Actus Reus
Actus reus refers to the physical act or conduct that constitutes a criminal offense. In criminal law, it is one of the two essential elements that must be proven for a person to be convicted of a crime, the other being mens rea (the mental state of the accused). Actus reus can include actions, omissions, or a state of being that is prohibited by law.
7 Key excerpts on "Actus Reus"
eBook - ePub- Rodger Geary(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge-Cavendish(Publisher)
...Chapter 2 The Elements of a Crime Actus Reus and Mens Rea As we have noted, a crime is conduct which has been defined as such by statute or by common law. It is a general principle of the criminal law that a person may not be convicted of a crime unless he has acted in a prohibited way with a defined state of mind. The prohibited act is called the Actus Reus and the defined state of mind is the mens rea of the crime. The main exceptions to this principle are ‘state of affairs’ offences, where no conduct as such need be established, and crimes of ‘strict liability’, where no mens rea need be proved. Of course, a defendant who commits an Actus Reus with the appropriate mens rea may still avoid conviction if he has a valid defence. A crime can therefore be said to consist of an Actus Reus and mens rea together with the absence of a valid defence. A convenient way of remembering this is: crime = AR + MR + absence of a valid defence. Characteristics of an Actus Reus Definition An Actus Reus consists of all the elements in the statutory or common law definition of the offence except the accused’s mental elements. This can be remembered as: Actus Reus = definition of the offence – mens rea. Analysis of the Actus Reus An Actus Reus can be identified by looking at the definition of the offence in question and subtracting the mens rea requirements of ‘knowingly’, ‘intentionally’, ‘recklessly’, ‘maliciously’ or ‘negligently’...
eBook - ePub- Routledge(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...1 The nature of a crime Actus Reus Causation Omissions Mens rea Intention Recklessness Negligence Strict liability Transferred malice A crime is conduct which has been defined as such by statute or by common law. To be convicted of a crime, two essential elements must be proved: 1 The Actus Reus – the prohibited act, omission, or state of affairs; and 2 The Mens Rea – the required state of mind, such as intent or recklessness. The Actus Reus and mens rea vary from offence to offence. Every time you deal with a criminal offence you need to break it down into what needs to be proved for the Actus Reus and what needs to be proved for the mens rea. The main exception to this is crimes of strict liability, discussed below. The prosecution must prove the existence of the Actus Reus and mens rea beyond reasonable doubt. This is sometimes referred to as the Woolmington rule (Woolmington v DPP [1935]). GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW See diagram on facing page. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN Actus Reus Definition The Actus Reus consists of all the elements in the statutory or common law definition of the offence except the defendant’s mental element...
eBook - ePub- John Hendy(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...As a result, D’s conviction was quashed. Now we are going to consider the different types of Actus Reus that exist in English criminal law. Types of Actus Reus The Actus Reus of a criminal offence consists of all the external elements of that offence. The Actus Reus of a crime can be defined in a number of different ways, for example a conduct crime or a result crime. This has given rise to a typology of criminal offences, the most common of which are conduct crimes and result crimes. It is worth noting that some offences, such as arson under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, are both result and conduct offences. In the case of a conduct crime it is the defendant’s behaviour that is prohibited irrespective of the result or consequences. For example: The term Actus Reus as we have seen, translates literally to mean ‘guilty act’. The term is potentially misleading because it can give rise to an assumption that the Actus Reus of an offence must always be the result of a positive act. You need to be careful because this literal translation of the Latin term is potentially misleading because it suggests that the Actus Reus of an offence is always the result of a positive action. For example, Ben hitting Cameron on the head with a spade. In reality liability for a criminal offence can arise where the defendant fails to act. The term we use in criminal law to describe a failure to act is omission. We will now consider the circumstances in which a failure to act can give rise to criminal liability in English criminal law. Topic Map: Omissions Omission The general rule in English criminal law is that failing to act cannot give rise to criminal liability. Whilst this is the general rule there are exceptions to this rule there are a number of situations in which a failure to act can give rise to criminal liability. Many of the textbooks give the following illustration of an omission. A sees B drowning. In these circumstances A is under no legal obligation to assist B...
eBook - ePubCriminal Law for Criminologists
Principles and Theory in Criminal Justice
- Noel Cross(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The second part of the chapter discusses the ways in which criminal justice uses the concepts of Actus Reus and mens rea – using the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and the criminal court process as examples, as well as considering crime victims’ relationship with these agencies. Normally, criminal law sees Actus Reus and mens rea as separate and separable concepts (Duff 1990). However, the argument here is that criminal justice does not react to criminal behaviour by separating actions and mental responsibility in this way. Instead, it makes a judgment about a person’s criminal blameworthiness which brings together mental state and behaviour (Wells and Quick 2010: 119). Actus Reus: the law Key Actus Reus principles No mens rea without Actus Reus Often, in criminal law, crime is committed when there is a combination of Actus Reus and mens rea (see later in this chapter for a discussion of mens rea). The Actus Reus for each crime must be established. It is not enough that the mens rea for the crime was present if the Actus Reus was not committed as well (Deller (1952) 36 Cr App Rep 184). Criminal law in England and Wales, as Baker (2015: 250–1) explains, insists on some expression of someone’s criminal thoughts through their actions before it will intervene to punish them. Voluntary acts Not all illegal acts count as Actus Reus. Acts must be voluntary before they can be considered as criminal behaviour. If the defendant has no control over their physical actions for some reason, and commits a crime while ‘out of control’ in this way, then there is no Actus Reus...
eBook - ePub- Claudia Carr, Maureen Johnson(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Chapter 2 Actus Reus, omissions and causation Learning Objectives By the end of the chapter, you should be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of the Actus Reus of a crime Appreciate the Actus Reus can also amount to an omission or a failure to act Understand the importance of establishing the causative link Demonstrate a clear understanding of the rules of causation Introduction There are two elements to a crime which are often referred to as the external and the internal elements: the Actus Reus and the mens rea. Both these terms are derived from the Latin phrase, ‘ Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea ’, which means that a man is not liable for his acts alone, unless he acts with a guilty mind. In order to obtain a conviction against a defendant, the prosecution must be able to prove that the Actus Reus and mens rea elements are both present as well as proving the absence of a legally recognised defence. In this chapter we will be considering the Actus Reus or the guilty act. We will look at how a failure or omission to act can sometimes constitute an Actus Reus. We will also consider causation and the relationship between the act and the consequences of the act. Mens rea will be discussed in detail in Chapter 3. Actus Reus The Actus Reus (AR) is the physical element of the prohibited act. The term AR is fundamental to any criminal law course but it is potentially problematic. In Miller [1983] 2 AC 161, Lord Diplock was critical of the term Actus Reus as he said: it suggests that some positive act on the part of the accused is needed to make him guilty and that a failure or omission to act is insufficient to give rise to criminal liability. Whilst the AR is more likely to be demonstrated in case law as a positive act, for example, the stabbing of the victim in a wounding case or the stealing of an item in theft, this essential element can also be an omission or a failure to act. The case of Miller is a good example (see page 24 for a more detailed discussion)...
eBook - ePub- Jacqueline Martin(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...2 Actus Reus 2.1 The physical element 1 The Actus Reus is the physical element of a crime. It can be: • an act; • a failure to act (an omission); or • a state of affairs (very rare). 2 For some crimes the act or omission must also result in a consequence. 2.1.1 Examples 1 An act – picking up an item in a shop (one way of committing the physical element for theft); or punching a victim which could be part of the physical element of an assault occasioning actual bodily harm (s 47 Offences against the Person Act 1861). 2 An omission – failing to provide a specimen of breath; or wilful neglect of a child (i.e. failing to provide one’s child with food, clothing or medical care under s 1 Children and Young Persons Act 1933). 3 A state of affairs – being found drunk in a public place. Merely being drunk and in a public place is sufficient (W inzar v Chief Constable of Kent (1983)). Also Larsenneur (1933), in which an individual considered to be alien under the law was brought back to the United Kingdom by Irish police. On her arrival she was arrested and charged with ‘being an alien, to whom leave to land had been refused, was found in the UK’. Being in the UK was enough to make her guilty. 4 A consequence – in murder there may be a stabbing, but there must also be the consequence of death resulting from that stab wound; or, for example, a broken nose for the consequence of actual bodily harm in s 47 Offences against the Person Act 1861; if the assault did not cause any injury then there is no s 47 offence. 2.2 Voluntary conduct 1 The act or omission must be voluntary on the part of the defendant. 2 If the defendant has no control over his actions, then he has not committed the Actus Reus. 3 In Hill v Baxter (1958) the court gave examples where a driver of a vehicle could not be said to be to doing the act of driving voluntarily...
eBook - ePub- Lisa Cherkassky(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...C hapter 2 Actus Reus and Causation In criminal law, most crimes are split up into two parts: Actus Reus (physical act) and mens rea (mental element). This chapter will look at the Actus Reus component. The Actus Reus must cause the resulting injury (e.g. the victim’s death) and so this chapter will also look at causation. 2.1 What is the Actus Reus ? The defendant must perform the Actus Reus of the criminal offence. The Actus Reus may take many forms (e.g. the method of killing). Other times, it can be very specific (e.g. theft). Criminal offence: Actus Reus (i.e. physical act) required: Murder Stab, shoot, etc. Battery Touch, push, etc. Actual bodily harm Punch, bruise, cut, etc. Theft Taking property that belongs to another Case: Ahmad (1986) Facts: a landlord unintentionally disturbed some of his tenants and then failed to rectify the situation. He was convicted under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 of ’doing acts calculated to interfere with the peace and comfort of a residential occupier’. Held: The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction because he had not ‘done acts’ with the required intent, as was required under the statute. There must be a link between the Actus Reus and the outcome (e.g. the stab wound must cause the death if the charge is murder). Not every Actus Reus has a consequence. Sometimes it is simply enough to perform the Actus Reus of a crime without there being an additional result. Criminal offence: Actus Reus required: Additional consequence: Murder Stab, shoot, etc. Death Battery Touch, push, etc. – Rape Penetrate victim without consent – Theft Take property of victim Permanently deprive victim If there is an additional consequence required, it will be included in the Actus Reus of the criminal offence. Workpoint 1. The definition of malicious wounding (s.20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861) is below. What is the Actus Reus of the offence (i.e...
