The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
'Super-aggravated' crimes and sentences
It's common to have "aggravated" versions of crimes, where some circumstance leads to a much higher sentence (e.g., "aggravated assault" as opposed to simple assault); likewise, one sometimes hears of aggravated sentences.
But I just learned that Arizona courts have, since 1997, spoken of "super-aggravated" sentences, which are beyond the normal level of aggravated sentences; and Texas courts, since 2009, of "super-aggravated sexual assault" (apparently, sexual assault of a young child, which one should expect would be treated as an extremely serious crime). Bad behavior, but also an interesting label, likely because it sounds more colloquial than you'd expect a court to use.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?