Legal Definitions - mentes reae

Mentes reae is the plural form of mens rea. While mens rea refers to a single "guilty mind" or mental state, mentes reae would refer to multiple such mental states, perhaps in the context of several crimes or multiple individuals involved in a criminal act. The core concept, however, is best understood by defining mens rea.

Mens rea (pronounced menz ree-uh) is a Latin term meaning "guilty mind." In criminal law, it refers to the mental state a person must have had at the time they committed a crime for them to be held legally responsible. It's a fundamental principle that for most crimes, simply performing a prohibited act (the actus reus) is not enough; there must also be a culpable mental state. This mental state can involve different levels of culpability, such as:

• Intent: A conscious desire to cause a particular result.
• Knowledge: Awareness that one's conduct is practically certain to cause a particular result, even if not specifically desired.
• Recklessness: Consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a particular result will occur.
• Negligence: Failing to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a particular result will occur, when a reasonable person would have been aware of it.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of mens rea:

• Example 1 (Specific Intent): Imagine a person who meticulously plans to break into a jewelry store after hours, intending to steal specific valuable diamonds. They research the store's security, acquire tools, and choose a specific night. Their deliberate planning and clear objective to unlawfully take the diamonds demonstrate a specific mens rea – the conscious intent to commit theft and burglary. Without this intent, if they accidentally entered the wrong building and found themselves among jewels, their mental state would be different, and they might not be guilty of the same crime.

• Example 2 (Recklessness): Consider a driver who, after a night of heavy drinking, decides to drive home, knowing they are impaired and that driving under the influence poses a significant risk to others. While they might not intend to cause an accident, their decision to drive despite being aware of the substantial and unjustifiable risk demonstrates a reckless mens rea. If they cause an accident, their mental state of consciously disregarding that known risk is crucial for establishing certain criminal charges, such as reckless endangerment or vehicular assault.

• Example 3 (Knowledge): Suppose a person buys a brand-new, high-end laptop from an individual selling it out of the trunk of a car in an alley for an unusually low price, far below market value. The seller has no receipt or original packaging, and acts suspiciously. The buyer strongly suspects the laptop is stolen but proceeds with the purchase anyway. In this scenario, the buyer's awareness or strong belief that the laptop is illicit property constitutes a mens rea based on knowledge, which could make them criminally liable for receiving stolen property.