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Psychology

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

1998

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Law

Objectivist Vs. Subjectivist Views Of Criminality: A Study In The Role Of Social Science In Criminal Law Theory, Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley Jan 1998

Objectivist Vs. Subjectivist Views Of Criminality: A Study In The Role Of Social Science In Criminal Law Theory, Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley

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The authors use social science methodology to determine whether a doctrinal shift-from an objectivist view of criminality in the common law to a subjectivist view in modern criminal codes-is consistent with lay intuitions of the principles of justice. Commentators have suggested that lay perceptions of criminality have shifted in a way reflected in the doctrinal change, but the study results suggest a more nuanced conclusion: that the modern lay view agrees with the subjectivist view of modern codes in defining the minimum requirements of criminality, but prefers the common law's objectivist view of grading the punishment deserved. The authors argue …


The Evidentiary Theory Of Blackmail: Taking Motives Seriously, Mitchell N. Berman Jan 1998

The Evidentiary Theory Of Blackmail: Taking Motives Seriously, Mitchell N. Berman

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No abstract provided.


Testing Competing Theories Of Justification, Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley Jan 1998

Testing Competing Theories Of Justification, Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley

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Present criminal law theory reflects a disagreement over the underlying theory of the justificatory principle, and thus the proper legal formulation of such defenses. At the core of the debate about the principle is the following question. Are justification defenses given because the actor's deed avoids a greater harm, or because she acted for the right reason? The deeds theory of justification justifies conduct that avoids a greater harm, because the conduct is conduct that we would be happy to tolerate under similar circumstances in the future: that is, because the actor has done the right deed. The reasons theory …