The ostrich instruction is a jury instruction that the requirement of knowledge to establish a guilty mind (mens rea), is satisfied by deliberate ignorance - deliberate avoidance of knowledge.[1] This principle became established in British courts in the 1860s, and became widespread in the United States in the late 19th century.[2] The United States Supreme Court upheld it against a constitutional challenge in United States v. Jewell.[3]: 762
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Ostrich Instruction: Deliberate Ignorance as a Criminal Mens Rea, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Volume 81 Issue 2, Summer 1990 Pages 191-234; I P Robbins, [1]
- ^ McGoey, Linsey (2019). The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World. Zed Books Ltd. p. 21. ISBN 9781780326382.
- ^ Criminal Law - Cases and Materials, 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business; John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder, ISBN 978-1-4548-0698-1, [2]