Actus Reus & Mens Rea

For any person to be convicted of a crime, there must be two very essential elements:

Actus Reus (Guilty Act)

  • The unlawful act committed (the physical element)

  • Can be a failure to act, causing a crime

Mens Rea (Guilty Mind)

  • Criminal intent

  • Required element to convict of a crime

  • 4 Tiers of classification

    • Acting purposely - The defendant had an underlying conscious objective to act.

    • Acting knowingly - The defendant is practically certain that the conduct will cause a particular result.

    • Acting recklessly - The defendant consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustified risk.

    • Acting negligently - The defendant was not aware of the risk, but should have been aware of the risk.

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