Dictionary Search: "Motive" - Pakistan Law Portal

Bad motive

see motive,

Motive

Something, esp. willful desire, that leads one to act. - Also termed ulterior intent. CE INTENT. "The term 'motive' is unfortunately ambiguous. That feeling which internally urges or pushes a person to do or refrain from doing an act is an emotion, and is of course evidential towards his doing or not doing the act. But when that evidential fact comes in turn to be evidenced, we must rely on two sorts of data, (a) the person's own expressions of that emotion, e.g., 'I hate M,' or 'I wish I owned that necklace'; and (b) external circumstances likely in human experience to arouse the emotion, e.g., a slander on D may be evidence that D became angry; a purse of money left in sight of D may be evidence that D's desire to have it was aroused. Now this second sort of evidential circumstance (b) is loosely referred to as 'motive,' - though in reality it is only evidential of the emotion, which itself is evidential of the act." John H. Wigmore, A Students' Textbook of the Law of Evidence 76 (1935).

bad motive

A person's knowledge that an act is wrongful while the person commits the act.

corrupt-motive doctrine

Criminal law. The rule that conspiracy is punishable only if the agreement was entered into with an evil purpose, not merely with an intent to do the illegal act. ( This doctrine - which originated in People v. Powell, 63 N.Y. 88 (1875) - has been rejected by the Model Penal Code. - Also termed Powell doctrine.

malicious motive

A motive for bringing a prosecution, other than to do justice.

mixed-motive doctrine

Employment law. The principle that, when the evidence in an employment-discrimination case shows that the complained-of employment action was based in part on a nondiscriminatory reason and in part on a discriminatory reason, the plaintiff must show that discrimination was a motivating factor for the employment action and, if the plaintiff makes that showing, then the defendant must show that it would have taken the same action without regard to the discriminatory reason.