Handling Stolen Goods Practice Exam 2026 – Complete Study Resource

Under this approach, the mental element is judged by the defendant’s actual state of mind at the time. It focuses on what the person truly knew or genuinely believed, not on what others think or what would be reasonable. So the correct answer is that knowledge or belief is determined by the defendant’s own actual knowledge or belief. This means if someone truly believes a thing to be true, even if that belief is mistaken, it matters for their liability only if the offense requires knowledge or belief. The other options describe external standards or third-party beliefs, which the subjective approach does not use to assess the defendant’s state of mind.