Modern Vicarious Liability
The general rule in the criminal law is that there is no vicarious liability. This reflects the general principle that a crime is composed of both an actus reus (the Latin tag for "guilty act") and a mens rea (the Latin tag for "guilty mind") and that a person should only be convicted if he, she or it is directly responsible for causing both elements to occur at the same time (see concurrence). Thus, the practice of holding one person liable for the actions of another is the exception and not the rule in criminal law.
Read more about this topic: Vicarious Liability (criminal)
Famous quotes containing the words modern and/or vicarious:
“A modern fleet of ships does not so much make use of the sea as exploit a highway.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)
“Vicarious living is only slightly less impossible than vicarious eating.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)