ABSTRACT
The two instances of legal luck most explored in the literature critical of legal luck involve the tort of negligence and the criminal law of attempts. Legal negligence involves a breach of a duty of care which then causes harm to the person to whom that duty was owed. Courts normally construe “care” as what a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances. Regimes of “strict liability” also involve a high level of legal luck. Strict liability is liability for what one does or causes faultlessly. Numerous facts that are beyond our control impact our legal rights and obligations. The literature on legal luck is often intertwined with the philosophical literature on “moral luck,” a term referring to luck’s putative role in determining a person’s moral record, including blameworthiness, praiseworthiness, accountability, and culpability.
