Chapter 2 - Criminal Liability

Three essential elements/aspects of all crimes:

1. Actus reus = the criminal act

2. Mens rea = a culpable mental state

3. A concurrence of the two (actus reus & mens rea)

Actus reus = “guilty act”

Many courts use this term to describe the defendant’s conduct or the results of that conduct

• The reasoning for requiring actus reus is to prevent punishing someone merely for his/her thoughts

• The practical pov for requiring actus reus is that until a person does something. We can’t have any objective proof of the gravity of his/her thoughts

An example of involuntary actions that would relieve someone from criminal liability that would have been a crime 

• If someone experiences a medical emergency while driving and crashes into someone/something

Canadian prosecutors can appeal a murder trial verdict of not guilty

An example of moral duty but not a legal duty to act

• An off-duty medical doctor who witnesses a car accident with injuries

Legal duty to act: most situations where there is a legal duty act comes from statutory law 

Examples: 

In most states, someone who is involved in a motor vehicle accident is required by law to provide aid to persons who are injured and also must report the accident to the local police department. 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that people who earn a certain amount of income are legally required to file tax returns.

Relationships of parties: the legal duty to act requirement may be a result of the relationship between different parties

Examples:

teacher/students 

doctor/patient

firefighter/building on fire

Police officer/a victim of crime

Mens rea = “guilty mind”

The specific mental state of the defendant at the time of the crime

Culpability: for someone’s action to be considered criminal, that action must occur with the required mens rea

Examples of types of crimes that have different levels of intent which, in turn, assign different levels of punishment 

• Murder, harassment, assault, theft, arson

Motive vs intent

Intent is different from motive

Motive is what drives/compels someone to intent to do something

Motive is NOT an element of a crime and does NOT need to be proved in court to find someone guilty

Examples: working out to be fit, eating to relieve hunger, driving to get to a destination

Mens rea simplified

The four legally recognized mental states that meet the requirements of mens rea

1. General intent = the intent to commit the act required for the crime

2. Specific intent = committing the actus reus with the intent to cause a specific result

3. Constructive intent

4. Transferred intent

Scienter: a legal term that refers to the level of knowledge required to hold a person criminally liable for his or her physical acts

Examples

• Someone assaulting a police officer in uniform

• Someone who aids abets a known fugitive or felon

• Someone who refuses to assist a police officer in uniform

4 types of possessions

• Knowing possession = a person who is aware of what they possess

• Mere possession = a person who may or may not be aware of what they possess

• Actual possession = when a person has direct physical control over an object(s)

• Constructive possession = when a person can exercise control over objects or property when, at the time, they are not in that person’s physical custody

The type of possession that represents the items in your home while you are away from home: constructive possession

Constructive intent: refers to the types of situations in which a person does not intend to cause any harm but should have known that their actions created a high risk of causing harm

Criminal negligence: a gross deviation from the standard of care required of an individual 

Criminal negligence vs reckless, in most states, the term “recklessly” is a synonym for “criminally negligent”

Transferred intent: describes situations where one person intends to harm a particular person but, instead, harms another or a third party 

Example: a gang member attempts a drive-by shooting of a rival but hits a young child playing on the sidewalk instead 

3 types of liability without a fault

• Strict liability = products liability = demonstrating proof the act occurred us adequate

To sue for product liability, the plaintiff must demonstrate, a manufacturing defect, design defect, no warning about safety concerns with the product

• Vicarious liability = employers being held responsible for the actions of their employees

• Enterprise liability = holding corporations criminally liable for criminal acts

4 states of mind

• Purposely = a desire to cause the outcome that resulted

• Knowingly = when an action is taken with the awareness that the outcome is practically certain

• Recklessly = engaging in activity that increases the risk of harm

• Negligently = engaging in an activity in which a person fails to reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences

Concurrence: for an action to be considered criminal, the act itself (actus reus) and the required mental state (mens rea) must occur at the same time

Causation: a critical element of the actus reus of a crime, that cause which is legally considered directly responsible for the harm

Proximate cause = legal cause

What makes it easy to prove the element of actus reus is a witness testimony, forensics, physical evidence