I
t
Bui lding Your
d[rr
I
llr
Understanding
I
1. What are the four conditions that must exist for an
act or omission to be considered a crrme?
6.
is crime considered an offence against society
as a whole and not just against the direct victims
4. What
is
established
7,
3. ldentify three purposes of criminal
law.
the main origrn of most criminal laws in
Canada?
to explain the responsibilities of
the federal and provincial governments in the area
of criminal law. How were these jurisdictions
2. Why
of crime?
Use examples
?
Every province in Canada has passed laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco to people under a certain
age. Are these criminal laws or quasi-criminal laws?
Explain your answer"
8. ln what ways might surveys, such
as the one
described in Frgure 6.4, influence politicians setting
policy for criminal justice in Canada?
TnE ETEmpNTS oF A CnrmE
To convict a person of a criminal oflence in Canada, the Crorvn must usuallit
prove that two elements existed at the time the ofTence u'as committed: the
act itself and the intention to commit the act. In law, these two elements are
identified by the Latin terms actus reLLs and wens rea.
Mens Rea
Actus Reus
Figure 6.6
shows the
This equation
two elements thal
must be present for a crime
"The guilty act"
demonstrates a
voluntary action,
omission, or state
of being that is
prohibited by law
to occur.
"The guilty mind"
demonstrates
+
that the
act
was intentional,
knowing, negligent,
reckless, or
wilfully blind
=
Crime
Aetus Rews
N4ost crimes inrrolve an action that causes a) harm or loss to a person or group
actus reusi "the guilty
act"-
the voluntary action, omission,
or state of being that is forbidden by the Crimind Code
164
Unit 3: Criminal Law
of people or b) damage to propert,v In Latin, the phrase qctus reus means
"the guilty act," referring to the physical act involved in committing the crim-
hal offence. For instance, if you argue with another person and then hit that
person, you have committed assault. Section 265 (1)(a) ol the Criwinal Code
states that a person commits the wrongful act (octws rews) of assault when
"u,ithout the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that
person, directly or indirectly." The Crim,inal CoiJe defines the rvrongfui act
clearly and preciselv so rve know exactlv rvhat the law prohibits. In most cases
a criminal act must be completed to qualify as an offence. If i'ou only thought
of hitting someone but the person ran a\l,ay belbre you could strike, you u,ould
not be guilty ol assault.
,t.
l:l
In some cases,fttiling to do something ca' be considered a *,rongfu1
ll
Law in Your Lite
Describe a situation involving
teenagers in which the
element of actus reus is uncer-
tain. Explain why.
act.
This is called an "omission." For example, consider the case of parents u,ho clo
not give their lnfant cliild cnough food to eat. As a result, the child dies of
malnntrltlon. Under s. 215 (1) of the Criminal Cotle, the parents car-r be
chargccl u.ith failing to provide a child n'ith tl-re necessities of life.
The Crintirtttl CotJe also contains offences for u,l-rich the rrcfz.s reuJ is rr
"statc of being." Bcing in possession of stolen goods, being in possession of
break-in tools, and bcing found
in a gaming or betting
house are
thr.ee
ofTences for u,hich the u,rongful act is a state of being.
Note that the
mllst be voluntarr., :rnd not forced bv anotl-rer perI'nile toAhrneds bn, k rn.l rnrkes lrim lob.r rarielr .tort,.
Ahmed cannot be found guiltv of robben'. Similarrlr,, if Jear'ette does something illegal u'hile slcepr,r,alking, octLLs reus u'ould not applv. A ref'ler reactior-r
ls also not consiclercd a utongful act ln lau'. If Naima has an epileptie selzui'e
and hcr ann jerl<s, strikir-ig Emill, in the face, the lau,u.ould not hold Naima
crlminally responslble for assar:lting Ernih'.
s,,tt.
lf
ttcttts rcr,.s
Rohert purs
I
Mens Rect
Mens rea is the sccond elenent that, in most cases, must be present r,r,ith acfls
mens rea:. a deliberate rntention to commit a wrongful act,
wrth reckless disregard for the
conseq uences
retts for a crimlnal offence to be committed. The Latin phrase lmens rea
means "the guiltl,mind" the tcrm implies rnoral guilt-th:it the accused person deliberatel,v did somcthing he or she kneu. to be urong, u'ith reckless disregard for the consequences. The Crou,r-r can establish ii7e11s reo by shou,ing
that the accused had the imtent to commit an ofl'ence orknou,ledg,e that l'hat
he or she did r,r'as against the 1arv.
INrnNr
intent:
intent to commlt a criminal acf means that he
to clo something \vrong! u,as reckless regarding the conse-
of mind in
which someone desires to carry
To sav that a person had the
out a wronqful action, knows
what the results will be, and is
quences, and kneu, or should have foreseen the resurlts of thc u'rongful act. In
describlng offences, the Crintinal Code oftcn uses u,orcls such as rvilfull.,, or
intentionttl\' to signlfi intent. Recal1 thar in describing the act of assault.
s. 265 (1)(a) reads ''applies force intentlonarilr'." Here the .rord intentictttnllt
a state
reckless regarding the conseq
uences
general intent: the desire
to
commit a wrongful act, with no
ulterior motive or purpose
specific intent: the
desire
to commit one wrongfui act for
the sake of accomplishing
a
nother
166
Unit 3: Criminal Law
or she
nTeant
signifies the u.r.ems rett of the criminal offence of assault.
In Canadian criminal lau, there are t\\io kinds of intent. General intent
means that a person commits a r.vrongful act for its ou,n salie, u.ith no ulterior
motirre or purpose. For erample, if Gu;.punches Curtis simpl,v because he is
angri,, then Cu,v has a general intent to commit assault. To establish .tne.t7s reo.
the Crou.n must simplv prove that Gur. did in fact punch Curtls. Specific
intent applies nhen someone commirs one *'rongful act in order to accomplish another. According to s. -3,13 (c) of the Crin.tincrl Code, "EversL one commlts robberrt u'ho assaults anv person u.ith intent to steal fr-om him." If Gur
strilies Curtis n,ith the intention of taking sornething r.aluable from him, then
he has committed an assault in order to accomplish a theft. To pror.e rhat Gur
had the flLe17s reo to commit robben, the crou'n has to shor,r, not onlr, that he