Negating Mens Rea

Question 1

List

Answer 1

Ways to negate mens rea

Mistake

Insanity

Intoxication

Question 2

Mistake - Mistake of Law

Answer 2

Defintion - claim that conviction would be wrongful because he thought law was different from what it was though ignorance from what it was (good faith belief legal)

Exceptions to Ignorance =/ Excuse:

1. Reliance on high level government interpretation of the law
2. Lack of Notice (nowhere to find law)
3. Mistake of law that goes to an element of specific intent (applies only to the FIAT crimes or specificc intent crimes)
   - if crime with which D is charged is a specific intent crime, then a D can argue that his belief that his conduct was legal will negate that element of the offense

Question 3

Mistake - Mistake of Fact

Answer 3

Starting Point - ask whther the crime is a strict liabilty crime, a general intent crime, or specific intent crime

Strict Liability - mistake of fact is never a defense

General Intent - mistake of fact isa defense only if the mistake is reasonable and it goes to the criminal intent

Note - the transferred intent doctrine means that it is never a reasonble mistake of fact to say “I thought I was committing a crime against X, not Y:

Specific Intent Crimes - mistakes of fact are a defense anytime the D actually held the mistaken belief, whether it was reasonble or unreasonble

Question 4

Insanity

Answer 4

Four Different Test

1. M’Naghten - D either did not know the nature of the act or did not know that the act was wrong
2. Irresistible Impulse - D has a mental disease or defect that meas the D cannot control himself
3. Durham Rule - D would not have committed the crime but for his having a mental disease or defect (very D freindly)
4. MPC - due to a mental disease or defect, the D did not have substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts or to conform his conduct to the law

Note - all four tests requrie that the D have a mental disease or defect

Question 5

Intoxication

Answer 5

Substances - covers alchohol, drugs, and medications

Involuntary - occurs when:

1. doesnt realiie that she received an intoxicating substance
2. is forced or cooerced into ingesting a substance; or
3. has an unexpected or unanticipated reaction to a prescription medication

When does it work - can be a valid defense to general intent, specific intent, and malice crimes when it negates the mens rea necessary for those crimes

Voluntary Intoxication - occurs when a person willingly ingests the substance, knowing that it was an intoxicant

When does it work - only a defnse to specific intent crimes (FIAT) and only if it prevent the D from forming the mens rea; not a valid defense if D got drunk in order to commit crime