Elements of a Crime
Criminal Act
• The first necessary element of any crime
is that a person's action be in violation of
a law. Generally, a person must commit a
voluntary act before they are subject to
criminal sanctions.
Failure to Act
• Failure to act may result in criminal
prosecution as well. A parent who
neglects a child or a taxpayer who doesn't
pay taxes may both be prosecuted in
criminal court.
Mens Rea
• Mens Rea literally means guilty mind in
Latin. This term refers to the specific
state of mind of the defendant. The
extent to which a party can be held
responsible for his actions generally
depends upon the mental state under
which he was operating upon commission
of the crime.
Four Levels of Mens Rea
o
o
o
o
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Purposeful- where harm is intended
Knowing- having full knowledge that harm
could result
Reckless- behavior that increases the risk of
harm
Negligence- harm which results when a
person fails to act reasonably, even though
no negative consequences were intended
Motive
• Why does Kedar eat in class?
• A motive is someone's reason for
committing a crime. While evidence of a
person's motive may be admissible during a
trial, it is not an essential element of a
crime that must be proven.
Strict Liability
• These specific types of crime require that
no culpable state of mind be proven for
conviction. The laws make it a crime to
do something, even if the offender has no
intention of violating the law.
Examples
• An example of a strict liability offense
would be routine traffic offenses. A driver
may be listening to music, thinking or
simply following the flow of traffic and
finds he's going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone.
There is no intention to break the law,
but it is a violation none-the-less due to
the potential for harm.
Another Example
• Another example would be statutory
rape. Statutory rape generally occurs
between two consenting individuals, one
of which is under the legal age of
consent. In many states, it doesn't matter
whether the offender knew the victim's
age, this act is a crime because it is an
attempt to prevent the sexual
exploitation of persons considered legally
incapable of giving consent.
Causation
• Causation refers to the concurrence of a
guilty mind and a criminal act may
produce or cause harm. A clearly
identifiable cause must be evident in a
court of law.
Example
• An example of this element would be a person
who has been shot by another. The victim does
not kill the victim, but the victim is seriously
injured and in the hospital for several months.
Death may occur as a result of pneumonia or a
blot clot. A defense attorney may argue that the
death resulted from disease not the offender's
actions. If the jury agrees, then the person may
be let go or found guilty of a lesser charge. The
harm must be directly linked to the actions of
the offender, but it doesn't have to be close in
time or space to the offense.
Harm
• A harm of some sort occurs in every
crime.
• When a person is murdered, the harm is
clearly identifiable. Harm doesn't just
involve physical injury to an individual, it
also can include fear; therefore, actions
such as assault or stalking are considered
crimes.
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Harm Continued
• Harms to the individual are not the only
types of harm. The other type of harm is
that to society. Drug, sex, and gambling
crimes are considered to harmful against
society.
• How do “victimless” crimes hurt society?
Ex Post Facto
• The principle of legality states that a law cannot
be criminal if no law exists making it such. Laws
are only legally binding from the date of their
creation or a future date that is specified.
• If lawmakers in a city believe that public
skateboarding is a nuisance and they decide to pass
a law, they can't try to prosecute people who
engaged in this action prior to the law being
passed. Laws passed after the commission of an act
are called ex post facto laws.
Punishment
• The punishment for committing a crime
must be specified at the time of its
implementation. Punishment needs to be
specified, so that if a person is found
guilty of violating a law, sanctions can
lawfully be imposed.