Mens rea meaning

Cobban and another v Director of Public Prosecutions [2024] EWHC 1908 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? A clear separation is drawn between holders of public office (police officers exchanging messages about policing matters) and private individuals who might be prosecuted under section 127(1) of the Communications Act 2003 on the basis of consensual private communications’ content Where Convention rights are engaged, a proportionality assessment is required, in line with the approach in Casserly [2024] EWCA Crim 25; 1 Cr App 18 The appellants maintained that, unless R v Collins [2006] UKHL 40; [2007] 1 WLR (HL) is restricted to its own facts, the law would capture consensual sharing of indecent material between private persons. Lord Brown had highlighted this concern at [27] in Collins, leaving it open. The higher court sided with the DPP: officers who, contrary to professional standards, traded abhorrent private messages about their policing duties could not plausibly assert a reasonable expectation of privacy. The...

Affray is an offence created by section 3 of the Public Order Act 1986 (POA 1986). It can be prosecuted in either the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court. The magistrates’ court may decline jurisdiction, for instance where a weapon is involved, objects are thrown, or the behaviour results in serious injury. Elements of the offence of affray The prosecution must establish that: a person acts intentionally uses unlawful violence towards another, or threatens it; or recognises that their conduct could be violent or threatening towards another; and a person of reasonable firmness present would fear for their own safety Where two or more individuals use or threaten unlawful violence, their conduct is assessed collectively to determine whether the offence is made out. In Dragjoshi v Croydon Magistrates’ Court, the Appellant appealed by way of case stated, disputing whether the court could convict without reliable identification evidence, particularly where some individuals were accepted as attempting to prevent violence...

Knowing what can amount to criminal property is central to the core money laundering offences in sections 327, 328 and 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002). Each offence requires dealing with criminal property with the necessary mens rea, namely to: conceal, disguise, convert or transfer property known or suspected to be criminal, or remove such property from the jurisdiction (POCA 2002, s 327) enter into, or be concerned in, an arrangement known or suspected to facilitate—by any means—the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by or for another (POCA 2002, s 328) acquire, use or possess property known or suspected to be criminal (POCA 2002, s 329) For detailed guidance on these offences, see Practice Notes: Money laundering offences—concealing, disguising, converting, transferring and removing Money laundering offences—the arrangement offence Money laundering offences—acquisition, use and possession What is criminal property? Criminal property is property which constitutes a person’s...

The offence of unlawful wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm The offence of unlawful wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH), contrary to section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), can be heard in either the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court. The magistrates’ court will decline jurisdiction where it considers its sentencing powers inadequate. To assess the likelihood of the magistrates’ court accepting or refusing jurisdiction, practitioners may consult the relevant sentencing guidance; see the Sentencing Council guidelines for unlawful wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm referenced below... Elements of the offence of unlawful wounding of inflicting grievous bodily harm Under the OATPA 1861, the prosecution must demonstrate that the accused: wounded, or inflicted GBH, and did so maliciously and unlawfully Wounding A wound requires a break in the continuity of the whole skin, meaning both the epidermis and dermis are penetrated. A mere scratch or superficial breach of the outer layer...