Without Intent Revisited: Assessing the Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law 10 Years Later

This study of the 114th Congress revisits a 2010 joint report by the Heritage Foundation and NACDL: Without Intent: How Congress Is Eroding the Criminal Intent Requirement in Federal Law. This new study found that Congress still regularly introduces bills with new criminal provisions that contain mens rea requirements that are not sufficiently protective. In fact, 42% of the bills analyzed had criminal intent requirements that were considered inadequate. [Released December 2021]

Documents


Cover for NACDL report Without Intent Revisited: Assessing the Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law 10 Years Later from NACDL and The Heritage FoundationRead the original report published in May 2010: Without Intent: How Congress Is Eroding the Criminal Intent Requirement in Federal Law

Learn more about NACDL's work on overcriminalization

 

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