In law, knowledge is one of the degrees of mens rea that constitute part of a crime. For example, in English law, the offence of knowingly being a passenger in a vehicle taken without consent (TWOC) requires that the prosecution prove not only that the defendant was a passenger in a vehicle and that it was taken by the driver without consent, but also that the defendant knew that it was taken without consent.[1]
Under the principle of ignorantia juris non excusat, ignorance of or mistake about the law is no defense. The mens rea of knowledge refers to knowledge about certain facts. It is "a positive belief that a state of affairs exists".[2]
Knowledge can be actual, constructive, or imputed.
A defendant does not have actual knowledge if they believe something to the contrary. The standard is subjective and the belief of the defendant need not be reasonable, only honest.[3] For example, in R v. Williams[4] the defendant intervened in what he thought was a mugging but was in fact a citizen's arrest. His mistake was upheld as a defence against a charge of assault. In Beckford v. R[5] the defendant was a police officer who shot and killed V. Beckford claimed that he believed that V was shooting at him. It was found that the correct test was whether D "honestly believed" facts which, if true, would establish a defence. The reasonableness of the belief would be evidential in finding whether it was truly believed.
Knowledge is also found where a defendant suspects that circumstances exist and "deliberately decides not to make any further enquiries" in case his suspicions prove well founded.[3] A common example is a person who purchases significantly inexpensive and unprovenanced but desirable items from a stranger. Such a person is likely to be fixed with constructive knowledge that the items were stolen.[6]
Imputed knowledgeedit
This is relevant in strict liability offences and in corporate crime. For example, if a bar manager delegates his duties to others and those others know of unlawful activities on the premises, the manager can be fixed with imputed knowledge of the unlawful activities.[7]
knowledge, legal, construct, examples, perspective, this, article, deal, primarily, with, english, represent, worldwide, view, subject, improve, this, article, discuss, issue, talk, page, create, article, appropriate, april, 2023, learn, when, remove, this, me. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with English law and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message In law knowledge is one of the degrees of mens rea that constitute part of a crime For example in English law the offence of knowingly being a passenger in a vehicle taken without consent TWOC requires that the prosecution prove not only that the defendant was a passenger in a vehicle and that it was taken by the driver without consent but also that the defendant knew that it was taken without consent 1 Under the principle of ignorantia juris non excusat ignorance of or mistake about the law is no defense The mens rea of knowledge refers to knowledge about certain facts It is a positive belief that a state of affairs exists 2 Knowledge can be actual constructive or imputed Contents 1 Actual knowledge 2 Constructive knowledge 3 Imputed knowledge 4 References 5 BibliographyActual knowledge editA defendant does not have actual knowledge if they believe something to the contrary The standard is subjective and the belief of the defendant need not be reasonable only honest 3 For example in R v Williams 4 the defendant intervened in what he thought was a mugging but was in fact a citizen s arrest His mistake was upheld as a defence against a charge of assault In Beckford v R 5 the defendant was a police officer who shot and killed V Beckford claimed that he believed that V was shooting at him It was found that the correct test was whether D honestly believed facts which if true would establish a defence The reasonableness of the belief would be evidential in finding whether it was truly believed Constructive knowledge editSee also Willful blindness Knowledge is also found where a defendant suspects that circumstances exist and deliberately decides not to make any further enquiries in case his suspicions prove well founded 3 A common example is a person who purchases significantly inexpensive and unprovenanced but desirable items from a stranger Such a person is likely to be fixed with constructive knowledge that the items were stolen 6 Imputed knowledge editThis is relevant in strict liability offences and in corporate crime For example if a bar manager delegates his duties to others and those others know of unlawful activities on the premises the manager can be fixed with imputed knowledge of the unlawful activities 7 References edit Theft Act 1968 s 12 Herring 2004 p 170 a b Herring 2004 p 171 1987 3 All ER 411 CA England 1987 3 All ER 425 UK Privy Council Anderton v Ryan 1985 AC 560 HL England Ferguson v Weaving 1951 1 All ER 412 England Bibliography editHerring J 2004 Criminal Law Text Cases and Materials Oxford Oxford University Press pp 170 172 ISBN 0 19 876578 9 nbsp This legal term article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Knowledge legal construct amp oldid 1222778634, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
