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The Confusion Of Causes And Reasons In Forensic Psychology: Deconstructing Mens Rea And Other Mental Events, Joel R. Cornwell
The Confusion Of Causes And Reasons In Forensic Psychology: Deconstructing Mens Rea And Other Mental Events, Joel R. Cornwell
University of Richmond Law Review
The public perception that criminal conduct is increasingly excused on psychological grounds, notwithstanding a markedly small statistical success rate of diminished capacity defenses, evinces misplaced frustration over a broader cultural reluctance or inability to assign moral blame. Psychology is seen as feeding a kind of determinism that rationalizes evil behavior and precludes retributive punishment as a matter of scientific principle. This perception is accurate to the degree that it reveals our legal system's fundamental confusion of purposes in judging and explaining criminal behavior. This confusion is engendered by the indeterminacy of language, which entangles the verificationist mode and purpose of …
How Much Should Mind Matter? Mens Rea In Theft And Fraud Sentencing, James Gibson
How Much Should Mind Matter? Mens Rea In Theft And Fraud Sentencing, James Gibson
Law Faculty Publications
This article discusses the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s vote to potentially revise the definition of loss. Anyone who has followed the Commission's deliberations on loss will see that the proposed definition attempts to address many of the contentious issues that have arisen in the case law and commentary. The issues that the proposed definition concentrates on, however, such as credits, interest, causation, and gain, tend to inform the inquiry into "actual loss" rather than "intended loss," even though the latter concept is integral to both definitions. Although neither the current nor the proposed definition provides much guidance for working with intended …