Chapter 04, Class 09

Intro to Mens Rea | Subjective & Objective Mens Rea | Forms of Subjective Mens Rea | The Concepts of Intention and Knowledge in the CCC

Definition of *mens rea*

==All other mental elements (except voluntariness)== that a Crown must prove to obtain a conviction in a criminal case

What are the two types of mens rea?

* Objective mens Rea
* Subjective mens rea

Subjective mens rea (Definition)

* What was actually going on in the mind of the accused at the time of the offense
* The mental fault lies in ==what the accused intended/knew at the time of the misconduct== (i.e. deliberately choosing to do wrong)

Objective mens rea (Definition)

* Mental fault lies in the failure to direct the mind to the risk of conduct OR ==failure to live up to the standards of care expected of a reasonable person.==
* What should have been in the mind of the accused at the time of the misconduct, had they acted reasonably

What the Crown needs to prove for cases of __subjective__ mens rea

That the accused __deliberately chose to__ do something wrong

By legal definition, either/or;


1. That the accused had the ==deliberate intention== to bring about those prohibited consequences (e.g. 1st degree murder)
2. That the accused had the ==subjective realization== that their conduct might produce such prohibited consequences and proceeded with this conduct regardless of their actual knowledge of this risk.

What the Crown has to prove in a case of __objective__ mens rea

* That the accused had the capacity to live up to the standard of care expected of a reasonable person and failed to do so.
* I.e. a reasonable person in the same circumstance and with the same knowledge as the accused would appreciated that ==their conduct is creating a risk of prohibited consequence and would have taken action to avoid doing so==

Difference between general intent offenses (objective mens rea focus) and specific intent offenses (subjective mens rea focus)

* General intent offenses are committed ==for the sake of committing the crime==; usually an act of momentary passion (e.g. sexual assault)
* Specific intent offenses are usually ==means-to-an-end== ==misconduct== ; seen often as a deliberate and preconceived step towards an illegal goal (e.g. shooting a cashier in the middle of a robbery)

Forms of subjective mens rea

* Intent
* Knowledge
* Recklessness
* Willful blindness
* Any specific state of mind as required in the legal definition of the offense (e.g. first degree murder => proof of “planned and deliberate“)