# 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.