Legal Definition and Related Resources of Arson

At common law , the offense of arson consists in the malicious and voluntary or wilful burning of another’s house or dwelling house or outhouse appurtenant to or a parcel of the dwelling house. The felony was a crime against another’s habitation not against his property . statute law has, however, extended the definition of the crime of arson to include other buildings and structures or personal property . The crime of arson has also been extended to include burning of one’s own property for the purpose of making a claim on the insurer of the said property.In various states, statutory arson is divided into degrees, e.g., first, second and third depending upon the nature of the building , the time of the burning, occupancy of building, etc. See for example. ex parte Bramble, 187 P.2d 411, 31 Ca!.2d43.

(Lat. ardere, to burn). At common law. The malicious burning of the house of another. Coke, 3d Inst. 66; Bish. Crim. Law, § 415; 4 Bl. Comm. 220; 2 Pick. (Mass.) 320; 10 Cush. (Mass.) 479; 7 Grat. (Va.) 619; 9 Ala. 175; 7 Blackf. (Ind.) 168; 1 Leach, C. C. (4th Ed.) 218. By statute in most, if not all, the states, the house need not be that of another. The house, or some part of it, however small, must be consumed by fire. 9 Car. P. 45; 16 Mass. 105; 110 Mass. 403; 5 Ired. (N. C.) 350; 25 Ired. (N. C.) 570; 62 N. Y. 117. At common law, the building must have been a dwelling house, but this included all buildings within the curtilage. By statute the offense has been extended to other buildings.

noun

• criminal setting of fires
• deliberate burning of property
• destruction of property by fire
• fireraising
• firing
• incendiarism
• malicious burning of property
• pyro mania
• set conflagration
• willful burning of property

Browse or run a search for Arson 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.

Arson in Historical Law

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

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

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Simple Arson.

Translate Arson from English to Spanish

Translation of Arson, with examples. More about free online translation into Spanish of Incendiarismo and other legal terms is available here.

• Incendiarismo
• Incendio intencional
• Legal English Translation

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

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

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Arson in Law Enforcement

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

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Police Officer
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

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

English Legal System: Arson

In the context of the English law, A Dictionary of Law provides the following legal concept of Arson :

The intentional or reckless destruction or damaging of property by fire without a lawful excuse. There are two forms of arson corresponding to the two forms of *criminal damage in the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Arson carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Crimes: arson