mens rea Flashcards
when is mens rea required
not all the time, some may require mens rea but it may also be required to be done with a certain state of mind
what is mens rea
the mental element also known as the guilty mind
words we associate with the concept of mens rea
intention, recklessness, negligence
why mens rea?
to identify where to apportion culpability
what is the defintion of culpability
blameworthiness for a wrong doing
what offences do NOT require mens rea
strict liability offences
what are strict liability offences regarded as and what role are they
mala prohibita, they regulate peoples behaviour so society can work effectively
what is the principle for capacity
in order for someone to be liable for a criminal offence, the defendant must have the legal capacity to commit a crime i.e be deemed legally responsible
what are capacity defences
people who lack legal capacity
give some examples of people who can apply defences with the lack of capacity
intoxication, insantiy and automatism
what is doli incapax
where a child is incapable of committing a crime because they dont know the difference between right and wrong
what is intention and what is it NOT the same to
the decision, what the end result was. not the same to motive
what does the case of INGLIS demonstrate
illustrates that motive is not relevant to criminal liability
what are the two types of intention
direct and oblique
what is direct intention
the defendants principle aim/purpose, using the ordinary dictionary definition of the word direct
what is oblique intention
D foresaw something else happening
what case is the authority for oblique intention and why
Woolin, makes up the virtual certainty test
what is the virtual certainty test
where Death or GBH was virtually certain as a result of D’s actions and D appreciated that was the case.
what was confirmed in the case of matthews and alleyn
virtual certainty test is still a rule of evidence
what is recklessness
unjustifiable risk taking
what is subjective recklessness
subjective recklessness looksat the issues of risk-taking from the defendants perspective
what test was made for subjective recklessness and what was it called
cunningham test, and the test was
1 - was d aware of the risk
2 - was the risk an unreasonable one, based on the circumstances known to d
what happened in the case of cunningham 2
ripped gas meter to steal money, gas escaped mother in law poisoned.
cases that used cunningham test
parker
stephenson
what is the objective recklessnes also known as?
caldwell recklessness
what happened in mpc v caldwell
d held a grudge against employer, set fire to hotel where he worked
what is the objective recklessness test in caldwell
a person is reckless if
- created an obvious risk AND
- either has not given any thought to the there being any such risk or has recognised there was some risk and nonetheless gone on to do it
cases that use the caldwell test
lawrence
