Actus Reus Research Paper

Actus Reus and Mens Reus
Actus Reus is defined as an element of criminal responsibility, the wrongful act or omission that comprises the physical components of a crime (Actus Reus n.d.). Mens rea is defined as an element of criminal responsibility, a guilty mind; a guilty or wrongful purpose; a criminal intent. Guilty knowledge and willfulness (Mens rea n.d.). In criminal law they are referred to as the two elements of a crime and you need both the guilty mind and physical criminal act to prosecute the accused. When deciding on a case, a judge takes into account the mentality to the offender and whether the act was unlawful. When you only have one of the two traits for determining a crime, you either have a case where the person may possibly have a mental illness who does a wrongful act. Or you have a case where the person only thinks of doing a wrongful act and the first amendment protects their rights of freedom. Principle of First Degree and Accessory Before the Fact
The difference between the principle in the first degree and accessory before the fact is who actually …show more content…
Attempting to commit a crime would be trying to commit the crime set forth and not going through with it either by free will or they are interrupted. An example would be breaking into someone’s house to steal valuable items but the people come home early so the perpetrator leaves. Conspiracy to commit a crime is talking about it with a group of people to commit the crime. An example would be a disgruntled employee talking about robbing their employer and informing other employees on their plan to do it. Solicitation of a crime would be to try to talk someone into committing a crime. An example would be a male asking a female who he sees dressed a particular way on the street if she would like to have paid intercouse with