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An idea, belief, or emotion that impels a person to act in accordance with that state of mind.

Motive is usually used in connection with CRIMINAL LAW to explain why a person acted or refused to act in a certain wayfor example, to support the prosecution's assertion that the accused committed the crime. If a person accused of murder was the beneficiary of a life insurance policy on the deceased, the prosecution might argue that greed was the motive for the killing. Proof of motive is not required in a criminal prosecution. In determining the guilt of a criminal defendant, courts are generally not concerned with why the defendant committed the alleged crime, but whether the defendant committed the crime. However, a defendant's motive is important in other stages of a criminal case, such as police investigation and sentencing. Law enforcement personnel often consider potential motives in detecting perpetrators. Judges may consider the motives of a convicted defendant at sentencing and either increase a sentence based on avaricious motives or decrease the sentence if the defendant's motives were honorable for example, if the accused acted in defense of a family member. In criminal law, motive is distinct from intent. Criminal intent refers to the mental state of mind possessed by a defendant in committing a crime. With few exceptions the prosecution in a criminal case must prove that the defendant intended to commit the illegal act. The prosecution need not prove the defendant's motive. Nevertheless, prosecutnd defense attorneys alike may make an issue of motive in connection with the case. http://law.jrank.org/pages/8663/Motive.html Difference between motive and intention No score for this post November 23 2005, 4:35 PM In criminal law there are many terms. Motive only really comes in to it at the police investigation stage of the case. (As far as i remember) Actus Reus - The act of the crime itself Mens Rea - Put simply the guilty mind. There are different levels of mens rea. Intention Recklessness Negligence Blame or culpability goes upwards Intention is either direct intent or oblique intent. Direct intent speaks for itself. Oblique intent is the intention to cause one consequence but actually causing another and the jury may or may not find or infer intent. http://www.network54.com/Forum/166761/thread/1132679673/last1213882594/Intention+and+motive A motive, in law, especially criminal law, is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action.[1] Motive, in itself, is not an element of any given crime; however, the legal system typically allows motive to be proven in order to make plausible the accused's reasons for committing a crime, at least when those motives may be obscure or hard to identify with. The law technically distinguishes between motive and intent. "Intent" in criminal law is synonymous with mens rea, which means no more than the specific mental purpose to perform a

deed that is forbidden by a criminal statute, or the reckless disregard of whether the law will be violated.[citation needed] "Motive" describes instead the reasons in the accused's background and station in life that are supposed to have induced the crime. Motive is particularly important in prosecutions for homicide. First, murder is so drastic a crime that most people recoil from the thought of being able to do it; proof of motive explains why the accused did so desperate an act. Moreover, most common law jurisdictions have statutes that provide for degrees of homicide, based in part on the accused's mental state. The lesser offence of voluntary manslaughter, for example, traditionally required that the accused knowingly and voluntarily kill the victim (as in murder); in addition, it must be shown that the killing took place in the "sudden heat of passion," an excess of rage or anger coming from a contemporary provocation, which clouded the accused's judgment. Homicides motivated by such factors are a lesser offense than murder "in cold blood." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motive_(law)

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