Price Gouging And Bad Intent: How Much Does It Matter?

Although much of the coverage relating to price gouging enforcement has focused on bad actors hoarding pandemic-related goods, businesses that make good faith efforts to comply with the panoply of price gouging restrictions may nevertheless find themselves in the crosshairs. The relevant statutes typically impose a form of strict liability, and do not take motive into account as we have discussed. Even if we assume that states should be able to freeze prices out of their desire to protect their citizens, it is not clear that states should impose strict criminal liability for price gouging violations.

Criminal offenses tend to have two essential part: the actus reus, or prohibited act, and the mens rea, or required mental state. The Supreme Court has observed that this intent requirement reflects a sense of culpability: