Opinion ID: 1693799
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: General or Specific Intent Crime

Text: It does not appear this court has previously addressed whether Iowa Code section 719.8 is a general or specific intent crime. [3] We have previously addressed the distinction between general and specific intent crimes. When the definition of a crime consists of only the description of a particular act, without reference to intent to do a further act or achieve a further consequence, we ask whether the defendant intended to do the proscribed act. This intention is deemed to be a general criminal intent. When the definition refers to defendant's intent to do some further act or achieve some additional consequence, the crime is deemed to be one of specific intent. State v. Buchanan, 549 N.W.2d 291, 294 (Iowa 1996) (quoting Eggman v. Scurr, 311 N.W.2d 77, 79 (Iowa 1981)). The term specific intent describes a special mental element above and beyond any mental state required with respect to the actus reus of the crime. See Buchanan, 549 N.W.2d at 294. A review of the statutory language reveals that the offense criminalizing the introduction of controlled substances into a detention facility does not require an intent to do any further act or achieve some additional consequence other than the prohibited conduct of introducing a controlled substance into a detention facility. It is a general intent crime, and counsel was not ineffective in failing to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to establish the defendant's intent.