MENS REA
Cards (11)
- What is mens rea?The mental component of defendant liability’the guilty mind’
- What is motive?The reason to cary out an act
- What is direct intetion?When the defendant’s motive is irrelevant, rather, the fact the defendant decided to bring about the offence is relevant
- CASE: R v Mohan [1976]Defendant refused to stop when a policeman signalled him to. Instead, he drove towards the officer.Displays direct intention to scare or injure the police officer.
- What is oblique/indirect intent?When evidence is used to prove intention where harm is caused and there is a virtual certainty that the defendant’s actions would cause a certain out come and the defendant realised this.
- CASE: Nedrick [1986]D poured paraffin through a letterbox of a house with the inetntion of frightening the woman living there. A child died in the resulting fire.Displays oblique intent if the jury agrees that death was a virtual certainty and that the D saw death as a virtual certainty of his act.
- CASE: Woollin [1998]D lost his temper and threw his baby at a wall whilst aiming for the pram. Baby suffered a head injury and died.Court ruled that the consequence must be a virtual certainty and the D must have realised this.
- CASE: R v Matthews and Alleyne [2003]Ds threw V from a bridge into a river. They knew the V couldn’t swim and left before he could reach safety. The V drowned.Displays foresight of consequence - a jury is entitled to find existence of intention from VC test, but does not necessarily have to.
- What is recklessness?Where the defendant realised the risk, but decided to take it.
- CASE: R v Cunningham [1957]D tore a gas meter to steal the money inside, this caused gas to seep into an adjacent house.Cunningham was charged but the Court held that he was not guilty since he didn’t realise the risk of gas escaping into the next house.
- Recklessness is sufficient for which basic intent crimes?AssaultBaterys.47 ABHs.20 GBHManslaughter