ACTUS REUS: OMISSION & CAUSATION The general basis for imposing liability in criminal law is that the defendant must be proved to have committed a guilty act whilst having had a guilty state of mind. The physical elements are collectively called the actus reus and the accompanied mental state is called the mens rea. It is the fundamental duty of the prosecution to prove both of these elements of the offence to the satisfaction of the judge or jury beyond reasonable doubt. In the absence
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criminal law-1 ON THE TOPIC:- “relevance mens rea in satautory provisions” PRESENTED BY: - KUMAR MANGALAM B.A.LLB‚ 3rd SEMESTER‚ 2nd YEAR ROLL NO.:- 936 SUBMITTED TO: - father peter ladis Date:- INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE TOPIC As a general rule‚ unless a person has committed the necessary ’ ’actus reus ’ ’‚ one cannot be found guilty; nevertheless there are some exceptions. Now‚ it is suitable to see that ‘‘mens rea‚ in Anglo-American law‚ criminal intent or evil mind.
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Men’s Rea Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind".[1] In criminal law‚ it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of some crimes. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase‚ actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea‚ which means "the act is not culpable unless the mind is guilty". Thus‚ in jurisdictions with due process‚ there must be an actus reus‚ or "guilty act‚" accompanied by some level of mens rea to constitute the crime with which the defendant
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AR Problem Question This problem question includes the following areas of law: - Actus Reus (Guilty Act) - Omissions (Failure to Act) - Duty to Act Situations Wood - Actus Reus = Guilty Act. To be criminally liable‚ the defendant (D) must perform a positive and voluntary act. An Omission (Failure to Act) does not make D liable‚ however‚ there are 6 situations in which failure to act may result in criminal responsibility: 1. Statute 2. Contract 3. Relationship 4. Voluntary Assumption 5
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CRIME INTRODUCTION: ACTUS REUS 1. CRIME NATURE a. Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea – conduct does not make a man guilty without a guilty mind b. Two elements must be proved in Scots crime: i. Actus Reus – Wrongful Act/Physical Act ii. Mens Rea – Wrongful State of Mind/Mental Element c. Exceptionally – some crimes (usually statutory – speeding‚ parking) don’t require proof of Mens Rea 2. ACTEUS REUS a. Mere intentions do not make a criminal offence – there must be a criminal act or omission
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Actus Reus means ‘guilty act’. This may be established through a Positive Voluntary Act. This was demonstrated in R v McPherson where the positive voluntary act of taking whiskey amounted to the Actus Reus of theft. In relation to omissions‚ Stephens J stated‚ “If A sees B drowning and can save him by holding out his hand. A abstains from doing so in order that B may be drowned. A has committed no offence.” The first duty situation is where D has a contractual duty. This was demonstrated in R v
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(as shown in the book) Figure 2–1 illustrates the relationship between mens rea and actus reus. Criminality exists when the two concur and where no defense‚ as characterized in the figure‚ exists. Defenses in this figure refer to the zone of individual liberties over which governments have no authority to regulate and to those instances
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Mens rea translates to guilty mind‚ it refers to the mental element of a crime. Mens rea must be proved alongside actus reus for a defendant (D) to be guilty of an offence. This was set out in Woolmington v DPP. Specific intent crimes require proof of a higher level of mens rea (ie intention) because of the moral blameworthiness attached to such crimes‚ whereas‚ basic intent crimes require proof only of recklessness. Intention is the highest form of mens rea and has two types‚ direct and oblique
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Elliott v C [1983] The case involves the mens rea of recklessness. The defendant was a girl of 14 years old who had low intelligence. She lit a fire in a shed. The magistrates applied the test laid down in R v Caldwell but inferred that in his reference to "an obvious risk" Lord Diplock had meant a risk which was obvious to the particular defendant. They acquitted the defendant because they found that the defendant had given no thought at the time to the possibility of there being a risk that
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INTRODUCTION Mens rea is a technical term‚ generally taken to mean some blameworthy mental condition‚ the absence of which on any particular occasion negatives the condition of crime. It is one of the essential ingredients of criminal liability.’ A criminal offence is committed only when an act‚ which is forbidden by law‚ is done voluntarily. The term mens rea has been given to the volition‚ which is the motive force behind the crinjinal act.2 An act becomes criminal only when it is done with guilty
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