If a statute does not state that a culpable mental state is required, which culpable mental states should be alleged in the complaint?

• A. Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly.
• B. Criminal negligence only.
• C. Any of the four mental states.
• D. None; mental state is not required.

Answer: (A)

When a statute doesn’t specify a required mental state, the complaint must still show some level of fault—the defendant acted with a culpable mindset. Among the recognized culpable mental states, the ones you should allege are intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. These cover different degrees of purposeful or conscious conduct: intentionally means the person aimed to achieve the result, knowingly means they were aware the result was practically certain, and recklessly means they consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk. Negligence, while a valid mental state in some contexts, is not the default to be pleaded when the statute is silent, unless the offense specifically requires criminal negligence. So the proper expectation is to allege intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly.