1. Intro To Criminal Law

2. Elements of a Crime Typically, a crime is made up of four elements:
Mens rea
Actus reus
Causation
Concurrence

3. Mens Rea
Mens Rea is the mental requirement in criminal law, also known as the guilty mind.
There are four categories of mens rea:
Intent
Knowledge
Recklessness
Criminal Negligence

4. Actus Reus
Actus reus is the physical part of a crime, or the guilty act. It typically describes what the defendant must do.
Omission: failing to perform an act required by a criminal law, if a person is physically able to perform the act.
State of being/affairs: an offense in which a person is not actively committing an act, but is still in violation of the law

5. Causation and Concurrence
Causation: the defendant’s conduct must be linked to the resulting harm.
Cause in fact: the harm caused would not have occurred if the defendant had not acted the way that they did
Proximate cause: the defendant should have been able to foresee the consequences of their actions
Concurrence: mens rea and actus reus must take place simultaneously, meaning the criminal must have had intent while committing the guilty act.

6. Motive and Strict Liability
Motive: the reason why an illegal act was performed.
Strict liability offenses are crimes regardless of a guilty state of mind.