NCJ Number
174402
Journal
Buffalo Criminal Law Review Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: 1998 Pages: 403-430
Date Published
1998
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This essay draws attention to difficulties associated with explaining criminal responsibility in terms of singular notions such as action.
Abstract
The essay assumes culpability and hence moral responsibility are necessary conditions of criminal liability. The focus is on moral responsibility without action, moral responsibility for behavior, and practical ramifications for criminal law doctrine (loss of physical control, loss of deliberative control, and omissions and states of affairs). Following the discussion of criminal law doctrine, a philosophical analysis of voluntariness is presented. Attribution and responsibility are discussed, and standard criteria for attribution and responsibility are noted. The author discusses the requirement for voluntary action in imposing criminal liability in terms of intentional rather than advertent or inadvertent action, successful action rather than attempted action, and voluntary agency. 61 footnotes