Also known as: general intent · specific intent · mens rea · criminal intent
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A distinction in criminal law between the mental state needed for most offenses and the heightened mental state required for certain inchoate or property crimes. General intent requires only the purposeful performance of the prohibited act. Specific intent requires an additional purpose to achieve a particular result or consequence beyond commission of the act itself.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Gerald Gibson and Gwen Gallagher meet in a warehouse and agree to burn a rival's storage shed to eliminate competition. They shake hands on the plan but take no further steps before arrest. The agreement itself completes the conspiracy because both parties formed the specific intent to achieve the unlawful objective of arson.
Genevieve Gardner proposes to Gregory Gates that they embezzle client funds from their law firm by altering disbursement sheets. Gregory nods and shakes hands but secretly intends only to gather evidence for authorities and never shares the purpose of permanent deprivation. No conspiracy forms because Gregory lacks genuine specific intent to accomplish the criminal objective.
Gina Griffin approaches Gary Goldman at a music festival and offers cash plus detailed instructions on how to assault a critic so security will eject him before a review. Gina's statements show specific intent that Gary actually commit the assault rather than mere general approval of the idea. The solicitation offense is complete upon the request regardless of Gary's response.
Gulfstream Aviation's maintenance chief, after a psychotic episode, sets fire to an empty hangar believing it will protect company secrets. The prosecution must prove he possessed the general intent to perform the act of ignition coupled with malice. Evidence of insanity negates the vicious will required for arson liability.
Gateway Bank officers agree that one will falsify loan records to conceal embezzlement while the other handles the proceeds. Under Pinkerton, each is liable for the foreseeable crimes of the other because both entered the agreement with the specific intent that the criminal objective be accomplished.
Genesis Pharmaceuticals employees remove surplus medical samples from a warehouse intending only to discard them as waste. When charged with conversion, the government must prove they acted with the specific intent to permanently deprive the owner rather than mere general intent to handle the property.
General intent requires only that the defendant purposefully perform the prohibited act. Specific intent requires an additional purpose to achieve a particular result or consequence beyond the act itself, such as the intent to permanently deprive in larceny or the intent that the solicited person actually commit the crime.
Supporting sources
No. Common law arson requires only malice, which is satisfied by intent to burn, knowledge that the structure will burn, or conscious disregard of an obvious and substantial risk that it will burn. Specific intent to burn the dwelling is not required, and accidental burning from negligence does not suffice.
…(1965), limits the discretion of the Board of Building Code Appeals to grant variances to those which are "in harmony with the general intent of such ordinance . . . ." If one of the legitimate objectives of the definition of "family" was to preserve the single (nuclear) family character of East Cleveland, then granting this…
…duty, that the verdict must be ‘ not guilty.’ ” This request was refused, and the court did charge “ that there must have been a criminal intent, but that if the defendant, under the influence of a religious belief that it was right, — under an inspiration, if you please, that it was right, — deliberately married a second time,…
…property; the declaration to that effect in the employee manual merely removed any doubts on that score and made the finding of specific intent to defraud that much easier. Winans continued in the employ of the Journal, appropriating its confidential business information for his own use, all the while pretending to perform his duty…
…burden-of-proof requirements are thus absent from such a scheme. [^maj-17]: Among the most common definitions of mens rea is "criminal intent
…until the contrary appears, yet, "in order to constitute a crime, a person must have intelligence and capacity enough to have a criminal intent and purpose; and if his reason and mental powers are either so deficient that he has no will, no conscience, of controlling mental power, or if, through the overwhelming violence of mental…
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Solicitation requires that the defendant incite or urge another to commit a crime while acting with the specific intent that the solicited person actually commit the crime. Mere general approval of the conduct does not satisfy the mental element, and the offense is complete upon the solicitation itself.
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The distinction is ambiguous and leads to inconsistent application. The MPC replaces it with four precise culpability categories: purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently, which provide clearer analytical tools for determining fault elements.
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No. Under the common law bilateral rule, both parties must genuinely share the specific intent to accomplish the same criminal objective. If one merely pretends to agree or lacks the requisite intent, no conspiracy arises for either party.
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