mens rea

• What is general malice?

  Sometimes, someone has a general malice they do not specifically intend to hurt any particular person. An example would be a terrorist planting a bomb in a public place.
• What is transferred malice?

  The malice (mens rea) is transferred from the intended victim to the actual victim. An example is the R V Mitchell case.
• R V Mitchell

  The appellant tried to jump the queue at a Post Office, an elderly man challenged this behaviour so he pushed and hit him. He fell over and fell into an elderly woman who breaks her leg and later dies. This links to the principle of transferred malice.
• How does the R V Mitchell case link to the principle of transferred malice?

  The defendant's actus reus is on the woman but the mens rea was aimed at the man. The transferred malice means the mens rea is now at the woman.
• What is The Contemporaneity Rule?

  The coincidence of actus reus and mens rea: the general rule is that actus reus and mens rea happen at the same time in order for an offence to have occured.
• What is a continuing act?

  (The actus reus is first) When there is a continuing act for the actus reus and at some point while that act is still going on the defendant has the necessary mens rea, then the two will coincide and the defendant will be guilty. An example is the Fagan V MPC case.
• Fagan V MPC?

  The defendant drove over a police officer's foot. The police officer shouted at him to get off. The defendant refused to move.
• How does the Fagan V MPC case link to the idea of a continuing act?

  The actus reus (driving over the police officer's foot) happened first, which was a guilty act, but unintentional. The mens rea then occurred afterwards, while the guilty act was still happening (ignoring and leaving the police officer).
• Thabo Meli V R

  The defendants attacked a man and thought that they had killed him so pushed his body over a low cliff. The man had survived the attack but later died of exposure, unconscious at the bottom of the cliff. The defendants were found guilty of murder.
• How does Thabo Meli V R link to the coincidence of actus reus and mens rea?

  The defendants had a guilty mind when attacking the man to the point of death (mens rea), but they hadn't actually committed a guilty act until they pushed him off of the cliff (actus reus).
• Church 1965

  The defendant got into a fight with a woman and knocked her out. He tried, unsuccessfully, to bring her around for half an hour. Convinced she was dead, he put her into a river and she drowned. He was convicted of manslaughter.
• What has to happen in order for an offence to have taken place?

  Both the actus reus and the mens rea must be present at the same time.
• What are the 3 levels of mens rea?

  1. Direct intention.
  2. Indirect intention.
  3. Recklessness.
• What is direct intention & what case does it link to?

  The decision to bring about a prohibited consequence. It links to Mohan (1975).
• What is indirect intention & what case does it link to?

  The outcome is virtually certain and the defendant knows the outcome is virtually certain. The "virtual certainty" test is used to determine this. It linked to Woolin (1998).
• Woollin 1998

  The defendant threw his 3 month old baby towards him pram which was 4 feet away. The baby suffered head injuries and died. The court ruled that the consequence must have been virtually certain.
• What is recklessness and what case does it link to?

  There is a risk of criminal consequences/harm and the defendant takes the risk anyway. It links to Cunningham (1957).
• Cunningham (1957)

  The defendant tore a gas meter from the wall of an empty house in order to steal the money in it which caused the gas to seep into the house next door where a woman was affected by it. The defendant was charged with an offence "maliciously administering a noxious thing". It was held that he was not guilty as he had not intended to cause the harm, nor had he taken a risk he knew about.
• What is subjective recklessness?

  Knowing about a risk and taking it.
• What are examples of offences for which recklessness is sufficient for mens rea:

  • Assault and battery.
  • Assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
  • Malicious woundings.