Philosophy 2080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Actus Reus, Brothel, Mens Rea

• School: Western University
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: Philosophy 2080
• Professor: James Hildebrand

Document Summary

Conduct: the physical act that falls within the definition of the criminal offence. Can be an act of commission (where the accused does something) Or an omission (where the accused doesn"t do something the law requires him to do) Ex. homicide requires the death of a human being. Causation is an issue where a certain consequence is part of the offence- the act or omission on the part of the accused must have caused the impugned consequence circumstances: sometimes just being there is a crime. Ex. being in a common bawdy house. Voluntary act: act of commission or omission must be voluntary. Capacity: capacity is part of the actus reus, even though it could be confused with mens rea. A person must have the capacity to form the requisite intention, both in the sense that they are aware of their recognize and they must have capacity as recognized by law.