Legal Term "MENS REA"

The mens rea is the Latin term for "guilty mind" used in the criminal law. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means that "the act will not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty." Thus, in jurisdictions with due process, there must be an actus reus accompanied by some level of mens rea to constitute the crime with which the defendant is charged (see the technical requirement of concurrence). The exception is strict liability crimes (in the civil law, it is not usually necessary to prove a subjective mental element to establish liability, say for breach of contract or a tort, although if intentionally committed, this may increase the measure of damages payable to compensate the plaintiff).

DUI & Driving Under The Influence:
DUI Jurisdictions :
Many jurisdictions require more serious penalties (such as jail time, larger fines, longer DUI program, the installation of ignition interlock devices) in cases where the driver's BAC is over 0.20, or 0.15 in some places. These additional sanctions are an attempt to deter and punish the operation of a vehicle at extremely high BAC levels and the concomitant danger posed to the safety of persons and property by heavily impaired drivers. In many cases, the reason given for these additional sanctions is because an average person would have passed out from that much alcohol.

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DUI Statistics :
The statistics range from the past three fiscal years, which run from July 1 to June 30. In each fiscal year, total arrests, including DUI arrests, have increased, while motor vehicle accidents have gone down. While 183 total accidents were recorded in year one, only 116 were recorded in year three, a 37 percent difference. During that same time, 154 DUI arrests were recorded in year one, contrasted to 235 in year three, a difference of 34 percent.

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