CRM 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Homicide, Eggshell Skull, Actus Reus
8 Oct 2016
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Crm200 lecture 3 (continuation of lecture 2) More relevant for result crimes where it is necessary for a court to determine whether an accused"s actions caused a prohibited consequence. Rule: causation makes a conceptual distinction between criminal conduct and accident: a) statutory provisions, b) common law principles. Common law - > where actus reus and mens rea must coincide for the accused to have. Coincidence need not be perfectly symmetrical: 1) when the accused intends to do one thing but ends up doing another (not an. Mens rea precedes actus reus: 2) when the accused becomes aware of the guilty act only after it has occurred (not an accident) Courts refused to classify the consequences of the accused"s actions as accident even though the letter of law suggest they were. Example: bob stops car at ride check on foot of officers foot.
