Let us take the example of a drug transaction. In order for the police to lay charges in a drug trafficking case and a prosecutor to convict them, they must prove that someone committed an illegal act and that they knew they had committed an illegal act. Therefore, you need an act + intent to commit the illegal act to equate a crime. If we wanted to represent this in Latin, we could say: the requirement of mens rea is based on the idea that one must possess a guilty state of mind and be aware of one`s wrongdoing; However, an accused does not need to know that his or her conduct is illegal to be guilty of a crime. Rather, the accused must be aware of the “facts indicating that his conduct meets the definition of a crime.” If you ever go to criminal court, you`ll probably be overwhelmed by all sorts of terms you`ve never heard of before. What`s even more confusing is that many of these terms are in Latin. In this article, we will discuss two basic Latin phrases that are fundamental in criminal law. So when you meet them, you`ll know what they mean. Actus reus is a Latin expression for “guilty act”. The reus act is the illegal act that includes the physical components of a crime that must be associated with mens rea in order to be held criminally responsible. The “culpable act” in theft is the effective takeover or illegal control of property without the consent of the owner. These two movements are actus reus and mens rea.
Translated from Latin, actus reus means “guilty act” and mens rea means “guilty spirit”. As you can see, mens rea involves many complexities and subtle differences. If you are defending yourself against criminal charges, you need a defense lawyer who fully understands the complexity of your case. The concept of mens rea developed in England in the second half of the common law era (around the year 1600), when judges began to rule that an act alone can only establish criminal responsibility if accompanied by a guilty state of mind. The degree of mens rea required for a particular common law crime varied. Murder, for example, required a malicious state of mind, while larceny required a criminal state of mind. Mens rea is a Latin expression for “guilty mind”, essentially the state of mind. In one case, the prosecution must prove that the accused had the mental element or “guilty mind” in committing a crime in order to obtain a conviction. That`s according to Black`s Law Dictionary. Let`s take an example of theft, the mens rea for this crime is the intention to rob the rightful owner of the property.
If someone was involved in an act but did not intend to commit a crime, they cannot be convicted of that crime. The first level, intent, requires the defendant to hear the concrete result. First-degree murder and most robbery crimes often require this level of mens rea, although most crimes are not. If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime, you need to understand the relevant laws so you can decide what action to take. To schedule a free initial consultation with a Champaign defense attorney, call Bruno Law Offices at (217) 328-6000. Despite the obvious importance of correctly defining the mental element, criminal laws are often silent on what type of mens rea, if any, must be demonstrated. In other cases, a variety of terms are used without clearly indicating how they are to be interpreted. The American Law Institute`s draft Model Penal Code reduces mens rea sentences to four: criminals must act “intentionally,” meaning they must have a real and deliberately formed intent to obtain criminal consequences; “knowingly,” meaning a conscious awareness that their behavior will have the consequence; “Ruthless,” that is, the deliberate disregard that their conduct constitutes an unreasonable danger; and “negligent,” which means neglect in the face of dangers that would have been obvious to a reasonable person. Negligence is commonly referred to as “negligence” in legal terminology and usually only results in civil liability. At some point, however, general negligence turns into something more culpable, and some criminal laws have raised standards of negligence such as criminal or reckless negligence. For example, it may be a simple neglect to leave objects on your sidewalk that cause a neighbor to fall and hurt themselves. However, it can be more than simple negligence if you forgot a chainsaw, knives, and flammable materials on your sidewalk, causing serious injury to your neighbor.
Mens rea levels and the distinction between them vary from one province or territory to another. Although the common law originated in England, the common law of each jurisdiction varies in terms of guilt, as precedents and statutes vary. Mens Rea refers to criminal intent. The literal translation of Latin is “guilty spirit.” The plural of mens rea is mentes reae. A mens rea refers to the state of mind required by law to convict a particular defendant for a particular crime. See, for example, Staples v. United States, 511 US 600 (1994). The determination of an offender`s mens rea is generally necessary to prove guilt in criminal proceedings.