CRIMINAL LAW2.1 INTRO TO CRIMINAL LAW

Elements of a Crime

Typically, a crime is made up of four elements: Mens rea Actus reus Causation Concurrence

Mens Rea

Mens Rea is the mental requirement in criminal law, also known as the guilty mind. There are four categories of mens rea:

Intent Knowledge Recklessness Criminal Negligence

Actus Reus

Actus reus is the physical part of a crime, or the guilty act. It typically describes what the defendant must do. Omission: failing to perform an act

required by a criminal law, if a person is physically able to perform the act.

State of being/affairs: an offense in which a person is not actively committing an act, but is still in violation of the law

Causation and Concurrence Causation: the defendant’s conduct must be

linked to the resulting harm. Cause in fact: the harm caused would not have

occurred if the defendant had not acted the way that they did

Proximate cause: the defendant should have been able to foresee the consequences of their actions

Concurrence: mens rea and actus reus must take place simultaneously, meaning the criminal must have had intent while committing the guilty act.

Motive and Strict Liability

Motive: the reason why an illegal act was performed.

Strict liability offenses are crimes regardless of a guilty state of mind.