Actus Reus (Voluntary Act): Difference between revisions
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**Thoughts alone can never be punished as crimes. Lawmakers are hesitant to impose controls on what people may think, and such laws would also present profound problems of proof and enforcement. | **Thoughts alone can never be punished as crimes. Lawmakers are hesitant to impose controls on what people may think, and such laws would also present profound problems of proof and enforcement. | ||
**Words usually cannot constitute acts. However, depending on the jurisdiction and the crime, an agreement to commit a crime may be enough to constitute conspiracy, and words of encouragement may constitute aiding and abetting a crime. | **Words usually cannot constitute acts. However, depending on the jurisdiction and the crime, an agreement to commit a crime may be enough to constitute conspiracy, and words of encouragement may constitute aiding and abetting a crime. | ||
**In most countries, possession does not constitute an act. In the United States | **In most countries, possession does not constitute an act, although it may be criminalized. In some countries, including the United States, possession can constitute an act, such as in the case of knowing possession of illegal narcotics. | ||
**A defendant's status or condition cannot constitute an act. In the United States, the Supreme Court has held that a law making addiction a crime to be an unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. | **A defendant's status or condition cannot constitute an act. In the United States, the Supreme Court has held that a law making addiction a crime to be an unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. | ||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
Chapter 1, Criminal Law, Emanuel Law Outline, Aspen Publishers, 2000 | Chapter 1, Criminal Law, Emanuel Law Outline, Aspen Publishers, 2000 | ||
Revision as of 11:32, 16 June 2010
'Actus Reus' refers to the requirement that the defendant have carried out a voluntary act. It is important to distinguish such acts from thoughts, words, states of possession, or status; involuntary acts; and omissions.
What Acts Are Not
- Acts are distinct from thoughts, words, possession and status.
- Thoughts alone can never be punished as crimes. Lawmakers are hesitant to impose controls on what people may think, and such laws would also present profound problems of proof and enforcement.
- Words usually cannot constitute acts. However, depending on the jurisdiction and the crime, an agreement to commit a crime may be enough to constitute conspiracy, and words of encouragement may constitute aiding and abetting a crime.
- In most countries, possession does not constitute an act, although it may be criminalized. In some countries, including the United States, possession can constitute an act, such as in the case of knowing possession of illegal narcotics.
- A defendant's status or condition cannot constitute an act. In the United States, the Supreme Court has held that a law making addiction a crime to be an unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.
Sources
Chapter 1, Criminal Law, Emanuel Law Outline, Aspen Publishers, 2000
