Marysville Stop

[TheQ]

Difference between Lacking Mens Rea and Ignorance of the Law

I'm sure we’ve heard of “Ignorance of the law and Mens Rea”. In some crimes intent is not an element, Liability crimes. To tell other’s that I didn’t know right from wrong is a defense is a bit much.

I'll use the classic text book law school scenario to explain where an incident has Actus Rea (Criminal Act) but lacks Mens Rea (Criminal Mind) thus cannot be a crime.

Let's say there jurisdiction you are in has a criminal statue against "Attempted Breaking and Entering". Now imagine the following scenario:

You're at (fill in your favorite grocery super center) and you're walking out into the parking lot. You see a car that look JUST like yours (in honesty) and you honestly mistake it for your car. You walk up to it, stick the key in the door, and start trying to get into it.

In this case, you made a "reasonable" (as defined by the reasonable person standard) mistake of fact. As such, you were not intending to try and break into someone else car. But the fact of the matter is, you were trying to break into someone else car. This situation has "Actus Rea", but lacks the "Mens Rea". As a results, a fair court would not find the person guilty of the crime.

This is a different scenario than "ignorance of the law". Ignorance of the law would be: you KNEW the vehicle wasn't your vehicle, but you didn't know it was against the law to try and break into it. In this case, you have both Mens Rea and Actus Rea. The only thing is you didn't know the law. Ignorance of the law is no excuse for violation.

I hope this clears up the difference between a situation lacking Mens Rea and a situation of Ignorance of the Law.

Disclaimer: IANAL, but I did take a semester or two of law.

 

[stainless1911]

Funny, I thought the police wanted to be held to a higher standard. When did that change?

 

[TheQ]

Funny, I thought the police wanted to be held to a higher standard. When did that change?

When they started speeding on the way to lunch instead of a call. Seriously, I was passed by a cop in Lansing doing 50-55 in a 30 mph zone. He was heading my direction so I watched his tail lights -- all the way to the near by subway shop. I looked inside, it seemed no crime was in progress and he was waiting in line, presumably to order.

Not uncommon. I noted the car number/time and reported it to IA.