'Mens Rea' on Appeal

July 9, 2026  |  New York Law Journal

Mens rea, the mental state required for criminal liability, is typically the key issue in white-collar criminal cases. In United States v. Parasmo, the Second Circuit recently affirmed a conviction after trial at which the district court’s mens rea instruction was correct at the time it was given but erroneous in light of a subsequent Supreme Court decision in a similar case. In their latest New York Law Journal article, Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello P.C. partners Elkan Abramowitz and Jonathan Sack analyze the court's application of the harmless error standard of review to the mens rea instruction and a dissenting judge’s disagreement with majority’s application of that standard to mens rea -- the core question in the case. 

'Mens Rea' on Appeal