Overlaps and Undercurrents: The Timing of Tortious and Criminal Actions for the Same Wrong

30 Pages Posted: 14 Oct 2011 Last revised: 17 Oct 2013

See all articles by Matthew Dyson

Matthew Dyson

Faculty of Law and Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford

Date Written: September 11, 2011

Abstract

This paper traces one key example of the overlap between tort and crime and explains the impact of our disjointed thinking on these two areas. For about 400 years English civil courts have accepted some form of pre-eminence of the criminal law where civil and serious criminal liability co-exist. This is often referred to as the rule that “a trespass merges in a felony.” The paper sets out how this rule was created, how it has evolved and the form it is in now. Having charted the development, the paper moves on to explain why the key stages in that development happened.

The complex and surprising history of the merger rule demonstrates the role of procedural, substantive, policy and mechanical factors in the development of legal rules. It also shows just how important and intricate the interfaces of tort and crime can be.

Keywords: Tort, Crime, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Legal History, Trespass merging in a Felony, Smith v Selwyn, Higgins v Butcher

JEL Classification: K13

Suggested Citation

Dyson, Matthew, Overlaps and Undercurrents: The Timing of Tortious and Criminal Actions for the Same Wrong (September 11, 2011). (2012) 71(1) Cambridge Law Journal 86, University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 48/2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1944230 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1944230

Matthew Dyson (Contact Author)

Faculty of Law and Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford ( email )

Merton Street
Oxford, OX1 4JF
United Kingdom

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