DOLI CAPAX

doli  capax  (doh-lIkay-paks),  adj.[Latin  “capable  of  wrong”]  Roman  law.  Capable  of

committing a crime or tort; esp., old enough to determine right from wrong. — Also termed capax

doli. Cf. DOLI INCAPAX.

“In criminal cases, an infant of the age of fourteen years may be capitally punished for any

capital offence: but under the age of seven he cannot. The  period between seven and fourteen is

subject  to  much  incertainty:  for  the  infant  shall,  generally  speaking,  be  judged  prima  facie

innocent;  yet  if  he  was  doli  capax,  and  could  discern  between  good  and  evil  at  the  time  of  the

offence committed, he may be convicted and undergo judgment and execution of death, though he

hath  not attained to  years of  puberty  or discretion.” 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the

Laws of England 452–53 (1765). [Blacks Law 8th]