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Policing Thought: United States V. Khattab And The Mens Rea Requirement Of 21 U.S.C. § 841, Anne M. Walker

Seventh Circuit Review

In United States v. Khattab, the Seventh Circuit identified a split between the circuits as to the mens rea required by the statute that criminalizes possessing or distributing precursor chemicals to illegal drugs. The relevant mens rea is “knowingly, or having reasonable cause to believe[.]” While the Tenth Circuit interprets “having reasonable cause to believe” to mean that a defendant must have something close to actual subjective knowledge that a chemical will be used to manufacture methamphetamines, the Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits interpret “having reasonable cause to believe,” to mean that an objective standard can be applied. The …