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MMLU / A federal statute governing food stamp fraud makes it a crime to knowingly…

Problem

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question

A federal statute governing food stamp fraud makes it a crime to knowingly acquire or possess food coupons in a manner not authorized by the statute or the regulations. A grocery store owner purchased discounted food stamps from an undercover agent, and was arrested for violating the statute. At trial, the store owner claimed that the government must prove that he had the specific intent to commit a crime. The government contended it only had to show that he knowingly acquired food stamps, and that this was not a specific intent crime. The trial judge adopted the government's interpretation, and the store owner was convicted. His appeal made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Will the Court likely reverse or affirm the conviction and why?

choices

  1. Conviction reversed, because a store owner is exempt from the statute, which applies only to consumers who use food stamps illegally.
  2. Conviction reversed, because the better interpretation is that mens rea is included, and the owner must know his conduct is in violation of the criminal laws.
  3. Conviction affirmed, because the meaning of knowingly does not connote that there must be specific knowledge by the actor that what he is doing is illegal.
  4. Conviction affirmed, because the modern trend of the law is to recognize criminal liability without mens rea or specific criminal intent.

subject

professional_law

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Source and history

task_id
bfac2e12-6d68-59f1-98b9-803fbc7a5476
task_key
all--test--bfac2e12-6d68-59f1-98b9-803fbc7a5476
task_revision_id
1
config / split
all / test

Official source

initial import