State of mind

Question 1

What is the difference between mens rea and actus reus?

Answer 1

mens rea is the intent - the forethought and planned action - the state of mind
actus reus is the act itself - committing the offence either with intent or recklessly

Question 2

how can you show intent?

Answer 2

show evidence of foresight of the probability of something happening which can infer an intention

• at time of criminal act there was a probability of a consequence
• the greater the probability the more likely the defendant foresaw this consequence
• if defendant foresaw the consequence it is more likely that they intended it to happen

Question 3

what is malice?

Answer 3

it requires the intention to cause harm or foresight of the risk of causing some harm
e.g. throwing a coin at someone and expecting a small cut, but resulting in very serious damage to the eye
This would be malicious, they saw possibility of harm but took risk anyway

Question 4

what is transferred mens rea/malice?

Answer 4

intending to hurt or steal one thing but actually doing it to another
this depends on the intention at the start
i.e. throwing a rock at a crowd intending to hurt someone but actually breaking a window - this would not be transferred mens rea
(this does not take away from recklessness and seeing risk of it happening)