Legal Definition and Related Resources of Corpus Delicti

The body of the crime ; evidence that a crime was committed. In relation to murder , it consists of the fact of death and fact that death was caused by criminal agency of some person . See People v Wetzel, 17 Cal. Rptr. 879, 198 C.A.2d541. In relation to larceny , it consists of the fact that the property was lost by the owner and that it was lost by felonious taking.

The body of the offense. The offense itself, as distinguished from the participation of any person therein. Thus, the corpus delicti of homicide is that a person has died by violence, not mere-‘ ly that he has died (43 Miss. 472), though the weight of authority is that the mere fact that a building has been burned is the corpus delicti of arson (29 Ga. 105; 33 Miss. 347. Contra, 76 Ala. 42). The proof of a charge in criminal cases involves the proof of two distinct propositions: First, that the act itgelf was done; and second, that it was done “by the person or persons charged, and by none other in other words, proof of a corpus delicti, and the identity of the person or persons. lETS 111. 589; 150 111. 186.

Browse or run a search for Corpus Delicti in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Corpus Delicti in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Corpus Delicti in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Corpus Delicti in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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This definition of Corpus Delicti is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

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Corpus delicti in the Dictionary of Law consisting of Judicial Definitions and Explanations of Words, Phrases and Maxims

The body of the offense; the fact of a crime.

Note: This legal definition of Corpus delicti in the Dictionary of Law (English and American Jurisprudence) is from 1893.

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

Morris, Norval. “Corpus Delicti and Circumstantial Evidence.” Law Quarterly Review 68 (1952): 391-396.

Mullen, Thomas A. “Rule without Reason: Requiring Independent Proof of the Corpus Delicti as a Condition of Admitting an Extrajudicial Confession.” University of San Francisco Law Review 27 (1993): 385-418.

Perkins, Rollin M. “The Corpus Delicti of Murder.” Virginia Law Review 48 (1962): 173-195.

Corpus delicti in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of corpus delicti.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Policeman
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• corpus delicti in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• corpus delicti in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

Meaning of Corpus Delicti in the U.S. Legal System

Definition of Corpus Delicti published by the National Association for Court Management: Body of the crime. The objective proof that a crime has been committed. It sometimes refers to the body of the victim of a homicide or to the charred shell of a burned house, but the term has a broader meaning. For the state to introduce a confession or to convict the accused, it must prove a corpus delicti, that is, the occurrence of a specific injury or loss and a criminal act as the source of that particular injury or loss.