Okuzeka
Criminal Law & Justice vocabulary · Sentencing & Punishment

Mitigating circumstances

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

/ˌmɪtɪɡeɪtɪŋ ˈsɜːkəmstænsɪz/nounCommon term

In criminal law & justice, mitigating circumstances means: Facts about an offence or offender that make the crime less serious or the offender less to blame, and so can lead to a lighter sentence.

In Turkish: hafifletici sebepler, takdiri indirim nedenleri, cezayı hafifleten haller

How it is used

After a conviction, defence lawyers present 'mitigation' or a 'plea in mitigation', pointing to factors such as a clean record, remorse, a guilty plea, youth or mental health problems. Judges balance mitigating circumstances against 'aggravating factors'.

Example sentences

  1. The judge accepted that there were strong mitigating circumstances.

  2. His lawyer argued that his illness was a mitigating circumstance.

Common collocations

  • strong mitigating circumstances
  • plea in mitigation
  • take mitigating circumstances into account
  • mitigating factors
  • aggravating factorA fact about a crime that makes it more serious and can lead to a longer or heavier sentence, such as using a weapon or targeting a vulnerable victim.
  • sentenceThe punishment that a judge gives a person who has been found guilty; as a verb, to give someone a particular punishment.
  • plead guiltyTo tell the court formally that you admit committing the crime you are charged with; 'plead not guilty' means you deny it.
  • criminal recordAn official list of the crimes a person has been convicted of, which employers or authorities may check in some situations.

More terms: Sentencing & Punishment

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.