As a US citizen, I find the diminishing mens rea requirements very disturbing. One should never be guilty of a crime despite making a reasonable effort to avoid the illegal behavior.
To give an example, in Florida, one is guilty of a felony for having sex with a person under 18 (if the older person is 24 or older) no matter how reasonable it might have been to believe the person was of legal age. A forged driver's licence that would fool the DMV and get the bartender off is no defense here; it's a strict liability crime.
I would favor a Constitutional amendment blocking the enforcement of any criminal law that did not include a culpable mental state for every element of the crime. To implement such a change without crippling the legal system, it could make the default mental state criminal negligence if none is given.
To give an example, in Florida, one is guilty of a felony for having sex with a person under 18 (if the older person is 24 or older) no matter how reasonable it might have been to believe the person was of legal age. A forged driver's licence that would fool the DMV and get the bartender off is no defense here; it's a strict liability crime.
I would favor a Constitutional amendment blocking the enforcement of any criminal law that did not include a culpable mental state for every element of the crime. To implement such a change without crippling the legal system, it could make the default mental state criminal negligence if none is given.