The Elements of Crime

Definition: Voluntary act or omission that causes social harm 

• Omission:
• 1. Must be duty to act 
• 2. Must be capable of acting 
• 3. Must be aware of need to act 

• Legal Duty to Act:
•  
• 1. Special relationship (family)
• 2. Contract: required to act in specific way 
• 3. Statute requires to act 
• 4. Defendant creates the risk of harm to victim 
• 5. Defendant voluntarily assumes care of victim in need of help

Thoughts: Abstract beliefs not considered unless they are a relevant motive to the actus reus 

Justification: Social harm greater for bias inspired conduct

Presumption: Courts read into a statute that a voluntary at is presumed

if defendant makes a voluntary act which risks causing involuntary harm later, the second act is voluntary

Contract Criminal Liability: If there is malicious intent behind an omission from contractual duty, defendants are guilty of the crime

Status: Cannot punish involuntary acts or status

Definition: Voluntary act or omission must cause the social harm 

• Types of Causation: 
• But for cause: defendant's conduct is one of the causal factors of the social harm 
• Proximate Cause: whether it is fair to hold defendant criminally liable
•      (1) No intervening causes: conduct is direct cause and criminally liable 
•      (2) Dependent Intervening Cause: liable unless intervening cause is extremely unusual
•      (3) Independent Intervening Cause: not liable unless intervening cause is foreseeable
•            Standard: should have known actions lead to consequences

Definition: intent requirement 

No defense: Willfull blindness or consciously not finding out possibility that conduct is illegal

• Intent Categories: 
• 1. Purposely: Defendant wanted the result 
• 2. Knowingly: Defendant knows result is likely to occur (CA reads this if no intent specified) 
• 3. Recklessly: Defendant is aware of risks and is indifferent 
• 4. Negligently: Defendant should have known the risks of conduct

Willfully: willingness to commit the act or omission 

Malice & Maliciously: intent to do a wrongful act

Maliciously: means recklessly

Conditional Intent: Conditional intent to harm satisfies mens rea element

Express Malice: Intent to kill only 

Rule: If defendant intends to kill A and unintended kills B, the intent to kill A is transferred to B. 

Note: Can still charge attempted murder of A.

General Intent Crime: requires intent to commit an act 

Specific Intent Crime: requires intent to cause the resulting harm 

Intoxication: can negate existence of specific intent only

Generally: courts read into mens rea element into statute if not specified 

Strict liability: no mens rea is required (public welfare offenses)

Definition: connection between actus reus & mens rea 

• Types of Concurrence: Must both be proven 
• 1. Temporal: mens rea is present during commission of actus reus 
• 2. Motivational: mens rea is motivating factor of actus reus