Learning Plan 3 Assignment: Elements Of Crime

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Learning Plan 3 Assignment: Elements of Crime US Courts CJ 2300 Jasmin Keiber National American University Elements of Crime Laws dictate the common perception of crime, and the elements of crime are preset through the perception of crime. Although, perception alone is clearly not a just way of describing what crime means in the eyes of the public. We follow the supreme rules and state policies of the land and the states, which are all laws that we perceive as just. All other misconduct that goes against what is just should be logically illegal or unjust. But is it accurate to call a violation a crime from the civil laws point of view? The founding fathers established a body of rules that is used to shape …show more content…

Actus reus is an act that is committed or was committed with guilt. The criminal liability is only present if the act was committed voluntary and it resulted in criminal harm. Mens rea means in latin “the guilty mind”, it further describes the intent level of the criminal nature within the act. The act alone is not criminal if the metal state has not been evaluated and proven to be stable and sound (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015). In addition, the next element of crime is the relation between the criminal intent and the guilty act that was committed. This describes the union between the two parts of this element, it is the combination of actus reus and mens rea. One may take something that is not rightfully theirs and forget to return it or pay for it when they are getting distracted. Not showing the intent to steal something and doing the act anyway is not a criminal intent. Criminal law sets the requirement to have actus reus and mens rea present in a case (Neubauer & Fradella, …show more content…

The result of the guilty act provides the prosecution with additional information that is used to charge the offender with the crime. If a traffic accident caused by the offender resulted in the death of the other party that was involved, he may also face charges for vehicle manslaughter. However, the actus reus and the mens rea will play a role in this case as well. The offender can only be held responsible for the above charges if he intentionally put other people at risk while operating a motorized vehicle. The prosecution must provide prove that could be an alcohol or drug test to prove the driver was intoxicated or any kind of traffic violation that led to the accident. Thus, the result of the act is harmful (Neubauer & Fradella,

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