mens rea Flashcards
what is mens rea
the guilty mind part of the crime
what are the 2 main types of mens rea
- intention (direct and oblique)
- recklessness
what is the case for direct intention
mohan ( sped towards a police man )
what is the test for direct intention
does d decide/aim/set out to bring about the consequence
what is a subjective test
what did d think/was thinking
what is an objective test
what would the reasonable person have been thinking
what is oblique intention
when d may have not been trying to do the consequence, but the outcome was so obvious they may as well have
what is the case for oblique intention
Woollin (threw his baby at the wall)
what is the test for oblique intention
- was the consequence a virtual certainty
- did d realise this
what is recklessness
where d realised a risk but carried on with the crime regardless
what is the case for recklessness
cunningham (ripped the gas meter from the wall and caused a gas leak)
what is transferred malice
when d commits a crime intended for one person, but accidentally commits it on another
what are the 2 cases for transferred malice
- r v latimer (hit someone with a belt in a pub fight)
- r v pembilton (threw a stone at a group but missed and smashed a shop window)
when will transferred malice not work
it cannot be transferred from a person to property
what is coincidence
when 2 things happen at once, AR and MR happen at the same time
what is the single transaction theory
when the MR of a crime happens first, the court will extend to MR to meet the AR using the single transaction theory
what is the case for the single transaction theory
R v Thabo Meli (beat v with a bat and threw him off a cliff but he died due to weather exposure)
what is a continuing act
when the AR comes before the MR of a crime, so the court extend the AR to meet the MR
what is the case for continuing act
Fagan v MPC (ran over officers foot then refused to move)
