mens rea

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mens rea

(ˈmɛnz ˈreɪə)

(Law) law a criminal intention or knowledge that an act is wrong. It is assumed to be an ingredient of all criminal offences although some minor statutory offences are punishable irrespective of it. Compare actus reus

[Latin, literally: guilty mind]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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Noun

mens rea - (law) criminal intent; the thoughts and intentions behind a wrongful act (including knowledge that the act is illegal); often at issue in murder trials

malice aforethought

planning, preparation, provision - the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening; "his planning for retirement was hindered by several uncertainties"

premeditation - (law) thought and intention to commit a crime well in advance of the crime; goes to show criminal intent

law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"

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The fact that no one knows the precise numbers is itself a scandal, compounded by the fact that many of these provisions include minimal or no mens rea requirements, which ask prosecutors to demonstrate that an offender knew he was doing something wrong.

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" All HEIs will put in place an effective grievance redressal mechanism and will follow the principles of natural justice-- mens rea and audi alterem partembefore taking any punitive action against any student, faculty or organisation." The government tried to link funding of centres of higher education and varsities their performance

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In light of these changes, maintaining a traditional view of the role of mens rea will provide an increasingly important bulwark against inadvertently criminalizing expression that in fact deserves First Amendment protection.

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Every crime has two parts: the forbidden act (actus reus) and the guilty intent (mens rea).

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The important thing for this crime is the mental element (mens rea), the mental intention or mental fault, the guilty state of mind of the perpetrator at the time of the offense.