What is Mens Rea? [No. 86]

Criminal law is primarily concerned with two elements - the outward act and the inward state of mind. Professor Joshua Kleinfeld explains mens rea which is the standard used to determine the intention, or lack thereof, in a crime. Professor Kleinfeld discusses different examples where the same circumstances might or might not result in a crime, depending on the state of mind of the person involved.

Joshua Kleinfeld is Professor of Law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. He teaches and writes in three areas: legal and political philosophy; legislation and statutory interpretation; and criminal law and procedure.

As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

#law #no86 #lawstudent #lawschool #criminallaw

[jadyduenas]

I’m currently studying criminal justice and I’ve been so stuck with understanding mens rea and I’ve finally found this video that helps me understand it so much better than the books.

[bellekay]

Simple but well explained. Thank you🎉

[Eye_can_see_you]

That explains a lot to situations when a defendant is 'playing dumb' when the obviously did have mindful intention.