Legal Dictionary
Main Entry:
mitigating circumstanceFunction:
noun : a circumstance in the commission of an act that lessens the degree of criminal culpability
mitigating circumstances>; also : a circumstance or factor relating to an offense or defendant that does not bear on the question of culpability but that receives consideration by the court esp. in lessening the severity of a sentence mitigating circumstance of the defendant's terminal illness> —compare AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCE
