The maxim “innocent until proven guilty” has assumed significance in legal scholarship, colloquial conversation, and the media; indeed, the concept resonates with American society. Its prominence in popular and legal culture reflects society’s concern for balancing the constitutional guarantee of liberty with the government’s duty to secure the well-being of its citizens. The maxim recognizes t...

In the early 1990s, I spent a couple of years as Chief of the Criminal Division in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. One of my principal responsibilities was to hear “appeals” from defense lawyers, usually, although not exclusively, in white collar crime cases. These lawyers felt that their clients should not be indicted, or that the plea offer they had rece...

The present study empirically investigates whether personality disorders and psychopathic traits in criminal suspects are reasons for diminished criminal responsibility or enforced treatment in high security hospitals. Recently, the tenability of the claim that individuals with personality disorders and psychopathy can be held fully responsible for crimes has been questioned on theoretical base...

Amnesia, derived from the Greek word meaning forgetfulness,I,2 has come to mean a "loss or lack of memory."2 The importance of this condition needs no emphasis, for it has always been associated with criminal law. St. Augustine's "ream lingum non tacit nisi mens rea" underpins the principle of the English and most other legal systems that a forbidden act (actus reus) and a wicked intent (mens r...

This contribution assesses the social-psychological concept of deindividuation in particular context its use instances crowd violence South African criminal law. Well-established as a mitigating factor, and yet not used over past couple decades, question is posed to whether this still finds application contemporary law society.