Exercise: Optional Practice Mens Rea Problems

We have spent time determining what mens rea applies to each element of the statute. But remember that in both life and on exams, mens rea is not always at issue for every element. Indeed, not every element is always at issue.

"At issue" means that reasonable people could debate whether the element is met by the facts, or whether the mens rea is met by the facts. For example, suppose John grabs someone else's cell phone to call 911 for an emergency. If you were considering theft, the element of "taking" would not be at issue. You could briefly mention that the element is met, but spend very little time on it. Similarly, in the above example, the mens rea for "grabs" is also not at issue. He clearly did it purposely.

Below are extra, optional problems for practice. As you do them, consider which elements are at issue and which are not. Do the same with respect to mens rea, noting that sometimes the elements will be clearly met but the mens rea will still be at issue.