Mens rea Flashcards
What are the different types of mens rea?
intention, recklessness, negligence, transferred malice, coincidence and strict liability
What are the two types of intention?
Direct intent and oblique intent
What is intention?
Where you generally want the outcome you got when committing a crime
What is direct intent and the case connected to it?
Where the defendant has 100% aim and desire for the outcome
Mohammed- drove towards a police officer when he was told to stop his car, 100% aim and desire to scare or injure police
What is oblique intent and the case connected to it?
Where the defendant is 90% virtually certain their actions would cause the outcome
Woollin- couldn’t calm his baby down and threw it into a pram resulting in injuries
not 100% aimed and desired but 90% virtually certain of outcome
What is recklessness and the case connected to it?
Where you take and unjustified risk
G&R- two children set a fire that got out of control and set fire to a co-op, caused millions in damage; can’t apply test as it was justified due to their age
What is the two part test taken to determine if a crime was reckless or not?
1) Realises the risk and takes it
2) Was the risk justified?
What is negligence and the case connected to it?
Where your actions fall below what is expected of you and you are negligent.
Adomako
What is transferred malice and the case connected to it?
Where you aim to commit a certain crime and you are guilty even if your victim is different than from whom you intended
Mitchell- man pushes other man into old woman at post office, she falls and breaks her leg and dies in hospital, defendant is guilty of manslaughter
What is strict liability and the case connected to it?
Where you don’t have full mens rea for the crime and instead have partial mens rea; often relates to small offences where the punishment is a fine
Smedleys- caterpillar found in a tin of peas from a factory, guilty under strict liability
