The doctrine of common purpose, common design or joint enterprise is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions which imputes criminal liability on the participants to a criminal enterprise for all that results from that enterprise. A common incidence of the application of the rule is to impute criminal liability for assaulting a person with a knife, on all the participants to a riot who knew, or were reckless as to knowing, that one of their number had a knife and might use it, even when the imputed participants did not actually have knives themselves.
Read more about Common Purpose: Explanation, Deliberate Departure, When The Outcome Is Death, Repentance
Famous quotes containing the words common and/or purpose:
“All this class of pleasures inspires me with the same nausea as I feel at the sight of rich plum-cake or sweetmeats; I prefer the driest bread of common life.”
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845)
“As the purpose of comedy is to correct the vices of men, I see no reason why anyone should be exempt.”
—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622–1673)