Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971)
Culpability is when someone is legally responsible for doing something wrong. It means they are to blame for their actions. To be held criminally responsible, a person's mental state must be proven to have been purposeful, knowing, reckless, or negligent. Different states have their own definitions of culpability, but they are all based on the Model Penal Code.
Culpability is the legal responsibility for a criminal act. It means that a person can be blamed for doing something wrong. To be held criminally liable, a person's mental state (mens rea) must be proven. This means that the person must have intended to commit the crime, known that their actions could lead to a crime, or acted recklessly or negligently.
These examples show how different states have laws that define culpability and what it means. They also show that there are different levels of culpability that can lead to criminal liability, depending on a person's mental state when they committed the crime.