LAWS 2302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Actus Reus, Youth Criminal Justice Act, Mens Rea
Document Summary
Note: page references refer to (12th edition/13th edition) Role of judge (trier of law) v. jury (trier of fact) Trial procedure, including the burden of proof and manner of questioning s. Guilty of attempt to commit included offence, s. 662(1)(b) Not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder, s. 672. 34. Criminal liability requires proof of 3 things: identity, actus reus and mens rea. Actus reus refers to 3 elements: (a) circumstances (eg. , s. 265, without consent ; s. 151 and 150. 1) (b) voluntary physical act (eg. , s. 265, applies force ; s. 213(1)(c), communicates ). [note: see daviault, 1994, scc; lamer cjc says voluntariness is part of actus reus, while cory j. for majority is undecided] (c) consequence (eg. , s. 267(1)(b), causes bodily harm ; s. 222, causes death ) Page 3: guilty act and guilty mind must exist at the same time. Actus reus = voluntary activity, circumstances and consequences: v. king (1962, scc), p. 300/287.
