# How does someone unknowingly screw the pooch? (Law question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559 "2008-05-16T15:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/1 "2008-05-16T15:47:08Z")
Florida currently has no law against bestiality. Senator Nan Rich, D-Weston is seeking to change that. Her wording, though has me confused. In this article: [Newspaper report](http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpbestiality0515pnmay15,0,5628426.story?track=bestiality) it says (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > This spring, state Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, filed legislation aimed at preventing anyone from **knowingly** committing bestiality, **knowingly** causing or aiding another person to have sex with an animal, or **knowingly** permitting sex with an animal. Now, I can see why you might want the second and third “knowingly”, but why the first? ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/2 "2008-05-16T15:48:45Z")
“Your honor, I had no idea it was a cocker spaniel on the other side of that glory hole…” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/3 "2008-05-16T15:53:33Z")
[QUOTE=One And Only Wanderers] “Your honor, I had no idea it was a cocker spaniel on the other side of that glory hole…” [/QUOTE] More truth that you know. Under another law, without that word, you could get thrown in jail if your cocker (snerk!) spaniel started licking your package while you were asleep, and someone saw it. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/4 "2008-05-16T16:02:45Z")
Thanks, **silenus** , that was what I figured. It reads kinda odd, but that’s the law.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/5 "2008-05-16T16:59:15Z")
More generally, under modern penal theory, almost all criminal statues have two components, _mens rea_ and _actus reus_. _Actus reus_ is the prohibited act, what most people think of as the crime (“screwing the pooch” being the example here). However, in addition to a prohibited act, the actor must have the _mens rea_, the culpable mental state, identified in the statute, in this case “knowingly”. Other commonly used types of _mens rea_ in criminal statutes are “intentionally”, “recklessly”, and “negligently”. A limited number of crimes are strict liability crimes, where the act is criminal regardless of the _mens rea_ of the actor, such as statutory rape, where if you have sex with someone underage it is criminal regardless of your knowledge or understanding of the facts. Another reason that “knowingly” is important in this statute is that it does not only cover the act of beastiality, but also aiding or permitting someone to commit the act. If you innocently but foolishly let Uncle Creepy dogsit your rottweiler and you walk in to find a rutting rottie, you have aided or permitted the act, but not done so knowlingly. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/6 "2008-05-16T17:39:47Z")
I’m glad Silenus was able to provide a reasonable ‘unknowingly’ scenario. I was imagining a really wierd form of sleepwalking. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/7 "2008-05-16T17:48:58Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Florida currently has no law against bestiality. Senator Nan Rich, D-Weston is seeking to change that. Her wording, though has me confused. In this article: [Newspaper report](http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpbestiality0515pnmay15,0,5628426.story?track=bestiality) it says (bolding mine): Now, I can see why you might want the second and third “knowingly”, but why the first? [/QUOTE] Covers off the dog humping you. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/8 "2008-05-16T17:50:07Z")
You don’t understand: Chunks is my _dog_! ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/9 "2008-05-18T12:00:27Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Florida currently has no law against bestiality. Senator Nan Rich, D-Weston is seeking to change that. Her wording, though has me confused. In this article: [Newspaper report](http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpbestiality0515pnmay15,0,5628426.story?track=bestiality) it says (bolding mine): Now, I can see why you might want the second and third “knowingly”, but why the first? [/QUOTE] OK,OK you just wont let it drop will you? For years I’ve worked for “Help the Aged” in my time off,decorating old peoples houses,mowing their lawns. I rescued a young woman from a gang of muggers a couple of years ago and received a police commendation for doing so. When I won a hundred thousand pounds on the lottery I donated half of it to Oxfam. And am I known locally as"L4Lthe Helpful"? Am I known as “L4L the Hero”? Or even “L4L the Charitable”? Oh no ! One fucking sheep … ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/10 "2008-05-18T13:14:37Z")
Don’t you mean “Fucking one sheep”? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-someone-unknowingly-screw-the-pooch-law-question/449559/11 "2008-05-18T14:22:23Z")
Poking a puppy? Doing a dog? Hitting on a horse? Coveting a cow? (Coveting an ass, in the Biblical sense?) Hooking up with a hamster? Just forget you read any of that. Thank you.