens rea'' (Latin for "guilty mind"), are the most immediate cause of the ''actus reus'' (Latin for "guilty act"). *If two or more people are directly responsible for the ''actus reus'', they can be charged as joint principals (see common purpose). The test to distinguish a joint principal from an accessory is whether the defendant independently contributed to causing the ''actus reus'' rather than merely giving generalised and/or limited help and encouragement. Elements In some jurisdictions, an accessory is distinguished from an accomplice, who normally is present at the crime and participates in some way. An accessory must generally have knowledge that a crime is being committed, will be committed, or has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conspiracy (crime)
In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime at some time in the future. Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act be undertaken in furtherance of that agreement, to constitute an offense. There is no limit on the number participating in the conspiracy and, in most countries, the plan is the crime, so there is no requirement that any steps have been taken to put the plan into effect (compare attempts which require proximity to the full offense). For the purposes of concurrence, the ''actus reus'' is a continuing one and parties may join the plot later and incur joint liability and conspiracy can be charged where the co-conspirators have been acquitted or cannot be traced. Finally, repentance by one or more parties does not affect liability (unless, in some cases, it occurs ''before'' the parties have committed overt acts) but may reduce their sentence. An unindicted co-conspirat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principal (commercial Law)
In commercial law, a principal is a person, legal or natural, who authorizes an agent to act to create one or more legal relationships with a third party. This branch of law is called agency and relies on the common law proposition (from Latin: "he who acts through another, acts personally"). It is a parallel concept to vicarious liability (in which one person is held liable for the acts or omissions of another) in criminal law or torts. Concepts In a busy commercial world, the smooth flow of trade depends on the use of agents. This may be because in business entities such as: *sole traders, their ability to conduct business will always be limited unless other people are used to work on their behalf; *a partnership, the natural persons who are involved cannot be present to conduct business in multiple locations simultaneously, so they must rely on others to make agreements or deliver services on their behalf; or *a corporation is only a legal entity or fictitious legal per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
