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Chapter 4

Chapter 4. Elements of Crimes and Parties to Crimes. The Actus Reus (The Act Requirement). Actus Reus – the act of the criminal. Actor must willfully commit a proscribed physical act or intentionally fail to act where the law requires a person to act.

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Chapter 4

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  1. Chapter 4 Elements of Crimes and Parties to Crimes

  2. The Actus Reus (The Act Requirement) • Actus Reus – the act of the criminal. • Actor must willfully commit a proscribed physical act or intentionally fail to act where the law requires a person to act. • Act of Omission – the failure to perform an act required by law. • Actual Possession – possession of something with the possessor having immediate control. • Constructive Possession – being in the position to effectively control something, even if it is not actually in one’s possession.

  3. The Mens Rea (The Criminal Intent Requirement) • Mens Rea – guilty mind, intent. • Motive – reason. • General Intent – intent to do an act but not necessarily to cause the results that occur from that act. • Specific Intent – mental purpose to accomplish a particular result beyond the act itself.

  4. The Mens Rea (The Criminal Intent Requirement) The Model Penal Code rejects the Common-law terms for intent. It proposes four states of mind: Purposeful, knowing, reckless, and Negligent. • Doctrine of Transferred Intent – defendant’s original intent is transferred from one against whom it was directed to the one who suffered the consequences.

  5. The Strict Liability Offenses • Mala In Se – evil in itself. • Rape, murder, robbery, and larceny. • Mala Prohibita – wrong primarily because the law declares them to be wrong. • Traffic, food and drug laws, and laws prohibiting the sale of liquor and cigarettes to minors.

  6. The Causation Requirement • Causation – an act that produces an event or an effect. • Proximate Cause – cause that is nearest a given effect in a casual relationship.

  7. Parties to a Crime At common law, a person directly involved in committing a felony was classified as a principal; a person whose conduct did not involve direct participation was classified as an accessory.

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