Attendant circumstance
Attendant circumstances are a
legal concept which
Black's Law Dictionary defines as the "
facts surrounding an
event." With some crimes, it must be proven that certain events occurred (or certain facts are true) in order for a
defendant to be found
guilty. For example: if a law states: "It is illegal to frown
at the police"; then in order for a person to be found guilty of this crime, it would have to be proven that they had frowned "
at the police". Likewise, a law might define a
burglary to be a more serious
felony if it occurred
in a habitation. When verification of an attendant circumstance increases the
penalty for a crime, it is known as an
aggravating circumstance; when verification of an attendant circumstance decreases the penalty, it is known as a
mitigating circumstance.