Actus reus, occasionally referred to as the objective element of a crime, is a Latin word that refers to the guilty act. It is a criminal act that results from voluntary bodily movements describing a physical activity that leads to harm to another individual or damages to property. Another aspect of actus reus is omission, that is an act of criminal negligence, that involves not taking an advance action that would otherwise prevent an individual from being injured. Additionally, an omission can also be failing to warn the public that you have created a dangerous situation or not completing a certain task properly, which would result to an accident or a public disaster. .
Mens rea, is a legal term that describes an individuals mental state while committing an offence or a crime. It can be described as having a general intention to break the law or having a premeditated plan to commit a particular crime. Therefore, to convict any accused person of a crime, a criminal prosecutor must show beyond reasonable doubt that the accused knowingly and actively participated in an offence that caused harm to another person (Cane, 2000, P.540). .
Concurrence is the establishment and proving simultaneous occurrence of actus reus and mens rea, and both should hold concurrence in point time for a crime to be said to have been committed. Concurrence is most difficult to prove since it involves proving both the criminal act and the mental state of the accused person while committing a crime. Many a time the attorney uses various means to establish or discredit concurrence in a given case; however, it is always challenging when people only rely on one transaction principle thus making concurrence difficult to prove beyond reasonable doubt.
Discussion 2 .
Due process is a fundamental principle in law that regards fairness in all the legal matters involving both criminal and civil offenses in a court of law.
