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Criminal defense attorneys Joshua L. Dratel and Timothy P. O'Toole published a piece on default mens rea legislation in the National Law Journal.
Although it would seem entirely uncontroversial to ensure that criminal laws are written so that the public, law enforcement and the courts are on notice as to what mental state is required — negligence, recklessness, knowledge, intent or even none (known as strict liability) — this bipartisan criminal-intent legislation has been unfairly and inaccurately attacked as a supposed conservative handout to white-collar defendants.
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