Also known as: general requirement of culpability · requirements of culpability · mens rea · culpability · MPC §2.02
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle requiring that a person act purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently with respect to each material element of an offense before criminal liability attaches. The principle supplies the default mental states when a statute is silent and determines how those states apply across all elements unless the law plainly indicates otherwise.
Gina Griffin, facing a sudden storm while boating, steers toward a restricted wildlife refuge to avoid capsizing. She had ignored weather warnings the previous day and failed to check the forecast before departing. Because she was reckless in creating the emergency, the justification defense is unavailable in her prosecution for entering the refuge.
During closing argument, George Garcia, representing the plaintiff, tells the jury that the defendant is clearly culpable for the accident because the defense expert is lying. The statement violates the rule against expressing a personal opinion on a litigant's culpability at trial.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An officer searching a car after a traffic stop misreads a database entry and seizes evidence without probable cause. The mistake stems from isolated negligence rather than deliberate misconduct. The court balances the deterrent value of exclusion against its costs and declines to suppress the evidence.
Genevieve Gardner asks an undercover officer to sell her a controlled substance that, unknown to her, has already been removed from the market. The solicitation charge proceeds because her culpability is measured by the facts as she believed them to exist.
Gwen Gallagher leaves a ladder unsecured near a busy sidewalk. A passerby deliberately kicks the ladder, causing it to fall on a pedestrian. The court considers the degree of the passerby's culpability in deciding whether the kick constitutes a superseding cause that relieves Gwen of liability.
Gabriella Gomez helps a friend rig a device that will release toxic fumes into a warehouse. She knows the fumes will cause serious injury but does not intend death. When a worker dies from the fumes, Gabriella is an accomplice to the homicide only if she acted with the culpability required for that result.
The default rule supplies purpose, knowledge, or recklessness for each material element. Negligence is insufficient unless the statute expressly allows it.
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The stated mental state governs every material element unless the statute plainly shows a contrary purpose.
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The offense is graded at the lowest level for which any material element meets the required mental state.
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No. Culpability is judged by the facts as the solicitor believed them to be.
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…of purpose here; the latter finding turns directly on the conduct of the defendant during the crime and defines a level of culpability necessary to form the hate crime offense. While acknowledging "analytical tensions" in this Court's post- Winship jurisprudence, the dissenters concluded that "there can be little doubt…