This document is a summary of Mens Rea within Criminal Law, using cases to back up answers
All my documents are marked and scored by my Law Tutor who was also a solicitor. They are, at least, of a good standard. Marks out of 10 given by tutor:
Whole document - 10
This will be part of a bundle, p...
Mens Rea
Mens Rea is what is known as the mental element of an offence or “the guilty mind” of the
defendant at the time of the offence. The different types of Mens Rea, intention and
recklessness, are used for different severities of offences.
The first type of Mens Rea is known as intention, in the case of R v Mohan, intention is referred
to “a decision to bring about the criminal consequence, it does not matter whether the accused
desired the consequence of his act or not”. This means that the D’s reasoning for the act is not
relevant but it is important to note that the defendant decided to bring about the offence. Direct
intent means that the defendant must of had a desire, aim and a purpose to bring about an
offence, again proven by R v Mohan. Oblique intent, however, is used when the offence is not
clearly what D wanted to achieve and so it is for a jury to find that they had the intent of the
result. In R v Woollin, the outcome of that case stated that the jury may only find intent if they
can see that serious harm was a virtual certain consequence of D’s act and they also have to
find that D appreciates that fact. However, Oblique intent is only used for serious offences, such
as GBH, which require intention as the MR.
The second type of Mens Rea is known as recklessness, the definition of which is “taking an
unjustifiable risk and carry on regardless.” The case of R v Cunningham brought about
subjective recklessness. In this case, subjective recklessness is when the D takes and
unjustifiable risk and can foresee that some sort of harm can occur. However, the case of R v
Savage, the defendant does not have to foresee risk of actual or serious hard but just some
harm.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller tiredwhale. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £2.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
