Arson in United States
Arson Definition
(Lat. ardere, to burn). At common law. The malicious burning of the house of another. Coke, 3d Inst. 66; Bish. Crim. Law, § 415; 4 Bl. Comm. 220; 2 Pick. (Mass.) 320; 10 Cush. (Mass.) 479; 7 Grat. (Va.) 619; 9 Ala. 175; 7 Blackf. (Ind.) 168; 1 Leach, C. C. (4th Ed.) 218. By statute in most, if not all, the states, the house need not be that of another. The house, or some part of it, however small, must be consumed by fire. 9 Car. P. 45; 16 Mass. 105; 110 Mass. 403; 5 Ired. (N. C.) 350; 25 Ired. (N. C.) 570; 62 N. Y. 117. At common law, the building must have been a dwelling house, but this included all buildings within the curtilage. By statute the offense has been extended to other buildings.
Arson in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias
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| Arson | Arson in the World Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Arson | Arson in the European Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Arson | Arson in the Asian Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Arson | Arson in the UK Legal Encyclopedia. |
| Arson | Arson in the Australian Legal Encyclopedia. |
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| Arson | Arson in the Family Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
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| Arson | Arson in the Commercial Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
| Arson | Arson in the Criminal Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
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| Arson | Arson in the Tax Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
| Arson | Arson in the and Finance and Banking Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
| Arson | Arson in the Employment and Labor Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
| Arson | Arson in the Personal Injury and Tort Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
| Arson | Arson in the Environmental Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law. |
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Legal Issue for Attorneys
(Lat. ardere, to burn). At common law. The malicious burning of the house of another. Coke, 3d Inst. 66; Bish. Crim. Law, § 415; 4 Bl. Comm. 220; 2 Pick. (Mass.) 320; 10 Cush. (Mass.) 479; 7 Grat. (Va.) 619; 9 Ala. 175; 7 Blackf. (Ind.) 168; 1 Leach, C. C. (4th Ed.) 218. By statute in most, if not all, the states, the house need not be that of another. The house, or some part of it, however small, must be consumed by fire. 9 Car. P. 45; 16 Mass. 105; 110 Mass. 403; 5 Ired. (N. C.) 350; 25 Ired. (N. C.) 570; 62 N. Y. 117. At common law, the building must have been a dwelling house, but this included all buildings within the curtilage. By statute the offense has been extended to other buildings.
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Notice
This definition of Arson is based on The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary. This entry needs to be proofread.
Practical Information
Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982
The crime of maliciously burning the house of another. In several states arson is divided into three degrees. First-degree arson is the willful act of setting fire at night to a dwelling house with a human being in it; second-degree arson is the act of burning a dwelling house in the daytime with a human in it or the burning in the nighttime of an uninhabited building while endangering an adjoining building with human beings in it; third-degree arson is setting a fire under circumstances not amounting to first or second degree arson or the burning of property with the intent to defraud the insurers.
What is Arson?
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Further Reading (Articles)
Arson: content revised 02/17/06.(SECTION II: Offenses Reported)(Statistical data), Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States; January 1, 2004
Arson., Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States; January 1, 2008
Arson, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States; January 1, 2012
Arsons Go Underreported in National Fire Database, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN); November 24, 2013; Hargrove, Thomas
‘Grossly Underreported’ Arsons Hide Safety Threat, The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, WV); November 27, 2013; Hargrove, Thomas
Arson report urges crackdown on waste, Winnipeg Free Press; March 7, 2012; Skerritt, Jen
ARSON AWARENESS WEEK IN SANTA ROSA, US Fed News Service, Including US State News; May 4, 2008
ARSON AWARENESS WEEK FOCUSES ON COSTLY VEHICLE ARSON, US Fed News Service, Including US State News; May 7, 2007
Arson takes hold, Credit Management; August 1, 2000; Robson, Peter
Arson: the 2005 report.(FIRE INVESTIGATION)(Statistical data), Firehouse Magazine; November 1, 2006; Karchmer, Cliff
Arson Awareness Week: What are you doing to ‘target arson’ in your community?(Originated from Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service), Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; April 30, 1997
ARSON: CRIME OF THE TIMES A COOLING ECONOMY HELPS FUEL THE FIRES, The Boston Globe (Boston, MA); December 16, 1990; Michael Rezendes, Globe Staff
ARSON TOUGH CRIME TO SOLVE FIRES RAGE WITHIN GARY AS CRIMINALS ELUDE LAW, Post-Tribune (IN); July 28, 1991
Arson: hot workplace issue for the 90s., Supervision; September 1, 1994; Ramsey, Robert D.
Arson and the Business Cycle, American Economist; March 22, 2011; Corrigan, Frank E.,, III Siegfried, John J.
Eastern Pa. Arsons’ Price Tag: $38.4M, Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; November 26, 2012; Times-Tribune, The
Arson Awareness Week: Only vigorous community efforts can extinguish this deadly crime.(Originated from Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service), Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; April 29, 1998
ECONOMIC ARSON, The Boston Globe (Boston, MA); September 8, 1991; Matt Carroll, Globe Staff
Surge in arsons baffles fire investigators: State, city officials seek witnesses to ‘crimes of stealth’., The Blade (Toledo, OH); June 4, 2006
Arson Scourge Rages on despite Strike Force: Firefighters, Winnipeg Free Press; June 1, 2013; Rollason, Kevin
Arson in State Statute Topics
Introduction to Arson
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Arson
In Legislation
Arson in the U.S. Code: Title 18, Part I, Chapter 5
The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating arson are compiled in the United States Code under Title 18, Part I, Chapter 5. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Crimes and Criminal Law (including arson) of the United States. The readers can further narrow their legal research on the topic by chapter and subchapter.
Resources
Further Reading
- Information about Arson in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.