Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result". That is to say that causation provides a means of connecting conduct with a resulting effect, typically an injury. In criminal law, it is defined as the actus reus (an action) from which the specific injury or other effect arose and is combined with mens rea (a state of mind) to comprise the elements of guilt. Causation is only applicable where a result has been achieved and therefore is immaterial with regard to inchoate offenses.

Most legal systems are to a greater or lesser extent concerned with the notions of fairness and justice. If a state is going to penalise a person or require that person to pay compensation to another for losses incurred, this imposition of liability will be derived from the idea that those who injure others should take responsibility for their actions. Although some parts of any legal system will have qualities of strict liability, in which the mens rea is immaterial to the result and subsequent liability of the actor, most look to establish liability by showing that the defendant was the cause of the particular injury or loss.

The Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws are made by governments, specifically by their legislatures. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution (written or unwritten) and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics and society in countless ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people.

A general distinction can be made between civil law jurisdictions (including Canon and Socialist law), in which the legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates their laws and common law systems (including Sharia), where judge-made binding precedents are accepted. In some countries, religion may inform the law; for example, in jurisdictions that practice Islamic law, Jewish law or Canon law.

The adjudication of the law is generally divided into two main areas. Criminal law deals with conduct that is designated dishonest by the government and in which the guilty party may be imprisioned or fined. Civil law (not to be confused with civil law jurisdictions above) deals with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the wronged litigant.

Richard Steven Goldberg (born November 9, 1945) is a convicted sex offender and a former fugitive who was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on June 14, 2002. Goldberg is the 474th fugitive to be placed on the list. He was captured in Montreal, Canada on May 12, 2007, and subsequently convicted and sentenced to imprisonment of twenty years.

In 2001, Goldberg, a former Boeing aerospace engineer originally from Brooklyn, New York, became a babysitter in the Long Beach, California area by gaining the trust of neighborhood parents and making his home attractive to children. Goldberg had several children's items such as computer games, children's music, art supplies, swings, children's soap, and cages with rabbits and ducks.

On May 11, 2001, two young girls playing on Goldberg's computer saw an image of two of their young friends naked with their neighbor. Authorities were alerted and an investigation was launched when six neighborhood children reported being sexually assaulted by Goldberg. Police searched his home in June 2001 and seized his computer. Investigators discovered images of child pornography on his computer, including photos of Goldberg himself, engaged in sex acts with children. Goldberg was arrested and he fled after $50,000 had been posted for his bail.