Nana Appah AC 2008433 J02V Criminal Law Assignment 4 J02E Criminal Law December 28, 2020
Define actus reus, mens rea, and concurrence. Actus reus means more than just ‘guilty act’s. It include other behaviour requirements defined in each criminal offence such as the actus reus of theft is by taking someone else property and the actus reus of murder is unlawful killing of another person. The actus reus has three elements and they are conduct, consequences, and circumstances. As the example, consider the definition theftstated in the introduction. The actus reus of elements of theft are “appropriate" of “property" that “belongs to another", as can be seen there is no requirement of consequence so it doesn’t matter whether, for example the accused managed to get away with the property with the property moreover theft is committed if there is an appropriation of property belonging to another together with the required mens rea elements. An example of a crime which does require a consequence is murder. A murder is not committed unless the accused conduct of death result death. In order for Actus reus to be committed there has to have been an act various common law define act differently but generally, an act is a bodily movement whether voluntary or involuntary. In California law making according to the supreme court making an illegal to be drug addict was unconstitutional because the mere status of being a drug addicts was unconstitutional because the status of being a drug addicts was not an act and thus not criminal. Ordinarily, there is a criminal act, which makes it the term actus reus generally acceptable, more over there are crimes without an act and therefore without an actus reus in the obvious meaning of that term. The expression ‘conduct' is more satisfactory, because wider it covers not only an act but omission. This is the by the consent in the case rape. The act of human sexual intercourse becomes a wrongful act if it is committed in circumstances where one party does not consent and or when one or more parties concerned are below the age of consent. Other crimes require the act to produce a legally forbidden consequence such crimes are called Result crimes, all that can be
truly be said, without expectation, is that crime requires some external state affairs that can be categorized as criminal, what goes on the inside a person’s head is never enough in itself to constitute a crime, even though it might be proven by a confession that is fully believed to be genuine. An act that consist of commission, omission, possession. Will talk about mens rea which refers to criminal intent that means in mens rea it has the requirement which is premised
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