Criminal Law: Actus Reus & Mens Rea

Actus Reus & Mens Rea

• Actus Reus: The physical part of a crime. It's proven when a defendant voluntarily commits an action, like in theft, taking someone else's property, or in battery, inflicting force.
• Voluntariness: Crucial for proving Actus Reus. Involuntary acts, like those caused by unforeseen circumstances (e.g., a bee swarm), typically don't lead to criminal liability, except in strict liability offences. Hill v Baxter highlights this principle.
• Mens Rea: The "guilty mind" – the mental element of a crime. This can include intent to commit a crime or knowing one's actions could cause harm (recklessness).

Levels of Mens Rea

• Intention: A higher level of culpability than recklessness. Direct and oblique.
• Direct Intention: The defendant intends the specific result of their actions. (e.g., R v Mohan, defendant meant to hit a police officer with his car).
• Oblique Intention: The defendant intends a different outcome, but their actions involve a virtual certainty of a specific outcome (serious harm), even if not the primary aim. (e.g., R v Woollin, where a defendant unintentionally killed their child but the outcome was foreseen.)
• Foresight & Intention: Foreseeing a harmful outcome (virtual certainty) might indicate intention (Nedrick). Yet, a jury can also find the defendant did not intend the harm despite this foresight.

Assault

• Definition (Criminal Justice Act 1988, s. 39): Assault occurs when a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to fear immediate unlawful violence. R v Nelson further clarifies this.
• Actus Reus of Assault: Assault can be an action, omission (like silence or inaction, as in R v Ireland), words or even silence. R v Constanza (letters) shows how communication can constitute the actus reus of assault.