Mens Rea

1
Mens Rea

• Intent to agree.
• Intent to further, promote and cooperate in
  illegal activity.

2
Lauria Proving Intent

• Direct evidence
• Indirect evidence
• Special interest in the activity
• When the seller of legal goods for illegal use
  has a stake in the venture.
• When no legitimate use for the goods or services
  exists.
• When volume of sale is grossly disproportionate
  to any legitimate demand.
• Aggravated Nature of the crime.

3

• Taxpayer T and accountant A
• perpetrate a tax fraud in April,
• In January 1978, A bribes
• an IRS agent to overlook the
• problem and in June 1980, A bribes
• a second IRS agent.
• A and T are indicted for conspiracy
• in January 1983.
• If the applicable statute of limitations
• is three years, is the indictment timely?

4
Duration of a Conspiracy

• Statute of limitations begins to run when the
  conspiracy terminates (not when the offense is
  committed),
• Most courts have refused to infer that an
  implicit agreement to cover up the crime is
  inherent in every conspiracy,
• Abandonment/Renunciation as a defense
• Affirmative action required (e.g., reporting to
  police
• MPC 5.03 thwart success of conspiracy.

5
Consequences of a Conspiracy

• Hearsay exception (Krulewitch)
• Criminalizing noncriminal objectives
• Punishment for conspiracy can exceed the level of
  punishment for the crime that is the object of
  the conspiracy
• Punishment for conspiracy and for the object
  crime are separate and can be run consecutively
• Conspiracy as a form of accessorial liability

6
Pinkerton

• So long as the partnership in crime continues,
  the partners act for each other in carrying it
  forward an overt act of one partner may be the
  act of all without any new agreement specifically
  directed to that act.
• The principals acts be in furtherance of the
  conspiracy and reasonably foreseeable as a
  necessary or natural consequence of the
  conspiracy.

7
Party Liable Pinkerton Complicity (Dual Intent)
A (for all crimes)
B (for Cs robbery) C (for Bs robbery)
D (for Bank 2)
D (for Bank 1)
B (for Ds theft) C (for Ds theft)
Yes
Yes, intent to aid actual aid
Yes, both in furtherance foreseeable
No? Was there aid or intent to aid?
No, no aid, no intent to aid.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes, if fore- seeable.
No, no aid, no intent to aid.