Quiz

Understanding Mens Rea in Criminal Law

• Mens rea is the mental state of a person committing a crime, and it is a legal determination of a crime that may depend upon both mental state and actus reus.

• The standard common law test of criminal liability is expressed in the Latin phrase actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, i.e., "the act is not culpable unless the mind is guilty."

• The types of mental states that apply to crimes vary depending on whether a jurisdiction follows criminal law under the common law tradition or, within the United States, according to the Model Penal Code.

• In civil law, it is usually not necessary to prove a subjective mental element to establish liability for breach of contract or tort, but if a tort is intentionally committed or a contract is intentionally breached, such intent may increase the scope of liability and the damages payable to the plaintiff.

• The American Law Institute (which issues "restatements" of American legal jurisprudence) declined to issue a restatement of criminal law in favor of a "model" code for states to issue new, standardized criminal law. This Model Penal Code ("MPC") was completed in 1962.

• The formulation of mens rea set forth in the Model Penal Code has been highly influential throughout the United States in clarifying the discussion of the different modes of culpability.

• The MPC recognizes culpability not because of a mental state but for crimes that are legislatively proscribed due to the imposition of "absolute liability."

• The elements constituting a crime vary between codes that draw on common law principles and those that draw from the Model Penal Code.

• Scholars have criticized the levels of culpability in the current Model Penal Code as insufficient or needing revision.

• In Islamic law, intention (niyya) is a criterion for determining whether a criminal act is punishable or pardonable, or whether the penalty for such a crime is predetermined (ḥadd) or discretionary (taʿzīr).

• The general rule under common law and statutory law is that ignorance of the law or a mistake of law is no defense to criminal prosecution.

• A hybrid test for the existence of mens rea is subjective and objective.

• The court will have little difficulty establishing mens rea if there is actual evidence, for instance, if the accused made an admissible admission.Understanding Mens Rea in Criminal Law

• Mens rea is a legal term that refers to the mental state or intention of a person when committing a crime.

• The concept of mens rea is important in determining criminal liability and punishment.

• The burden of proof in criminal cases requires that a jury must have a high degree of certainty before convicting, defined as "beyond a reasonable doubt" in the United States and "sure" in the United Kingdom.

• In English law, s. 8 Criminal Justice Act 1967 provides a statutory framework within which mens rea is assessed.

• The jury is allowed a wide latitude in applying a hybrid test to impute intention or foresight (for the purposes of recklessness) on the basis of all the evidence.

• Motive is not normally a defense, but may be addressed in the sentencing part of the trial, when the court considers what punishment, if any, is appropriate.

• Recklessness is the subjective evidence that the accused foresaw but did not desire the particular outcome.

• The greater the probability of that risk maturing into the foreseen injury, the greater the degree of recklessness and, subsequently, sentence rendered.

• Criminal negligence is both subjective and objective, where there is credible subjective evidence that the particular accused neither foresaw nor desired the particular outcome.

• A reasonable person with the same abilities and skills as the accused would have foreseen and taken precautions to prevent the loss and damage being sustained.

• Only a small percentage of offenses are defined with this mens rea requirement.

• Most legislatures prefer to base liability on either intention or recklessness.