extenuating circumstances

Extenuating circumstances–also called mitigating factors –are facts or details that are important for fully understanding a situation. With this understanding, the actions a person took in that event might be viewed as less severe, or that person’s culpability in those actions diminished. In a criminal trial , a showing of extenuating circumstances might result in a lower charge or a reduction in punishment, such as a shorter sentence . In civil cases, extenuating circumstances may decrease the amount of damages awarded.

The alternative to extenuating circumstances are aggravating factors , which might increase punishment in a criminal setting.

[Last reviewed in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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