Scienter – This legal term comes from Latin. Literally, it means “knowledge”. In legal situations, the word usually refers to “guilty knowledge” of the offense of crime committed. This is a situation where for example you know items are stolen. But you agree to receive or purchase these in order to benefit yourself, instead of reporting to the police. Guilty knowledge is punishable in many jurisdictions as much as the crime itself. This is because in practice it represents the last step and the main goal of the theft. Namely to sell the stolen items for cash.