TRANSFERRED INTENT

A situation where a wrongdoer intends to commit harm against one person but, instead, commits harm on another person. As such, criminal law transfers the intent the defendant had to harm the first person and transfers it to the second person, enabling a jury to find the proper intent required under statute to charge the defendant with a crime. For example, the defendant intends to shoot A but hits B instead. The intent to kill required to convict the defendant of intentional murder is transferred from A to B even though the defendant did not intend to kill B.