Actus reus

justifiable satisfaction. However, due to the polar requirements of different individuals, the court may not be able to please every member of society. This juxtaposition of society’s needs is displayed in the case of R v Howard, where, although actus reus was proved, justice was not had for the accused, showcasing the nuance of law in Canada. On October 17, 1994, in Columneetza School, Kyle Rich, a notoriously reckless student, was fooling around in class while working with a dangerous tool: a…

In the textbook “Criminal Law in Canada” by Simon Verdun-Jones, there are various types of significant cases that provide insight towards the actus reus elements of a criminal offence. For example, Codlin’s case conveys that Codlin drank alcohol at a party and decides to go home in his car, but he noticed that he was too drunk to drive so he called a taxi to pick him up (Verdun-Jones, 2014, p. 49). However, Codlin decided to sit in his car while waiting for the taxi and removed his key from the…

According to, the article, The Juvenile Death Penalty: A Frustrated Society’s Attempt for Control by James R. P. Ogloff (1987) examined the attempt to control the United States in the provision for the juvenile death penalty. Besides that, the author discusses the various Supreme Court decisions that affected society’s control over the death penalty for juveniles. For instance, the Supreme Court decision on Thompson v. Oklahoma, which examined whether it was constitutional under the Eighth and…

the purposes of s 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 meant actual intention or recklessness as to whether a particular type of harm might be done, thus it would be sufficient that only slight harm had been foreseen. In Section 18, the actus reus has been also discussed in question 1d and the meaning of ‘wound’ and ‘grievous bodily harm’ are no significant difference to Section 20. For the mens rea of Section 18 OAPA 1861, it is either the defendant intended to cause grievous bodily…

Introduction Referring to clause 17 of the Draft Criminal Bill 1989 (DCB), certain actus reus of a crime required two-part inquiry which are the Prohibited Result and The Defendant(D)'s conduct causes the prohibited result. Prohibited result is when the D conduct have resulted the prohibited result, for example A causes a prohibited result which is murder, in murder the victim must have died. Although definition of prohibited result may differ depending on the type of the offence. This…

head on a rick platform below, in March 2005. Elements Of The Offence Before a criminal act can be brought to trial, the police and prosecutors need to prove the elements of a particular offence are present. The elements are; actus reus, mens rea and causation. Actus reus, meaning “guilty act”, it refers to the physical act of carrying out the crime. Mens rea, meaning “guilty mind” refers to the mental state of the accused. In order for the prosecution to succeed,…

will bring. This awareness is called mens rea and it refers to the knowledge of wrongdoing as a part of a crime. Mens rea and actus reus, the actual criminal act, must both be usually shown in order to prove a crime, however there are some exceptions which do not require mens rea to be shown. This affects crimes of omission as mens rea is not always a requirement while actus reus is. To determine a crime of omission has occurred there must be certain criteria met, such as establishing a duty of…

Those with mental illness are at a clear disadvantage in most – if not all – aspects of society. Even with the appropriate therapies and/or medications, a person with a mental illness not only suffers the disadvantages within themselves that a mental disorder brings, but also all of the societal and systematic disadvantages a person without a mental illness might overlook or dismiss as too unimportant or insignificant to consider. This – unfortunately – does not end at our criminal justice…

The goal of civil law is to resolve disputes between parties (individuals or entities).2 For example, in the preceding illustration, you had a dispute with a fellow student. The civil law system allows you, the injured party, to resolve your dispute in a civilized, orderly fashion. Without this option, you might be tempted to ‘‘take matters into your own hands.’’ The defendant in a civil case does not have to worry about the possibility of incarceration. On the other hand, incarceration…

Introduction My argument is that the law of intention is clear, simple, and still fit for purpose. Intention is one of the categories falling under the mens rea of murder. The law uses intention as one of the main methods of classifying offences, such as deciding between murder or manslaughter. The presence or absence of intention is what the law is interested in, not the motive behind the actions in question. The definition of Intention and how it can be found in the courts has continually been…