Title 14 Elements of Crimes

§8. Criminal conduct

Criminal conduct consists of: (1) An act or a failure to act that produces criminal consequences, and which is combined with criminal intent; or (2) A mere act or failure to act that produces criminal consequences, where there is no requirement of criminal intent; or (3) Criminal negligence that produces criminal consequences.

§10. Criminal intent

Criminal intent may be specific or general: (1) Specific criminal intent is that state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act. (2) General criminal intent is present whenever there is specific intent, and also when the circumstances indicate that the offender, in the ordinary course of human experience, must have adverted to the prescribed criminal consequences as reasonably certain to result from his act or failure to act.

§11. Criminal intent; how expressed

The definitions of some crimes require a specific criminal intent, while in others no intent is required. Some crimes consist merely of criminal negligence that produces criminal consequences. However, in the absence of qualifying provisions, the terms "intent" and "intentional" have reference to "general criminal intent."

§12. Criminal negligence

Criminal negligence exists when, although neither specific nor general criminal intent is present, there is such disregard of the interest of others that the offender's conduct amounts to a gross deviation below the standard of care expected to be maintained by a reasonably careful man under like circumstances.