Legal Definitions - Mens Rea

Definition: Mens Rea refers to criminal intent. It means "guilty mind" in Latin. It is the state of mind required by law to convict someone of a crime. The prosecution must prove that the defendant had a culpable state of mind when committing the offense.

For example, if someone intentionally kills another person, they have the mens rea required for a murder charge. However, if someone accidentally kills another person, they do not have the mens rea required for a murder charge.

The level of mens rea required depends on the crime. Some crimes require a higher level of mens rea than others. The Model Penal Code (MPC) organizes mens rea into four categories:

• Acting purposely - the defendant had an underlying conscious object to act
• Acting knowingly - the defendant is practically certain that the conduct will cause a particular result
• Acting recklessly - The defendant consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustified risk
• Acting negligently - The defendant was not aware of the risk, but should have been aware of the risk

Some crimes do not require mens rea at all. These are called strict liability crimes. For example, if someone is caught with drugs, they can be charged with possession even if they did not know the drugs were in their possession.

The mens rea requirement is important because it ensures that people are not convicted of crimes they did not intend to commit. It also helps to determine the appropriate punishment for a crime based on the level of culpability.