Types of Law

Dana Bryant

McNeese State University

Court Justice Administration-CJUS 602-7WA

Professor Jennifer K. Creel

September 2nd, 2022

Types of Law

Corpus delicti refers to the body of the crime. It is a rule of common law that mandates that no defendant should be found guilty without the provision of sufficient evidence that the crime took place. Corpus delicti comprises five elements. One of the elements of Corpus delicti is Actus Reus, a Latin word that means ‘guilty act.’ Actus Reus refers to the three types of the unlawful act including possession, voluntary bodily movements, and omission or failure to act (Mallorquí-Ruscalleda, 2020). In regards to possession, the criminal law stipulates that if someone knows it is against the law to possess an item like cocaine, they may be guilty of a crime if found in possession of such items. Voluntary bodily movement entails the movements that take place without coercion and with the awareness of the actor. Thus, actions caused by involuntary bodily movements such as unconscious or reflexive actions cannot be regarded as criminal acts before a court of law. Lastly, failure to act or omission has a criminal liability if it involves failing to perform a legal duty or failing to intervene to stop serious harm when there is a special relationship between the parties that imposes a duty to act. An example of such a case is between parents and children. In a criminal trial, establishing an offender’s actus reus is needed to establish criminal obligation (Hemmens et al., 2022).

Another element of Corpus delicti is Mens Rea, which means criminal intent. The literal translation of Mens Rea from Latin is “guilty mind.” Mens Rea requires that the prosecution of a defendant must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant perpetrated the crime with a stable state of mind (Mallorquí-Ruscalleda, 2020). This element also stresses that a person should be aware of their misconduct and clearly understand that their conduct is illegal to be convicted guilty of a crime. Based on this element of a criminal offense, criminal responsibility does not hold based solely on the action; there must also be some form of guilty mind (Hemmens et al., 2022). Similar to actus reus, it is important to establish an offender’s Mens Rea during a criminal trial to establish criminal obligation.

Concurrence is another element of Corpus delicti. Generally, a crime comprises two elements: a guilty act and a guilty mental state. Based on this element of a criminal offense, there must exist a concurrence between the guilty act and the guilty mind (Hemmens et al., 2022). This implies that these two elements must occur simultaneously. During a criminal trial, the prosecution must demonstrate that the defendant’s criminal action coincided with their guilty mental state. Under the concurrence element of a criminal offense, the application of either Mens Rea or actus reus cannot be used to prove guilt. Also, the concurrence element implies that acts that are not generated by criminal intent do not qualify to be considered criminal acts and the intention to commit a crime without the act of committing a crime cannot be considered a crime before the law. It is vital to prove concurrence during a criminal trial because proving either Mens Rea or actus reus cannot be used to convict a defendant.

Another element of Corpus delicti is causation. This is the statutory principle that defines the criminal act as the cause of harm (Alili, 2017). Criminal law requires that the causation element of a criminal offense be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The victim’s harm must be proven to have been caused by the perpetrator’s actions in some way, either by being a factual or a legal cause. If there are additional elements that are not under the perpetrator’s control and may have contributed to the victim’s harm, it must be decided whether those additional factors or the perpetrator’s behavior were the actual or legal cause of the harm. In such circumstances, the defendant may draw their guilt into question on the basis that their actions did not cause harm to the victim.

The fifth element of Corpus delicti is harm. Harm is the outcome of a criminal act or injury to the victim. Usually, the harm may be mental, economic, or physical. An example of mental harm is scaring someone by threatening to strike them while physical harm includes physical assault. A good example of economic harm is credit card fraud. In criminal law, there cannot be liability without any sort of harm (Hemmens et al., 2022). Overall, each of the elements of Corpus delicti needs to be proven since although each of them has their independent significant importance, all of them need to be proved to establish criminal obligation.

References

Alili, N. (2017). The Importance of “Corpus Delicti” in Proving “Causation” in Homicide Cases. KIU Journal of Humanities, 2(1), 127-134.

Hemmens, C., Brody, D. C., & Spohn, C. (2022). Criminal courts: A contemporary perspective. (5th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Mallorquí-Ruscalleda, E. (2020). The Elements of a Crime: A Brief Study on Actus Reus and Mens Rea.