Criminal law

  • Accusare nemo se debet nisi coram deo. No one is bound to accuse himself except before God.
  • Accusator post rationabile tempus non est audiendus, nisi se bene de omissione excusaverit. An accuser ought not to be heard after (the expiration of) a reasonable time, unless he can account satisfactorily for his delay.
  • Actio non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea. An act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is guilty. • Properly, Actus non reum (q.v.).
  • Actio poenalis in haeredem non datur, nisi forte ex damno locupletior haeres factus sit. A penal action is not given against an heir, unless, indeed, the heir has benefited from the wrong.
  • Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea. An act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is guilty; an act does not make the doer criminal unless his mind is criminal. • Coke gives the maxim in a slightly different form: Actus non reum facit nisi mens sit rea. 3 Co. Inst. 54; 107.
  • Aestimatio praeteriti delicti ex postremo facto nunquam crescit. The assessment of a past offense never increases from a subsequent fact.
  • Affectus punitur licet non sequatur effectus. The intention is punished even if the object is not achieved.
  • Agentes et consentientes pari poena plectentur. Acting and consenting parties will be liable to the same punishment.
  • Allegans contraria non est audiendus. A person making contradictory allegations is not to be heard.
  • Allegans suam turpitudinem non est audiendus. A person alleging his own wrong is not to be heard.
  • Arma in armatos sumere jura sinunt. The laws permit taking up arms against the armed.
  • Baratriam committit qui propter pecuniam justitiam baractat. A person is guilty of barratry who sells justice for money.
  • Carcer ad homines custodiendos, non ad puniendos, dari debet. Imprisonment should be imposed for keeping people in confinement, not for punishing them (further). Co. Litt. 260a.
  • Carcer non supplicii causa sed custodiae constitutus. A prison is established not for the sake of punishment, but for detention under guard.
  • C’est le crime qui fait la honte, et non pas véchafaud. It is the crime that causes the shame, and not the scaffold.
  • Clam delinquens magis punitur quam palam. A person who does wrong secretly is punished more severely than one who acts openly. 8 Coke 127.
  • Cogitationis poenam nemo meretur. No one deserves punishment for his thoughts.
  • Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur. No one is punished for his thoughts.
  • Condictio rei furtivae, quia rei habet persecutionem, haeredem quoque furis obligat. Because the condictio for a stolen thing has the aim of recovering the asset, it also binds the thief’s heir. Dig. 13.1.7.2.
  • Crimen trahit personam. The crime brings with it the person. • That is, the commission of a crime gives the courts of the place where it is committed jurisdiction over the person of the offender.
  • Culpae poena par esto. Let the punishment be equal to the crime.
  • Impunitas continuum affectum tribuit delinquendi. Impunity provides a constant inclination to wrongdoing. 4 Coke 45.
  • Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat. Impunity invites (an offender) to ever worse offenses.
  • In capitalibus sufficit generalis malitia, cum facto paris gradus. In capital cases general malice, with an act of an equal degree of guilt, is sufficient.
  • In criminalibus sufficit generalis malitia intentionis cum facto paris gradus. In criminal cases, a general wickedness of intention is sufficient if combined with an act of equal or corresponding degree.
  • In omnibus (fere) poenalibus judiciis, et aetati et imprudentiae succurritur. In almost all penal judgments, allowance is made for age (or youth) and lack of discretion. Dig. 50.17.108.
  • Invitus nemo rem cogitur defendere. Nobody is compelled to make a defense if he is unwilling. Dig. 50.17.156pr.
  • Lex pure poenalis obligat tantum ad poenam, non item ad culpam; lex poenalis mixta, et ad culpam obligat, et ad poenam. The law that is strictly penal is binding only as to penalty, not as to fault; the mixed penal law is binding as to both fault and penalty.
  • Nemo bis vexari pro (una et) eadem causa. May no one be troubled twice for (one and) the same cause.
  • Nemo cogitationis poenam patitur. No one suffers punishment for his thoughts.
  • Nemo debet bis puniri pro uno delicto; quod Deus non agit bis in id ipsum. No one should be punished twice for one crime, as God does not act twice against that very thing. 4 Coke 118.
  • Non defendere videtur qui, praesens, negat se defendere. One who refuses to defend himself, though present (in court), is regarded as having no defense.
  • Nulla virtus, nulla scientia locum suum et dignitatem conservare potest sine modestia. Without moderation, no virtue, no knowledge can preserve its place and dignity.
  • Nullus dicitur accessorius post feloniam sed ille qui novit principalem feloniam fecisse, et illum receptavit et comfortavit. No one is called an accessory after the fact but that person who knew the principal to have committed a felony, and received and comforted him.
  • Nullus dicitur felo principalis nisi actor aut qui praesens est, abettans aut auxilians actorem ad feloniam faciendam. No one is called a principal felon except the party actually committing the felony, or the party who was present aiding and abetting the perpetrator in its commission.
  • Ob infamiam non solet juxta legem terrae aliquis per legem apparentem se purgare, nisi prius convictus, vel confessus in curia. Faced with accusation (of a crime), it is not usual for a man to acquit himself by law of the land (by battle or ordeal) unless he has been previously convicted, or confessed in open court. Glanvil Book 14, ch.2.
  • Peccata suos teneant auctores, nec ulterius progrediatur metus quam reperiatur delictum. Offenses should bind their own perpetrators (only), and threat (of punishment) should not proceed further than the sphere of the crime.
  • Qui vim facit dolo malo facit. He who uses force (deliberately) acts with malice. Dig. 47.8.2.8 (with the example of gathering a group of armed men for a robbery).
  • Qui vi rapuit, fur improbior esse videtur. One who robs by violence is a more shameless thief. 4 Bl. Com. 242.
  • Quod a quoque poenae nomine exactum est id eidem restituere nemo cogitur. What has been exacted from someone as a penalty no one is obliged to restore to him.
  • Rerum inhonestarum nulla est societas. A partnership in crime is not partnership at all. Dig. 17.2.57.