SanAntonioDWI.org

All crimes except for strict liability crimes require a mens rea. Mens rea is what the accused must have been thinking when he committed the criminal act. The necessary intent is not the same for all crimes. There are several types of intent. Criminal intent is the same as mens rea. With constructive intent it is first asserted that intent is required for all crimes, then it is added that such intent may be inferred from recklessness or negligence. General intent falls under acts forbidden by statute. This falls along the same lines as mens rea and may be used to encompass all forms of mental state. Specific intent designates a special mental element. Occasionally, a person may act with multiple intents. If so, as long as he had the intention required by the definition of the crime, it is of no consequence that he also had some other intention as well.

Arrests generally must be supported by the same level of probable cause, with or without a warrant. (Whiteley v. Warden, Wyoming State Penitentiary) A detached and neutral magistrate must find probable cause before a warrant for an arrest may be issued. In determining the sufficiency of an affidavit supporting an arrest warrant, a reviewing court is limited to the “four corners” of the affidavit. Affidavits are viewed in a common sense manner. A presumption is indulged in favor of the regularity of the proceedings in a lower court unless the record presents aff. evidence to the contrary.

The failure to appear in court is a unique offense for purposes of issuing a warrant. By its very nature, a defendant’s failure to appear is within the court’s personal knowledge. The trial court issuing each of the warrants in this case was supplied with sufficient information to support an independent judgment that probable cause existed for the warrants. Therefore, the fact that appellant had several outstanding warrants gave the officers probable cause to arrest him.