Intention - Mens Rea

Question 1

What does mens rea do?

Answer 1

Distinguishes murder from manslaughter - mens rea for murder is the intention to kill or cause GBH

Question 2

Intention shouldn’t be confused with?

Answer 2

The motive👀 (CHANDLER V DPP)

Question 3

First type of intent?

Answer 3

Direct intent.

A consequence is directly intended if it is D’s main aim/purpose or a necessary pre-requisite.

Question 4

MOHAN

Answer 4

D actually wants that result to occur and sets out to achieve it. It is irrelevant as to whether he thinks he is unlikely to succeed in bringing about the result

Question 5

Next type of intention?

Answer 5

Indirect or oblique intention (less straightforward)

Views of judges have changed over the years causing great confusion to all.

Question 6

Rather than try and define intention the courts gave guidelines in which case?

Answer 6

MOLONEY

Question 7

MOLONEY FACTS

Answer 7

D shot and killed his stepfather in a drunken challenge to see who was quicker on the draw with a shot gun. Convicted for murder.

Question 8

MOLONEY RULING

Answer 8

Merely for seeing a consequence was not intention though it could be evidence from which intention might be inferred by the jury.

Question 9

HANCOCK AND SHANKLAND

Answer 9

Conviction was reduced to manslaughter on appeal.

Lord Scarman states that the MOLONEY guidelines particularly the use of the word “natural” were unsafe and misleading.

Question 10

Principle in HANCOCK

Answer 10

‘The more probable the consequence, the more likely that it was foreseen, the more likely it was foreseen, the greater the probability that it was intended’

Question 11

What did HANCOCK establish?

Answer 11

That the MOLONEY guidelines should no longer be used, but gave no indication of how probable a consequence must be foreseen as before it can be said to be intended.

Question 12

NEDRICK

Answer 12

“If they are satisfied that at the material time the and defendant recognised that death was virtually certain”

Question 13

What could the jury do in NEDRICK?

Answer 13

From which the jury may find it easy to infer that he intended to kill or do serious bodily harm

Question 14

WOOLLIN?

Answer 14

The House of Lords said that the model direction in NEDRICK was “pitched at the right level of foresight”

Law lords changed the direction slightly swapping the word ‘infer’ to ‘find’