Legal Definitions - Powell doctrine

The Powell Doctrine, also known as the Corrupt-Motive Doctrine, is a legal principle in criminal law that states that a conspiracy is only punishable if the agreement was made with an evil purpose, not just with the intention to commit an illegal act.

For example, if two people plan to rob a bank, but one of them has no intention of actually going through with it and is only pretending to go along with the plan, they cannot be charged with conspiracy under the Powell Doctrine because they did not have an evil purpose.

This doctrine originated in the case of People v. Powell in 1875 and has been rejected by the Model Penal Code. However, it is still used in some jurisdictions.