Voluntariness concerns the act, intent concerns the motive.

Evidence

An act can’t be inculpatory unless it was voluntary (done consciously), so one can’t be held accountable for acts done while sleepwalking, for example. But whether the actor consciously intended a wrongful consequence of a voluntary act—whether the outcome was intentional—goes to the degree of culpability. The first term looks at the nature of the act itself, the second at the motive behind the act. — Bryan A. Garner, Jeff Newman, Tiger Jackson, The Redbook, 1214

Categorization

• DEFINE: Separates two blameworthiness concepts courts frequently conflate.
• XREF: connects to: Justifying a life requires separating value from motivation. — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 134; Motives of action are linguistically interpreted needs, not unconscious impulses. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2682; Arbitrariness concerns the controls on an act, not its consequences

Related

• Justifying a life requires separating value from motivation. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Justifying a life requires separating value from motivation. #expands (0.60) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 134