Lecture notes
Law 2160 Mens Rea Notes
- Module
- Criminal Law
- Institution
- Newcastle University (NCL)
Comprehensive and detailed Lecture Notes on Mens Rea for Criminal law . * Essential!! * Precise!! * For you!!
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Mens ReaDefinition of Mens Rea:
Mens Rea is the legal term used to describe the element of the criminal law that relates to the
defendant’s mental state. Different crimes have different mens rea requirements.
There are varying types of Mens Rea; we will consider: Intention, Recklessness and Negligence
INTENTION
Two Types of Intention
1. Direct Intention: Your (ultimate) aim or purpose
2. Indirect/ Oblique Intention: Not what one aims to do but what is a necessary side effect or
means to an end of one’s aim
Glanville Williams in “Oblique Intention” (1987) 46 C.L.J. 417 at 421 states:
Direct intention is where the consequence is what you are aiming at.
Oblique intention is something you see clearly, but out of the corner of your
eye. The consequence is (figuratively speaking) not in the straight line of
your purpose, but a side-effect that you accept as an inevitable or ‘certain’
accompaniment of your direct intent.
The primary meaning of intention
No statutory definition of Intention. The legal meaning is the ordinary meaning of the word.
R v Moloney [1985] AC 905 – the golden rule
Evolution of the test for Indirect/Oblique Intention
1
, While it was accepted in law that when talking about oblique intention it was necessary that the
accused had foreseen the side effect or consequence, two issues were unclear. (1) how
likely/certain the consequence that was foreseen must be before you could say the accused
intended it; and (2) what significance was to be attached to foresight (evidential or definitional).
This was settled (at least for now) in the case of Woollin which built upon the previous decision
of Nedrick. NB: leading authority on the meaning of indirect intention is Woollin
Earlier Cases:
Hyam v DPP [1975] AC 55
R v Moloney [1985] 1 All ER 1025
Hancock & Shankland [1986] 1 All ER 641
Nedrick [1986] 1 WLR 1025
Level of foresight
the jury should be directed that they are not entitled to infer the necessary intention,
unless they feel sure that death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty
(barring some unforeseen intervention) as a result of the defendant’s actions and the
defendant appreciated that such was the case.
Guidelines offered
When determining whether the D had the necessary intent, it may therefore be helpful for a jury to ask themselves
two questions:
1. How probable was the consequence which resulted from the D’s voluntary act;
2. Did he foresee that consequence
R v Woollin [1999] 1 AC 82
Modified the Nedrick test:
the jury are not entitled to find the necessary intention unless they feel sure that
death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty (barring some unforeseen
intervention) as a result of the defendant’s actions and that the defendant appreciated
that such was the case.
Two possible interpretations of Woollin:
1. Definitional Interpretation
Lord Steyn - “a result foreseen as virtually certain is an intended result”.
2
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