Mens Rea (Paper 1) Flashcards
What is meant by mens rea
‘Guilty mind,’ all the mental elements of a crime
What are the two types of mens rea
Intention and recklessness
What are the two types of intention
Direct and indirect
What is the meaning of direct intention
Where it is obvious that D intended the outcome. It is D’s aim, purpose, and desire to bring about the result (Mohan)
What is the meaning of indirect intention
Where it is not so obvious that D intended the outcome
What is the virtual certainty test
Established in Woolin and asks: was death or serious injury a virtual certainty? (objective) and did D realise this? (subjective)
What is the meaning of recklessness
Where D sees an unjustified risk, but takes the risk anyway. This is subjective and D must see the risk themselves (Cunningham). Subjective test was confirmed in R v G & R
What is the principle of transferred malice
The principle that intention can be transferred to one victim to another, so intention for the intended victim transfers to the actual victim (Latimer)
What was the decision in Pembilton
Malice is transferred from person to person or object to object
Explain the coincidence rule
The actus reus and mens rea are a continuing act and as long as they occur ‘at some point,’ the crime will be complete (Church)
What are strict liability crimes
Crimes which do not require mens rea, D will be guilty of a crime as long as they committed the actus reus
A judge will use these to decide whether a crime is strict liability or not
The Gammon Guidelines
The crime is not strict liability if mens rea words are used, such as
Intention, knowingly, reckless
Not strict liability if crime is truly criminal, for example
Murder, rape
What are the remaining Gammon Guidelines
Penalty of prison, social concern, and regulatory
