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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Merger Doctrine
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A quick definition of Merger Doctrine:
The merger doctrine in criminal law means that if someone commits an act that can be considered two different crimes at the same time, they will only be charged with the more serious offense. This is to prevent them from being charged twice for the same action. For example, if someone steals a car and also assaults the owner, they will only be charged with the more serious crime of assault and not both theft and assault.
A more thorough explanation:
The Merger Doctrine is a legal principle in criminal law that applies when a defendant commits a single act that satisfies the definition of two separate offenses. In such cases, the lesser of the two offenses will be dropped, and the defendant will only be charged with the greater offense. This is done to prevent double jeopardy issues from arising.
For example, if a person commits a robbery and also assaults the victim during the robbery, the two offenses may merge. In this case, the assault charge would be dropped, and the defendant would only be charged with robbery.
Another example is if a person commits a burglary and also steals property during the burglary. The theft charge may merge with the burglary charge, and the defendant would only be charged with burglary.
These examples illustrate how the Merger Doctrine works in practice. By dropping the lesser offense, the defendant is not punished twice for the same act, which would violate the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.