Also known as: with the intent · with intent to · specific intent · mens rea
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A culpable mental state in which a person acts with the conscious objective of engaging in the prohibited conduct or causing the prohibited result. This state of mind supplies the specific intent element required for offenses such as larceny, burglary, solicitation, and true threats. It is functionally equivalent to acting purposely under the Model Penal Code.
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Warren Wu removed a neighbor's bicycle from an unlocked garage and rode it across town. He kept the bicycle for three weeks before selling it to a stranger. The trespassory taking and asportation satisfy the actus reus of larceny because Wu acted with intent to deprive the owner permanently.
Wesley Wong executed a deed conveying his warehouse to Westbrook Dynamics and mailed the signed instrument to the company's registered office. The mailing constituted delivery because Wong manifested intent to pass title immediately upon execution.
Wyatt Wilson burned a cross on the lawn of a minority family's home while shouting racial epithets. The act constituted a true threat unprotected by the First Amendment because Wilson carried it out with intent to intimidate the occupants.
Wanda Weaver tore her original will into pieces while stating aloud that she wished to revoke it. The physical destruction satisfied the revocatory-act requirement because Weaver performed the tearing with intent to revoke the will.
Wesley Wells forced open a window of an occupied dwelling at night and climbed inside to steal jewelry. The forced opening constituted a breaking because Wells used force to facilitate entry with intent to commit a felony inside the dwelling.
William Williams, a city personnel director, adopted a written aptitude test for police recruits that minority applicants failed at higher rates. The policy did not violate equal protection because Williams implemented the test without intent to disadvantage minority applicants.
Acting with intent requires that the person's conscious objective is to engage in the conduct or cause the result. Acting knowingly requires only awareness that the conduct is of a particular nature or that a result is practically certain to occur. The Model Penal Code treats with intent as equivalent to purposely.
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No. The intent to deprive the owner permanently is satisfied when the defendant intends to withhold the property for so long that the deprivation is unreasonable. The common-law formulation focuses on the duration of the intended loss rather than literal permanence.
…codified at 18 U. S. C. § 2261(a)(1), which states: "A person who travels across a State line or enters or leaves Indian country with the intent to injure, harass, or intimidate that person's spouse or intimate partner, and who, in the course of or as a result of such travel, intentionally commits a crime of violence and thereby…
…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…
…13 Ohio 401, 406, 408 (1844) (holding that value of goods intended to be stolen is not "an ingredient of the crime" of burglary with intent to steal, because punishment under statute did not depend on value; contrasting larceny, in which "[v]alue must be laid, and value proved, that the jury may find it, and the court, by that…
…the opinion of the Court. Petitioner was charged in a Florida state court with having broken and entered a poolroom with intent to
…of rehabilitation. [^maj-23]: As suggested at oral argument, the third-degree burglary statute covered entering a building with the intent to steal a loaf of bread. Tr. of Oral Arg. 14-16. It appears that the grand larceny statute would have covered the theft of a chicken. [^maj-24]: Every life sentence in South Dakota is…
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Yes. Delivery turns on the grantor's intent to make a present transfer of title. Words or conduct showing that the grantor regards the conveyance as complete can effect delivery even if the deed remains in the grantor's possession.
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The prosecution must prove that the defendant acted with intent to intimidate. A state may not treat every instance of cross burning as prima facie evidence of intent without allowing the defendant to show an expressive, non-threatening purpose.
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No. Revocation by physical act requires that the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will. Accidental or mistaken destruction does not revoke the instrument.
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The breaking must facilitate the defendant's entry into the dwelling. A forced exit after the defendant has already hidden inside with felonious intent does not satisfy the breaking element because the force was not used to gain entry.
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