Also known as: degrees · classification · level of offense
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A classification of offense gravity that distinguishes levels of culpability. First-degree felonies carry the highest penalties.
A classification of offense gravity that distinguishes levels of culpability. First-degree felonies carry the highest penalties.
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A classification of participant role that distinguishes levels of involvement. Principals in the first degree are those who personally commit the criminal act.
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A quantifiable level of proof, risk, or culpability required to establish liability or damages. Recovery for lost profits demands proof to a reasonable degree of certainty while intentional invasions consider the degree of moral wrong in assessing unintended harm.
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A classification of participant role that distinguishes levels of involvement. Principals in the first degree are those who personally commit the criminal act.
A quantifiable level of proof, risk, or culpability required to establish liability or damages. Recovery for lost profits demands proof to a reasonable degree of certainty while intentional invasions consider the degree of moral wrong in assessing unintended harm.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Dominic Drake fired a rifle repeatedly into a crowded bar after an argument. One bullet struck and killed a bystander. Prosecutors charged Drake with abandoned and malignant heart murder rather than involuntary manslaughter because the high degree of risk to human life showed reckless indifference beyond ordinary recklessness.
Devon Drake entered a convenience store, displayed a knife, and demanded cash while threatening to commit an aggravated assault if the clerk resisted. The threat to commit a first-degree felony during the theft raised the offense to first-degree robbery under the statute.
Abandoned and malignant heart murder requires reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life. Involuntary manslaughter involves a lesser though still criminally culpable level of risk created by criminal negligence or an unlawful act.
Supporting sources
Dylan Duffy planned a burglary, remained nearby to assist, and later helped the actual burglar escape. Under common-law classifications, Duffy qualified as a principal in the second degree because he aided the crime while constructively present at the scene.
A principal in the first degree personally commits the criminal act or omission. A principal in the second degree aids, commands, or encourages the first-degree principal while present at the scene.
Supporting sources
Deborah Dunn owned a corner parcel zoned exclusively for single-family homes. The ordinance prevented any economically viable development and bore no substantial relation to public health or safety. The restriction therefore operated as an invalid taking by depriving Dunn of all beneficial use of the land.
Davenport Pharmaceuticals leased space from Dominion Capital for a retail pharmacy. After the landlord failed to deliver possession, the tenant proved lost profits to a reasonable degree of certainty that the landlord could have foreseen at lease signing. The court awarded those damages under the business-purpose rule.
Daniel Diaz intentionally trespassed on Desert Oil's property to sabotage equipment. An unexpected chain reaction caused far greater damage than Diaz intended. The degree of his moral wrong and the seriousness of the intended harm made him liable for the unintended extent of the loss.
When the leased property is used for business purposes, a tenant may recover loss of anticipated business profits that resulted from the landlord's default and that the landlord could reasonably have foreseen at the time the lease was made.
Supporting sources
The actor's intention to commit the invasion, the degree of moral wrong in acting, and the seriousness of the intended harm are important factors in determining liability for resulting unintended harm.
Supporting sources
…between the status asserted and the claim sought to be adjudicated," Flast v. Cohen , 392 U. S., at 102, and the necessary degree of contentiousness, Golden v. Zwickler , 394 U. S. 103 (1969), are both present. The appellee notes, however, that the record does not disclose that Roe was pregnant at the time of the…