Law Teacher - The Law Essay Professionals
  • A-Level Law Coursework
  • GCSE Law Coursework
  • Essay Service Page
  • Essay Order Page
  • Essay Order Page
  • Free Bibliography
Chat Assistance
Live Chat
You are here: Homepage » Criminal Law » Lecture Notes » Mens Rea Lecture 2

Men's Rea Lecture #2

TRANSFERRED MALICE

Under the doctrine of transferred malice a defendant will be liable for an offence if he has the necessary mens rea and commits the actus reus even if the victim differs from the one intended. The basis for this principle is the decision of the court in:

R v Latimer (1886) 17 QBD 359.

If the defendant has the mens rea for a different offence from that which he commits however, the intent cannot be transferred. See:

R v Pembliton (1874) LR 2 CCR 119.

 

COINCIDENCE OF ACTUS REUS AND MENS REA

It is a general principle in criminal law that for a person's liability to be established it must be shown that the defendant possessed the necessary mens rea at the time the actus reus was committed - in other words the two must coincide.  This is also known as the contemporaneity rule.

In some cases a literal interpretation of this rule would manifestly lead to injustice, and the courts have developed ways of finding coincidence of actus reus and mens rea (a) when the events take place over a period of time, and (b) where they constitute a course of events.

(a) CONTINUING ACTS

Where the actus reus involves a continuing act a later mens rea during its continuance can coincide. See:

Fagan v MPC [1969] 1 QB 439
Kaitamaki v R [1985] AC 147.

(b) CHAIN OF EVENTS

The second way the courts have dealt with the problem is to consider a chain of events (ie, a continuing series of acts) to be a continuing actus reus for the purposes of the criminal law. If the actus reus and the mens rea are both present at some time during this chain of events, then there is liability. See:


Thabo Meli v R [1954] 1 WLR 228
R v Church [1966] 1 QB 59
R v Le Brun [1991] 3 WLR 653.



Get A Free Essay Quote Order Your Custom Essay





Do you need to translate this page?

To translate this page into another language, please select the correct language from the box below.




Subscribe below and get new essay/resource uploads direct to your inbox

Enter your email address below and receive an RSS email update when we upload new content.

Delivered by FeedBurner

(Please remember to verify your subscription when you get the
confirmation email from Feedburner.)




LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC HELP? We can help you in many law areas!

Did you know that we also provide a service that can help you in other law areas such as:

Want to see what our customers say about us? Click here to watch our video.

Want to become a writer for Law Teacher and earn up to £4,000 per month? Click here now!


Other criminal law free lecture notes


Secure your law degree, order your criminal law essay right now!

Order Now. It takes less than 2 minutes.

  1.  
  2.  
  3.  
  1.  
Get your grade - guaranteed