transferred intent

transferred intent
transferred intent see intent

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

transferred intent
Intent to commit a criminal or civil wrong against one person that instead harms a different person. In this situation, the intent necessary to convict or find the wrongdoer liable transfers from the intended act to the committed act. For example, someone who intends to shoot and kill one person, but misses and kills a bystander may be convicted of murder; the perpetrator had the necessary criminal intent even though he or she didn't intend to kill the bystander.
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Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


transferred intent
n. A doctrine in both criminal and tort law that holds that if one intends to harm Party A, but accidentally (or for some other reason) harms Party B, the harm will be treated as if Party B were the intended victim. This is a legal fiction designed to bring about the desired outcome, which is for the person to be held responsible for and prosecuted for an act of intent, and is most frequently applied in cases where there is a homicide involved.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.

transferred intent
n.
   in both criminal and tort (civil wrong) law, when an intent to cause harm to one person results in harm to another person instead of the intended target, the law transfers the intent to the actual harm. Examples: a) with malice aforethought Nate Nogood intends to shoot his girlfriend and misses her, and the bullet hits a passerby, killing him. Nogood may be charged with first degree murder since the intent to commit murder is transferred to the actual crime. b) Steve Swinger takes a punch at Harvey Hasgood, his hated enemy, misses Hasgood and hits Hasgood's date, Teri Truehart, in the nose, breaking it. Truehart can not only sue Swinger for damages due to the assault but can claim punitive damages because the malice against Hasgood attaches to the hit upon Truehart.
   See also: intent

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Transferred intent — (or transferred malice in English law) is a doctrine used in both criminal law and tort law when the intention to harm one individual inadvertently causes a second person to be hurt instead. Under the law, the individual causing the harm will be… …   Wikipedia

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  • transferred intent — criminal intent to commit a crime toward a factor other than the one that was actually injured …   English contemporary dictionary

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