statutory offense
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statutory offense
n.
A criminal offense declared and defined by statute, especially in contrast to a criminal offense declared and defined by the judiciary.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
stat′utory offense′
n.
a wrong punishable under a statute, rather than at common law. Also called statutory crime.
[1930–35]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | statutory offense - crimes created by statutes and not by common law crime, criminal offence, criminal offense, law-breaking, offense, offence - (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes" sex crime, sex offense, sexual abuse, sexual assault - a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat; "most states have replaced the common law definition of rape with statutes defining sexual assault" bigamy - the offense of marrying someone while you have a living spouse from whom no valid divorce has occurred |
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