Also known as: deterrent · deterrents · deter · deters · deterred · deterring · specific deterrence · general deterrence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A goal of sanctions or legal rules that seeks to discourage future conduct by instilling fear of consequences. General deterrence aims to dissuade the public at large while special deterrence targets the specific individual.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Damian Decker, an indigent worker, moved from one state to another seeking better job prospects and applied for welfare benefits. The new state denied his application under a one-year residency rule enacted expressly to deter entry by those likely to need assistance. A court struck down the rule because protecting the treasury by discouraging migration of the poor is not a permissible objective under the right to travel.
Dolores Diaz, a private citizen, sued a newspaper after it published an article accusing her of misconduct in a public controversy. The paper argued it should not bear the burden of proving truth because doing so would deter accurate reporting on matters of public concern. The court placed the falsity burden on Diaz to protect speech from the chilling effect of potential jury error.
Delilah Duran fled after committing a nonviolent felony. An officer shot her under a state statute allowing deadly force against any fleeing felon. The court held the statute unconstitutional because the threat of such force does not sufficiently deter escape to justify the seizure when the suspect poses no immediate danger.
Deborah Dunn received an enhanced sentence under mandatory guidelines for a drug offense. On appeal she argued the structure failed to account for individual circumstances that affect specific deterrence. The Court made the guidelines advisory so judges could tailor sentences to better achieve deterrence and other penological goals.
Denise Donovan gave a statement during custodial interrogation without receiving warnings about her rights. The prosecution sought to use the statement at trial. The Court suppressed it because admitting unwarned confessions would deter suspects from exercising Fifth Amendment rights and undermine the adversarial process.
Diane Dawson was stopped and patted down by an officer who observed suspicious behavior suggesting she might be armed. The Court upheld the frisk because the limited intrusion was justified to deter armed violence and protect officer safety during the encounter.
General deterrence uses punishment to discourage the public from committing crimes while special deterrence focuses on preventing the individual offender from reoffending. Both operate through fear of sanctions.
Supporting sources
No. A state may not enact durational residency requirements whose purpose is to deter entry by indigent persons who might need assistance because that objective violates the right to travel.
Supporting sources
Placing the burden on the plaintiff to prove falsity prevents true speech on public matters from being deterred by the risk that a jury might wrongly find the statements false.
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…effectiveness in this regard is its swift and sure enforcement. The easier it is to get away with rape and murder, the less the deterrent effect on those who are inclined to attempt it. This is still good common sense. If it were not, we should posthaste liquidate the whole law enforcement establishment as a useless,…