Actus Reus College Essays Samples For Students

Over the period from 2010 to 2016 the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its rulings in a range of landmark criminal cases, dealing with diverse topics, such as freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, rights regarding counsel, detainment of suspects in terrorism, as well as criminal sentences. The case Miller v Alabama (2012) belongs to the last category. The major finding of the Court in this case was that mandatory sentences of life, not including the parole possibility, are unconstitutional in relation to juvenile offenders.
The case was referred to the Supreme Court by Evan Miller, a 14-year boy, who ...

Criminal Liability

ISSUES
According to the facts presented containing information on Neil, Thomas and Kate the following are some of the pressing issues; The first issue dwells on the fact that Neil is following Thomas everywhere in the university taking pictures of him and his brown loafers, Neil also places those pictures Thomas’ pigeon hole, he also leaves gifts of brown polish on Thomas’ door step all of these actions lead Thomas to suffer from depression. The second issue deals with Kate’s actions whereby Kate who is a sado-masochist uses her red patent stilettos to walk on Neil’s back ...

THE CASE AGAINST ROMEO

- i) According to the law, a person is guilty of committing theft if he or she dishonestly acquires another person’s property with the aim of permanently depriving him or her of it. In the case of Romeo, the act of walking out of the shop without paying for the condoms was not carried out intentionally. He intended to pay for the condoms but forgot. According to Romeo, he intended to pay for the condoms but forgot after receiving the distressing phone call from his girlfriend Cleopatra. At the time of the crime, Romeo was not aware of his behavior ...

Issue

In examining the criminal liability of the four persons about the death of Betty, several issues should be focused on approval or disapproval of any liability. In the case of Naveed, there is a need to prove whether he committed an actus reus in his threatening Betty. In the case of Peter, we need to establish under which circumstances and criminal law he might have been the causal link in the shooting, injury and eventual death of Betty. Also, there is a need to prove whether there was any state of mind with criminal liability and intent to cause ...

Introduction

There are some important fundamental differences between a criminal action and a civil action. One of the most ostensible differences is the nature of the cause of action underlying the suit. As its name denotes, a criminal action is derived from a past crime that has been committed. A civil action, on the other hand, does not involve a crime, but rather a private wrong to an individual or group of individuals. Another key distinction between criminal and civil action is the parties bringing the suit. In a criminal action, the prosecution represents the people and presents the case ...

Conviction of the defendant

The defendant can be convicted if found in possession of the drug paraphernalia. This is because the possession of the “crack pipe” is itself a violation of the act on Drug Paraphernalia Control Act (Gardner, & Anderson, 2012). Moreover, possession is regarded as an actus reus, which is criminal act based on omission when the law that demands an action of an individual is violated. As such, the defendant was in possession of the item, which is used in inhaling substances, which are controlled to human body. Further, the defendant was aware that the item in possession was the cracking ...

Williams v Pennsylvania (2016) was brought to the Supreme Court by Williams who was found guilty of murder back in 1984 and sentenced to death because he claimed that the prosecution not only utilized false testimony but withheld evidence that could have led to his exoneration (Supreme Court, 2016). I found this particular case interesting due to its conclusion where the petitioner was ultimately denied his appeal even after his allegations were proven by the PCRA (Supreme Court, 2016) which just goes to show how even if the filer was in the right, the law still refused to rescue ...

In Washington, the Supreme Court had ruled over a case (Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby Stores) that was about a corporation that is family-owned to pay for insurance coverage for contraception for its female workers that is stated in the Affordable Care Act that actually violated the law that protects religious freedom. “The court ruled that corporations controlled by religious families cannot be required to pay for contraception coverage for their female workers” (Liptak, 2014, para. 3). The interesting aspect about this case is that the decision was actually in contrast to what many had expected as in many had virtually believed ...

The selected video for this study refers to the U.S State Department Human Rights report on Uzbekistan. The video gives a brief overview of the U.S State Department Human Rights report on Uzbekistan. It provides shocking revelation of human rights violation initiated by the State on its citizens.

Human rights are a policy issue. This is because where human rights violations are prevalent; the citizens would not be able to conduct their socio-economic activities effectively. State's policy is a constituent element of Crimes against Humanity as stipulated in article 7 of the Rome Statute.

The Causal Factors addressed

Two main factors are mentioned in the video ...

WK1DiscLGriggs

Crime has been a huge concern for most cities. When a person committed a crime, he or she demonstrates the three elements of the crime namely concurrence, Actus reus (conduct) and Mens rea (mental health. Once all of this three elements were evident in a person’s behavioral pattern there is a big possibility that the person may commit crime anytime. It is detrimental for everyone to keep a close watch at all times for such individuals who are demonstrating these elements. These three elements are also paramount in determining the gravity and nature of the crime depending on causation.

Chicago Crime News

One of the examples of ...

International Criminal Law

Question 1
A. There are several modes of the liability that are used for the determination of the liability of the person prosecuted for the international crime. Given the merits of the case in question, the prime minister of Sanchista should be liable for the order issued in reference to the Nisum Campaign. The provisions of the ICTY are designed in the manner so that to address all criminal offences that are committed by the state bodies and relevant executives in the prosecution of particular persons. The article 6 of the ICTY defines that committing of the criminal actions ...

The term ‘actus reus’ refers to the physical component of the crime, while ‘mens rea’ addresses the mental aspect of the offence. Situations, when the alleged perpetrator has the actus reus, but lack mens rea can be different, and a solution depends on the constituent components of a particular crime. First of all, strict liability offences and a range of other offences that differ across statutes and common law under different jurisdictions do not require proving mens rea. Strict liability often refers to minor offences (e.g., selling alcohol to an under-aged individual), where it is hard to determine the ...

Introduction

One of the most common strategies of criminal defense attorneys when representing a defendant who has an unusual condition such as a mental abnormality, is to argue either that regardless of their actions, they are nevertheless not responsible for the crime or that they never had the capacity to commit a crime. The reason that criminal defense attorneys can make these arguments is that criminal law recognizes a number of unique situations where otherwise criminal conduct should not be subjected to a determination of guilt and the offender should be exempted from the crime (LaFave, 2000). These arguments, which ...

Response #1

Giddings, Franklin. The Relation of the Criminal to Society. Proceedings of the Academy of

Political Science in the City of New York 1(4), 1911, 559-62.

This article asserts that some of the acts that the legislature defines as crimes are not actions that can cause much harm to the society and future generations, but there are acts that are defined as crimes that pose grave dangerous. Accordingly, the author notes that if one assumes that every person who commits a crime is a criminal then it is hard to find a person who is not a criminal in the United States. In this regard, the article presents two kinds of ‘ ...

Identify and describe the different categorization of crimes? How are crimes different than torts?

The common categorization of crimes includes treason, felonies and misdemeanors . Treason, which is rare, is one’s act against the state threatening its sovereignty and integrity. Felonies are serious offenses like murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, kidnapping, tax evasion etc. that attract several years of imprisonment and a heavy fine. Misdemeanors are less serious offenses, mostly punishable by fines or a brief stay in the jail. Some of the examples of misdemeanors include simple assault, gambling, prostitution etc. However, other simple offenses like traffic violations are not considered as misdemeanors and are generally considered as violations or infractions. Crimes can ...

Criminal Liability of Joe

Joe is liable for possession, supply, and permitting premises to be used for the supply of controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The law provides that it is “unlawful for a person to have a controlled drug in his possession”. Joe is a user of illegal drugs. Any controlled drugs found on his person and place of residence renders him liable for possession. When Karla overdosed, Joe was in possession of the heroin that Karla injected on herself. It is also unlawful for any individual “to supply or offer to supply a controlled drug to another”. ...

SCENARIO FOR VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

Rick and Megan have been married for six years, but are not able to conceive a child. Family and friends pressure them to start a family already because they are not getting any younger. Rick’s friends constantly tease him about it and the jokes are beginning to get to him. Megan, on the other hand, is getting bored with the marriage. She turns to Rick’s best friend Jake for advice and company. She finds him fun and a relief from Rick’s rather serious nature. The two begin to see each other more often and this develops ...

In a criminal case, a defendant will often seek to plead the insanity defense. An insanity defense may be a particularly attractive option if the murder was especially egregious or heinous. But while pleading insanity can be a viable defense for certain defendants, courts of law do not accept insanity pleas from every defendant. In order for a defendant to pleas insanity successfully, the defendant must show that 1) the defendant did not know that what he did was wrong, and 2) that the defendant failed to act with the necessary mens rea requirement (Fradella, 2007, p. 9). These ...

A critical analysis of David N. Pellow article ‘The Politics of Illegal Dumping: An Environmental Justice Frame Work’.
Pellow decisively interrogates the perceived prevalence of minority groups living in hazards environments. He keenly canvases the existing literature and case studies carried out throughout the United States and beyond. These studies relate economic inequality to environmental degradation. It is alleged that a phenomenon known as environmental racism has emerged whereby areas lived by the poor minority, usually the blacks, Hispanics and immigrants, have been turned into dumping sites by the majority- a group composed of the White and wealth middle class. ...

INTRODUCTION

Criminal homicide is the act of ending another person’s life by the hand of another (Luckenbill, 1977). There are many different ways in which criminal homicide is defined in the American criminal justice system; different degrees of what constitutes homicide, as well as other mitigating factors, can help to determine the sentencing of an individual or individuals who take part in the act, whether voluntarily or not. This is meant to apply as individualistic a sentencing as possible on the particular situation, instead of making standardized choices for criminal homicide on the whole. All of this leads to an ...