IANAL either but I do know that certain crimes explicitly do hinge on the perpetrator’s knowledge that what they did was illegal, not just that they intended to do it. This isn’t common but does apply to some areas with complex legislation like tax evasion and campaign finance. As a high-profile example, Trump Jr. was deemed “too dumb to prosecute” for campaign finance violations.
More generally, there are multiple levels of mens rea. Some crimes require no intent to prosecute (“strict liability”). For those that do, they can be categorized into four levels of increasing severity: acting negligently, acting recklessly, acting knowingly, and acting purposefully. This list is not universal though it is representative. Some US states refer to express/implied “malice”.
I understand So8res to be saying that we can treat toxic behavior on a strict liability basis without deciding what level of knowledge and intent to assign the offender.
IANAL either but I do know that certain crimes explicitly do hinge on the perpetrator’s knowledge that what they did was illegal, not just that they intended to do it. This isn’t common but does apply to some areas with complex legislation like tax evasion and campaign finance. As a high-profile example, Trump Jr. was deemed “too dumb to prosecute” for campaign finance violations.
More generally, there are multiple levels of mens rea. Some crimes require no intent to prosecute (“strict liability”). For those that do, they can be categorized into four levels of increasing severity: acting negligently, acting recklessly, acting knowingly, and acting purposefully. This list is not universal though it is representative. Some US states refer to express/implied “malice”.
I understand So8res to be saying that we can treat toxic behavior on a strict liability basis without deciding what level of knowledge and intent to assign the offender.