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Mens Rea
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Class notes on Mens Rea
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Mens ReaMens Rea is the mental element of a person’s intention to commit a crime.
In other words, what was the defendant’s mental state and what did the
defendant intend when the crime was committed.
Mens rea allows the criminal justice system to differentiate between
someone who did not mean to commit a crime and someone who
intentionally set out to commit a crime.
Mens Rea
Intentional: If the act was Unintentional: Mens rea Negligence: a
intentional (i.e., you took a gun can still be satisfied, even defendant must fail to
and shot someone) then mens if the outcome was reach the standard of
rea is satisfied. care that a reasonable
unintentional.
person would take and
Unintentional harmful the failure to reach this
behaviour comes in two standard of care must
different forms: cause harm to the victim.
Direct: Indirect: Mistake of Mistake of Recklessness:
If the Said to exist Fact: Law: The position is subjective
defendant where the Says that a If you as to the defendant
was hoping defendant defendant was undertake foreseeing the risks. The
for the embarks on a acting based criminal position is objective as to
outcome, (i.e., course of on mistaken behaviour, but the reasonableness of the
the defendant conduct to knowledge. You honestly are risk taken.
wanted the bring about a cannot satisfy not aware that
victim to die). desired result, Mens Rea if it is against
Most criminal knowing that you were not in the law to do
cases fall into the possession of so, you fall
this category. consequence of all the facts. under
his actions will ‘Mistake of
also bring Law’. You are
about another still liable for
result. your
behaviour.
Mens Rea: Motive
The wording which is used in most criminal laws often dictates what is
required for Mens rea to be satisfied, for example:
Knowingly: a drug trafficking law might require that the person
“knowingly” imported an illegal drug into the country. If the defendant
had been given a parcel to deliver to someone, and the defendant
genuinely did not know that the parcel contained an illegal drug, then
the necessary Mens rea or mental state has not been established and
no crime was committed.
Maliciously or Wilfully: this is a “heightened” form of intentionally/
knowingly and will result in a higher degree of charge. For example, it
is one thing to get mad at someone and knowingly kill them in a fit of
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