Mitigating Circumstances

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Sonya,

I put your query to Alan Masson, who is the head of employment law at MacRoberts solicitors. His response is summarised as follows:

- Generally, mitigating circumstances are an explanation put forward to a court, when pleading guilty to a charge - the effect being not to exculpate the accused from the doing of the act concerned but to at least justify or explain it to some extent, in the hope that it can have the effect of persuading the court to reduce the penalty.

- For example, someone rushing their wife (who is in labour) to hospital, who speeds and jumps a red traffic light, if charged with dangerous driving, might in mitigation plead the circumstances which led to him doing so. The result might be that the penalty imposed might be reduced or a lesser charge e.g. speeding accepted instead.

- However, it does involve an admission of guilt or, if not in a criminal context but say in an employment situation, an acknowledgement of fault coupled with an excuse for the behaviour. The aim is always to lighten the consequent penalty.

Does that help? I think that - by definition - where there are mitigating circumstances there must have been some sort of culpable action.

Ciaron

Is there anything to say the person needs to admit to a 'wrongful act' before they can use mitigating circumstances in their defence?

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That's also the definition given by www.thelegaldictionary.com - it seems to make sense.

According to my online dictionary mitigating circumstances means -

?Those which do not constitute a justification or excuse for an offence but which may be considered as reasons for reducing the degree of blame?

It sounds about right to me but what do others think?

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Could you provide me with an exact definition of 'mitigating circumstances'.

Thanks