Mens Rea and Actus Reus

The simplest definition of crime is a violation of a law that prohibits specific activities, and for which there is a punishment that is set out by the state. In Canada, a crime is anythin that is defined by !arliament to be a crime. "nly offences defined in federal law can truly be called crimes in Canada. #ome federal statutes which outline criminal offences are theCriminal Code of Canada, the $outh Criminal %ustice Act, and the Controlled &ru s and #ubstances Act. Activities covered by provincial or municipal laws for which there are penalties similar to those for criminal acts, are not crimes per se, but are enerally referred to simply as offences. 'hile issues such as speedin , drin(in under a e, or not wearin a seatbelt may be considered serious offences, they do not warrant a criminal record. To be convicted of a crime in Canada, two elements are re)uired. These are the actus reus * uilty act+ and mens rea * uilty mind+. A defendant must not only commit a uilty act, he must also have the intention to commit a uilty act and thus have a uilty mind. Mens Rea , Actus Reus - A Crime "R Mens Rea .The uilty mind./ 'hen an act demonstrates intent, (nowled e, or rec(lessness. , Actus Reus .The uilty act./ 'hen demonstratin a voluntary act, or omission of an action that is unlawful. A CRIME

Actus Reus The first element in a criminal offence is the actus reus, or uilty action. In any offence, the actus reus can refer either to a specific action, or to the failure to act. 0or e1ample, the failure to do somethin that is considered to be one2s duty, such a parent2s duty to provide the necessities of life to a child under the a e of si1teen years, can be considered a wron ful act under the Criminal Code. The actus reus of a criminal act must be voluntary. Actions over which an accused has no control are not actions which will normally result in criminal liability. As a result, a person who has a heart attac( at the wheel of a car and drives into another vehicle has not voluntarily committed the actus reus of the offence of dan erous drivin . Mens Rea

The second element of a criminal offence in Canada is a uilty mind. The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant carried out a uilty act with the criminal intent or mens rea. Intent in the le al sense means havin (nowled e or bein rec(less or willfully blind to the conse)uences of an act. &ependin on the crime, the definition of intent can chan e. Intent can be either eneral or specific. In eneral intent, which covers most crimes, it must be demonstrated that the defendant meant to commit a crime. In specific intent, it must be demonstrated that not only did the defendant intend to commit a crime but intended to commit a specific indictable offence. Thus, the defendant did not only intend to commit a crime, but intended to violate the law. 0or e1ample a person is not uilty of stealin 3ust because he too( someone else2s property4 the courts must prove he too( it with the purpose of (eepin it, without colour of ri ht. Intent is very different from motive. 'hile intent e1amines the state of mind of the defendant in re ards to the act, motive loo(s at what caused the person to act or not act. Motive does not need to be established in order to prove uilt beyond a reasonable doubt. #ub3ective and ob3ective standards of mens rea are also important when considerin the criminal act. In the sub3ective standard, the )uestion becomes whether or not the defendant (new the conse)uences of his actions. In the ob3ective standard, the )uestion is should the defendant have foreseen, or ou ht to have foreseen the conse)uences of his actions. #trict and Absolute 5iability 6ot all crimes re)uire mens rea. In cases of strict liability, the defendant will be convicted unless he can demonstrate that he acted with due dili ence. 7e needs to prove that he did all that a reasonable person could do in order to prevent in3ury or dama es. #trict liability offences enerally include health and safety issues or issues dealin with the eneral welfare of the public. In cases of absolute liability, there is no defence. The defendant is responsible for his actions re ardless of ne li ence or intent. Types of "ffences The nature of the offence determines which court has 3urisdiction to hear the case, the powers of police to arrest, the accused2s ri ht to be released before trial, and the (ind of trial the accused receives. #ummary Conviction "ffences These offences are the least serious and trials for these convictions are held at the lower courts of the "ntario Court of %ustice. The accused does not have a choice of court, nor the ri ht to a 3ury trial. Trials in these cases are held in front of a 3ud e alone, and sentencin for this type of offence ran es, with the ma1imum penalty bein a fine of up to 89::: and;or si1 months in 3ail, unless otherwise specified by law. <sually a person is not arrested for a summary offence, but will receive a notice to appear in court. The accused does not have to appear in court personally. A lawyer may represent the person in the court proceedin s. A person cannot be fin erprinted for a summary conviction offence and is eli ible for a pardon three years after the sentence is completed. =1amples of summary offences include causin a public disturbance, loiterin , and havin open alcohol in public. The limitation period for summary conviction offences is si1 months. There are very few offences in the Criminal Code that are strictly summary conviction offences.

Indictable "ffences

5oo( here to find information re ardin which offences must be tried by !rovincial Court 3ud e alone, by a #uperior Court 3ud e with a 3ury, and those offences for which an accused may ma(e an election. Indictable offences are more serious than summary offences and there is more than one procedure involved. The procedure followed depends on the seriousness of the offence. 0or less serious indictable offences, trials are done before a provincial court 3ud e, li(e summary offences, while the most serious indictable offences, such as murder, must be tried by a 3ud e and 3ury. 0or some indictable offences, the accused is put to an election between bein tried by a provincial court 3ud e, a superior court 3ud e alone, or a superior court 3ud e with a 3ury. A person char ed with an indictable offence must show up personally in court. There is no limit on how much time can elapse between the alle ed act and the arrest, which means that police can char e the person years after the offence occurred. Trial, however, must be held within a reasonable time after the arrest, and the definition of what constitutes a reasonable time a ain depends on the seriousness of the offence. 'hether the accused is released from custody or not and the release options available depend upon the seriousness of the offence. The ma1imum penalty for indictable offences is life imprisonment. =1amples of indictable offences include murder, robbery, and (idnappin . In a criminal case, the citation or case name will appear as R v. the accused. R stands for Re1 or Re ina, dependin on whether the rei nin monarch is a >in or ?ueen4 and is represented by the Crown Attorney, a provincial overnment a ent representin the state. 7ybrid "ffences 7ybrid offences are also (nown as dual procedure offences and can be tried as either summary conviction or indictable offences. The Crown chooses whether it wants to prosecute as a summary or an indictable offence, usually dependin upon the circumstances of the incident, and factors about the offender. =1amples of hybrid offences include impaired drivin , assault, theft under 8@:::, and failin to provide the necessaries of life under s.9A@. Most offences in the Criminal Code are hybrid offences. 7ybrid offences are treated as indictable offences until the Crown chooses which way it wants to proceed. This means that an accused will be fin erprinted on arrest, even thou h it is possible that he will be tried for a summary conviction offence. ?uestions/ A. <sin your (nowled e of actus reus and mens rea, state which of the followin persons would be uilty of committin a criminal offence. Be sure to e1plain your answer. a. 'hile Andrew, a si1 year old, played with his father2s rifle, he (illed his friend Tim. b. Brandon, while huntin with some friends, aimed at a deer, but accidentally shot another hunter. c. Candace, while cleanin her un pointed the unloaded un at her friend Cictoria, sayin , I2m oin to shoot. Candace pulled the tri er and a bullet which still stuc( in the un dischar ed, (illin Cictoria. d. Allie, while aimin to hit Mary in the le with her slin shot, hit her in the temple and (illed her. e. =ri(a, while wal(in throu h the par( fri htened by Molly. Thin(in Molly had a

un4 =ri(a pulled out a revolver and shot Molly, (illin her. Molly had no weapon at all. f. Amanda, who escaped from a mental hospital, shot and (illed her husband. . Mrs. 0i ures, an ei htyDfive year old, could not bear to see her a ed husband suffer any lon er so she ave him an overdose of sleepin pills. h. %ames, a nineteen year old, played around, throwin roc(s at road si ns. 7e accidentally struc( and in3ured a passin cyclist. i. Chris continuously insulted Matt and he could no lon er tolerate it. #o Matt shot Chris. 3. As Brittney cleaned her rifle, #amantha wal(ed into the room, and the un accidentally went off, (illin #amantha. 9. Create a scenario for each of the followin situations/ a.actus reus is not voluntary, and b.actus reus but no mens rea. E. !olice are able to fin erprint those who are char ed with indictable offences. !olice often fin erprint those char ed with petty hybrid offences in order to obtain as many fin erprints for police databan(s as possible. These fin erprints can be used to identify persons in future crimes. #hould police be able to fin erprint those who are char ed with hybrid offencesF Is this a violation of the accused2s ri htsF %ustify your answer.