Aggravation

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Aggravation (law)

Top

Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."[1]

Aggravated assault, for example, is usually differentiated from simple assault by the offender's intent (e.g., to murder or to rape), the extent of injury to the victim, or the use of a deadly weapon. An aggravating circumstance is a kind of attendant circumstance and the opposite of an extenuating or mitigating circumstance, which decreases guilt.

References

  1. ^ Black, Henry Campbell. Black's Law Dictionary. 6th edition. (St. Paul, MN: West, 1991).

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Mentioned in

Aggravation (legal term)