1. Criminal Law Chapter 3 The General Principles of Criminal Liability: Actus Reus
Joel Samaha, 9th Ed.

2. Elements of a Crime Criminal act (actus reus)
Criminal intent (mens rea)
Concurrence (“an act set in motion by an intent”)
Attendant circumstances
Bad result or harm

3. All crimes have to include, a criminal act (actus reus).
at a minimum,
a criminal act (actus reus).

4. Questions What is an attendant circumstance? Give an example.
Explain the concept of a
criminal conduct crime?

5. Criminal Liability Actus reus (criminal act)
We punish people for what they do, not for what they intend to do (state of mind), or for who they are (status). Key term: manifest criminality
Men's rea (criminal intent)
Punishment
(at least for serious crimes) depends on the blameworthiness of the intent that triggers the criminal act
Concurrence
Criminal intent (mens rea) has to trigger criminal acts (actus reus) and cause criminal harm

6. Factors Which Affect Actus Reus
Voluntary acts
Status or condition
Constitution
Criminal omissions
Criminal possessions

7. Voluntary Acts
“A person is not guilty of an offense unless his liability is based on conduct that includes a voluntary act…” (ALI 1985, § 2.01).
So long as there’s one voluntary act, other acts surrounding the crime may be involuntary.
What are the facts and opinion of Brown v. State (955 S.W.2d 276, Texas 1997)?

8. Status or Condition and the Consititution
Action describes what we do, status (or condition) denotes who we are. Most statuses or conditions do not qualify as actus reus.
Status can arise in two ways:
1) From prior voluntary acts, such as drinking alcohol or using drugs
2) Being who we are: sex, age, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity
It is unconstitutional for the legislature to make a crime out of status or personal conditions.
What are the facts and opinion of Robinson v. California (1962, 370 U.S. 660)? Is actus reus a constitutional command?

9. Criminal Omission 1) failure to report
Two types:
1) failure to report
2) failure to intervene; e.g., legal duty
Legal duty:
1) Statutes, e.g., income tax returns and firearms registration
2) Contracts, e.g., law enforcement officers
3) Special relationships, e.g., parent-child and doctor-patient

10. Questions What is the difference between the Good Samaritan Doctrine
and the
American Bystander Rule ?
What are the facts and opinions
of the following cases ?
Commonwealth v. Pestinakas
617 A.2d 1339 (1992, Pa. Sup.)
People v. Oliver (1989)
State v. Miranda (1998)

11. Possession Explain the facts and opinion of Miller v. State (1999).
Possession is not action; it is a passive condition. Examples of criminal possession statutes are burglary tools, stolen property, illegal drugs and weapons.
The passive state of possession as actus reus includes:
1) control of items and substances, e.g., actual possession or constructive possession
2) awareness of control, e.g., knowing possession or mere possession
Explain the facts and opinion of Miller v. State (1999).