Understanding ‘Legitimated’ in Court For a Felony
That question has a couple of layers to it, and we first want to look at the difference is between legal and legitimate.
What does legitimate mean in court for a felony? Legitimate acts in the eyes of the law are acts that have been committed in a way that can be deemed lawful by the court. For any action to be considered “legitimate,” there must be no wrongdoing or malice intended during said action’s planning, implementation, or execution.
The difference between legal and legitimate can be confusing because they are both words that represent concepts that are similar but not quite the same. Legitimate is synonymous with ‘legal’ but can also refer to something that is morally proper. On the other hand, legal refers only to something that follows the laws of a given government or state.
What Does Legitimated Mean in Court?
If someone were found driving more than 20 miles over the speed limit then that person may have committed an illegal act, but their driving might also be considered illegitimate because society generally disapproves of speeding even though it may not be illegal in some states.
On the other hand, if speeding is illegal, as well as having a blood alcohol level above 0.08, then both would be examples of an illicit act that is also illegitimate.
The tricky part comes into play if the speeding situation were due to someone trying to get to the hospital for an emergency. Now, we see an illegal situation with a moral presentation.
All things considered, the difference between “legitimate” and “legal” can be summed up by saying that legal refers to what is allowed by law while legitimate covers morality as well.
Additionally, something that is legal might not be legitimate. It may go against popular opinion or society’s norms whereas something legitimate might not be legal because it breaks some sort of social agreement regarding what is right and wrong.
Implications of Legitimacy
The legal system must provide a disincentive for people to engage in criminal behavior and be seen as legitimate by the public. People will only fear punishment if they believe that what they are doing is wrong and will continue to respect and obey laws.
Legitimacy in this sense is an intangible social force, so it is important to assess its prevalence when looking at whether or not the public perceives an action as being good or bad.
One way of checking legitimacy is using polls to see how likely certain cases are to make criminals popular among the general population, which can affect other decisions about these types of cases – especially within politics, where the careers of politicians can be destroyed by unpopular decisions.
Considering the Reasoning Behind a Felony
Legitimacy is a key factor in considering the reasoning behind an action – so if a new law is made, it will fail to have any real influence on a population unless seen as legitimate by the people. If an action leads to widespread public anger and outrage, then this may lead to more criminal behavior as criminals feel that they are doing what others are thinking.
This has been known to happen time and time again following big controversies over perceived miscarriages of justice.
For criminal actions to be successful deterrents against breaking laws, they must first gain public support and legitimacy. Without it, the power of the state will lack authority and become useless as a tool to stop criminal behavior. This is why it is so important for police, prosecutors and the judiciary to be seen as being both effective and fair in their actions.
For example, if a judge makes a decision that appears to benefit someone who had committed a crime, then this will create an impression of bias in the justice system and lead people to believe that they can get away with crimes through manipulation or bribery.
After all, how much fear could one have of any penalty when the actions taken by law enforcement are unfair? Legitimate acts in the eyes of the law are acts that have been committed in a way that can be deemed lawful by the court. In order for any act to be considered “legitimate,” there must be no wrongdoing or malice intended during said action’s planning, implementation, or execution.
Some forms of legitimate actions people might consider when they think about this topic include: timely filing of taxes, following all state and federal laws while driving a car, and submitting to a breathalyzer test if stopped by an officer while drinking alcohol. All examples listed thus far have individual consequences associated with them if the person does not follow through on legitimizing their actions.
Legitimacy In a Felony
But what about something as big as a felony? A felony is referred to as a serious crime involving moral turpitude, which means it is an act that society has deemed it necessary to punish with fines, imprisonment, or both.
Felonies are similar to misdemeanors in the sense that they are crimes punishable by law; however, felonies tend to be more serious than misdemeanors and also result in greater punishments if found guilty.
In any situation where something formerly recognized as wrong has been made right, that is legitimization. The legality in the court situation is referring to your criminal behavior and how it is no longer illegal. Legitimizing a felony means that even though it used to be against the law, the perpetrator’s actions will no longer be punishable by law or society.
It’s possible that this could refer to a legal case where someone was charged with a felony but has been legitimized because of extenuating circumstances. Legitimizing a felony means that, even though it used to be against the law, the perpetrator’s actions will no longer be punishable by law or society.
It could also mean that you were illegitimate before but have since been legitimated through some legal process. In either case, legitimizing a felony means you are no longer going to face criminal charges for an action that was previously seen as illegal under certain circumstances.
Legitimizing Actions In a Felony Case
When someone is accused of a felony, he or she can legitimize his or her action by being able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime was not premeditated.
If it is proven that the alleged suspect acted without thinking about what he or she was doing ahead of time, sometimes called “sudden passion,” then the charges might be reduced depending on what exactly happened after said criminal action took place.
Legitimizing a felony can thus mean convincing the judge and/or jury that the individual did not have time to think about his or her actions in advance before committing them.
Legitimizing a felony is a complicated process, but it is important for anyone who gets arrested on suspicion of committing a crime to know what their options are so they can make an informed decision regarding their defense. If you have been accused of a felony, it is best to seek legal advice from an attorney immediately after being apprehended by law enforcement authorities.
Is It Wrong to Legitimize a Felony?
How would legalizing drugs affect the people who currently profit from them illegally? Take drugs as an example. Cannabis is mostly known as an illegal drug in most countries across the world, but there are places where it’s not only legal but can be easily bought at pharmacies.
However, just because something isn’t entirely forbidden doesn’t mean there won’t be any sort of punishment if you’re caught doing it. So what happens when cannabis becomes fully legalized? Will people still buy on the black market even if they don’t have to? Is there anything stopping would-be customers from just going to the pharmacy?
Final Thoughts
In summary therefore the word legitimate is not about conferring legality as much as it is about being seen as within moral bounds or without blame. As an adjective, it means something like “in accordance with the law, legal”; emphasis on the ‘in accordance’ part.
In court, if you are accused of a crime and the judge or jury is asked to decide whether it was committed, they would consider whether there were mitigating circumstances. If they determined that the crime was not premeditated but committed when someone lost control, for example, this could be used in your favor when deciding what punishment to give you.
However, in serious cases such as murder, this may not be enough to convince them that you did not commit a ‘felony’ (a serious crime with a long sentence). The fact that your actions were carried out in emotional response to an event rather than being planned might instead mean that you took part in manslaughter which can carry a shorter prison sentence.
Therefore ‘legitimation’ is about reducing the gravity of an offense, namely making it less severe, so it has a different legal meaning from legitimate. It also does not mean conferring legality because legitimacy derives from morals and ethics whereas legality only comes from laws and regulations.
It can truly change everything about a case, a sentence, and a person’s life.
