Also known as: deliberately intended · specific intent
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A conscious purpose or aim to bring about a specific result or consequence through one's actions. In homicide cases this mental state satisfies the requirement of malice aforethought when directed at killing or inflicting great bodily injury.
Derek Douglas confronted his rival in an alley and drew a handgun. He aimed directly at the rival's chest and fired once, causing immediate death. The prosecution relies on the deliberate intent shown by the aimed shot to establish express malice.
Daniel Diaz locked his coworker in a storage room and repeatedly struck the coworker's head with a metal pipe until the coworker lost consciousness. Medical evidence later showed severe brain trauma. The sustained targeting of the head supports a finding of deliberate intent to inflict great bodily injury.
Daphne Doyle approached a colleague and offered payment in exchange for starting a physical fight with a known critic at an event. She provided detailed instructions on timing and location to ensure the critic would be ejected. The offer and instructions demonstrate the required deliberate intent that the solicited person commit the assault.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Demetrius Douglas saw his adversary reach for a weapon and immediately drew and fired his own gun in a single fluid motion. The victim fell dead instantly. The rapid sequence of drawing and firing supplies evidence of deliberate intent to kill.
Diana Delgado consumed drugs shortly before shooting her roommate during an argument. She admitted the shooting but claimed the substances clouded her thinking. Evidence that she still formed a conscious purpose to fire supports deliberate intent.
Delilah Duran performed a series of complex actions while sleepwalking that resulted in injury to another person. Because the conduct occurred without any conscious purpose or aim, the state could not prove deliberate intent.
Deliberate intent requires a conscious purpose to achieve death or great bodily injury. Reckless indifference involves awareness of a high risk without that specific aim. Both can support implied or express malice but rest on distinct mental states.
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No. The intent can form in an instant when the defendant consciously aims at the result, such as drawing and firing a weapon at a vital area.
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Yes. Repeated blows to the head with a heavy object or prolonged pressure on the throat supply objective evidence that the defendant consciously sought serious injury.
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Solicitation requires the defendant to act with the specific intent that the solicited person commit the crime. General approval or venting does not meet this standard. The defendant must urge or command with purpose that the crime occur.
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…perhaps, Thomas Jefferson and others favoring perpetuation of an agrarian society. Moreover, if the Founders’ specific intent with respect to corporations is what matters, why does the dissent ignore the Founders’ views about other legal entities that have more in common with modern business corporations than the…