Guilty Acts, Guilty Minds [Hardcover]

Guilty Acts, Guilty Mindsproposes an understanding ofactus reusandmens rea(the guilty act and guilty mind) as limits on the authority of a democratic state to ascribe guilt. Going beyond discussions of legaljustice, Stephen Garvey argues foractus reusandmens reaas necessary conditions, among others, for thelegitimacyof state punishment.When someone commits a crime, what are the limits on a state's authority to define them as worthy of blame, and thus liable to punishment? This book answers that question, building on two ideas familiar to criminal lawyers:actus reusandmens rea, usually translated as guilty act and guilty mind. InGuilty Acts, Guilty Minds, Stephen P. Garvey proposes an understanding ofactus reusandmens reaas limits on the authority of a state, and in particular the authority of a democratic state, to ascribe guilt to those accused of crime. Garvey argues thatactus reusandmens reaare necessary conditions for legitimate state punishment. Drawing on the work of political philosophers, moral philosophers, and criminal law theorists, Garvey provides clear explanations of how these concepts apply to a wide variety of cases. The book charges readers to consider practical examples and ask: whatever you believe regarding the justice of the rules, did the state act within the scope of its legitimate authority when it enacted those rules into law?Based on extensive research, this book presents a new theory in which the concepts ofactus reusandmens reamark the limits of state power rather than simply describe the elements of a crime. Making the compelling distinction between legitimacy and justice,Guilty Acts, Guilty Mindsprovides an important perspective on the limits of state authority.IntroductionChapter 1 - AuthorityI. Anarchism - Rex's DilemmaA. CriminalizationB. Culpabilĩ