Accidental, Intentional, or Unintentional Acts

2009 ◽  
pp. 121-124
Keyword(s):  
1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-580
Author(s):  
Daniel I. A. Cohen

Intention is a most difficult and illusory mental process. It is our contention that the law would become more functional and less convoluted (while not decreasing injustice) by abandoning distinctions based on this unprofitable phantasm. To this end, we first offer a paradigmatic definition of intention against which we survey its philosophical meaning and explore its boundaries. We examine the possibility that seemingly unintentional acts are, in fact, generated by the deliberations of the unconscious mind. We explore the consequences of bringing the jurisprudential concept of intention into harmony with Freudian doctrine. This, we conclude, necessitates expanding criminal and civil liability for one's actions from those called intentional under the current definition to include also those actions intentionally generated by the unconscious mind. Whatever benefit there is to society in holding one liable for consciously intentional acts extends, correspondingly, to unconsciously intentional acts as well. We explain how this may be done in practice.


Author(s):  
Steven Bittle ◽  
Laureen Snider

AbstractThis article interrogates the laws that govern safety crimes, harmful but typically unintentional acts of negligence that occur in the production of goods and services. Acts that injure employees at work are commonly depicted in legal discourses as accidents and penalized through administrative laws, although other negligent acts such as driving offences causing injury or death are treated as potentially criminal events. Through a discourse analysis of legal and regulatory texts and documents, the authors argue that the constitution of workplace safety crime is rooted in complex historical factors that shape state responses to corporate wrongdoing. This article documents the roots of this “common sense” view of workplace crime, empirically focusing on Canadian corporate negligence law, and concludes with tentative strategies of resistance and change.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn E. Trussell

This interpretative study examines the complexities of lesbian parents’ experiences in organized youth sport programs. Specifically, it seeks to understand youth sport as a potential site for social change that facilitates a sense of inclusive community for diverse family structures. Using thematic analysis, the author examines perspectives of nine participants from Australia, Canada, and the United States. Emphasis is placed on how the lesbian parents (a) negotiate heightened visibility, sexual stigma, and parental judgment; (b) foster social relationships through participation, volunteerism, and positive role models; and (c) create shared understanding toward building an inclusive sport culture. The findings call attention to the importance of intentional and unintentional acts (by families as well as sport organizations) that create a sense of community and an inclusive organizational culture. The connection of lesbian parents’ experiences to broader concepts, such as sexual stigma and transformative services, are also examined within the context of youth sport.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Przemysław Kubiak

Drunkenness – a “Passion” in Roman Criminal Law?SummarySince ancient times jurists and lawyers have had to handle offencesconnected with alcohol abuse. There are only three texts on drunkenness in the Roman legal sources: two relate to offences committed byinebriate soldiers, and the third contains the basic division into intentional offences, accidental offences, and crimes of passion. In all threecategories drunkenness was a mitigating factor, which may be surprising for modern lawyers. Other Roman sources present public opinionon drinking, which seems to have depended on the circumstances– heavy drinking and alcoholism were disapproved of. A precise analysis of the rhetorical writings shows elaborate distinctions betweenintentional and unintentional acts. Drunkenness was regarded as anemotional state which could influence the penalty, but the specific circumstances of the offence were crucial. The rhetorical works confirmthe views presented in poetry and philosophy. Contrary to the legalsources, the facts seem to show that a judge could sentence an offenderto a severe or mild punishment, or even acquit him if drunkenness hadbeen a factor contributing to the offence. The rhetorical works may beconsidered to provide not only an important theoretical background tothe legal sources, but also crucial supplementary information givinga better insight into Roman criminal law.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4 ENGLISH ONLINE VERSION) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Marzena Czochra

The Polish legislator has regulated the personal side of the offence of bodily injury in a child conceived in a manner different from the regulations adopted for crimes related to causing injury to the health of a born person. In the current legal framework, inadvertent harm to a conceived child or life threatening health disorder is not criminalised. Such a state of affairs leads to the issue of a possible amendment of Article 157a of the Penal Code regarding the punishability of unintentional acts. It seems (taking into account the birth criterion) that the legislator differentiates the protection of legal goods in the form of human life and health. It is indisputable that criminal law is an ultima ratio, applied when other legal means are not adequate to the rank of the protected good. However, despite the fact that there are civil regulations on this subject, it seems that they are not a sufficient means of protecting the legal goods in question. For this reason, this discourse proposes several solutions with regard to the subjective part of the offence of Article157a PC.


2004 ◽  
Vol 38 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
MONIT CHEUNG ◽  
DEMORI CURRID DRIVER

Publication ethics in social work have received very little attention. As the research base of the field continues to expand, and as the pressure to publish among academic faculty increases, social work researchers need to examine the ethical issues that can arise in scientific publication, including self-plagiarism and redundant publication. This article examines the issue of self-plagiarism, including "salami-slicing", "text recycling", and duplicate submission. Noting that many researchers may be unaware of publication guidelines, manuscript submission policies were reviewed for 28 major social work journals. Of the journals, 71.43% (n=20) explicitly prohibited simultaneous submissions, and 67.86% (n=19) clearly stated that submitted manuscripts were required to be original. Suggestions are provided to help social work researchers avoid committing intentional and unintentional acts of self-plagiarism and redundant publication.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 65-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Eglinton

This article explores the place of African Americans in the account of Abraham Kuyper’s 1898 American séjour found in his untranslated text Varia Americana. Utilizing Wellman’s Portraits of White Racism, its working definition of racism includes both intentional and unintentional acts that support a prejudicial racial status quo. In that light, Kuyper’s text is read as intentionally critiquing American society as racist, while also unintentionally furthering the narrative that maintained the racism he wished to condemn. As such, the article aims to prompt more nuanced engagement with the ‘deep logic’ of Kuyper’s thought, in order to aid his later inheritors in their task of reading Kuyper against himself on the topic of race.


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